UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT  LOS  ANGELES 


THE  LIIDI3LE  KII^GDOM 


Vol.  II 


Jilliaras 


-J 


CONTENTS  OF  VOLUME  II. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


INDUSTRIAL  ARTS  OF  THE  CHINESE, '^,      1_64 

Tenure  of  land  in  China,  2  ;  Agricultural  utensils,  3  ;  Horse-shoe- 
ing, 4  ;  Cultivation  of  rice,  5  ;  Terraces  and  methods  of  irriga- 
tion, 7 ;  Manner  of  using  manure,  9  ;  Hemp,  the  mulberry, 
sugar,  and  the  tallow-tree,  11;  Efforts  in  arboriculture,  12; 
__ — Celebration  of  the  annual  ploughing  ceremony,  13  ;  Modes  of 
catching  and  rearing  fish,  15;  Mechanical  arts,  metallurgy,  18; 
Glass  and  precious  stones,  21  ;  Ingredients  and  manufacture  of 
porccflain,  23  ;  Its  decoration,  25  ;  Chinese  snuff-bottles  dis- 
covered in  Egyptian  tombs,(27>  The  preparation  of  lacquered- 
ware,  30  ;  Silk  culture  and  manufacture  in  China,  32 ;  Chinese  ^ 
skill  in  embroidery,  30 ;  Growth  and  manufacture  of  cotton,  37 ; 
Leather,  felt,  etc.,  38  ;  Tea  culture,  39  ;  Method  of  curing  and 
preparing,  42  ;  Green  and  black  teas,  44  ;  Historical  notice, 
51 ;  Constituents  and  effects  of  tea,  52  ;  Preparation  of  cassia 
{ciniuvmomnm)  and  camphor,  55 ;  IngeWous  methods  of  Chinese  /- 
craftsmen,  56  ;  The  blacksmith  and  dish-mender,  57  ;  Carving- 
in  wood  and  ivory,  59  ;  Manufacture  of  cloisonne,  matting,  etc., 
CI  •  General  aspect  of  Chinese  industrial  society,  62. 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Science  Amono  the  Chinese,  .        . 65-134 

Attainments  of  the  Chinese  in  the  exact  sciences :  Arithmetic,  65  ; 
Astronomy,  68  ;  Arrangement  of  the  calendar,  69  ;  Divisions  of 
the  zodiac,  71  ;  Chinese  observations  of  comets  and  eclipses,  73  ; 
Their  notions  concerning  the  "Action  and  Reaction  of  the  Ele- 
ments," 74;  Astronomical  myths:  Story  of  the  herdsman  and 
weaver-girl,  76  ;  Divisions  of  the  day  :  arrangement  of  the 
almanac,  79  ;  Geographical  knowledge,  80  ;  Measures  of  length, 
money,  and  weight,  81  ;    System  of  bitnks  and  use  of  paper 

3060T 


IV .  CONTENTS. 

PAOK 

money,  85 ;  Pawnshops,  8G  ;  Popular  associations,  or  httui,  87 ; 
The  theory  and  practice  of  war,  arms  in  use,  89  ;  Introduction 
and  employment  of  gunpowder,  90  ;  Chinese  policy  in  warfare, 
92;  Their  regard  for  music,  94;  Examples  of  Cliinese  tunes, 
97 ;  Musical  instruments,  99 ;  Dancing  and  posture-making, 
104  ;  Drawing  and  painting,  105  ;  Samples  of  Chinese  illustra- 
tive art,  107  ;  Their  symbolism.  111  ;  Paintings  on  pith-paper 
and  leaves,  113;  Sculpture  and  architecture,  115;  Notions  on 
the  internal  structure  of  the  human  body,  119;  Functions  of 
the  viscera  and  their  connection  with  the  yin  and  yany,  122; 
Surgical  operations,  123  ;  A  Chinese  doctor,  125  ;  Drugs  and 
medicines  employed,  127 ;  The  common  diseases  of  China,  129  ; 
Native  treatises  on  medicine,  133. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 
History  and  Chronology  of  China 135-187 

General  doubts  and  ignorance  concerning  the  subject,  136  ;  The 
mythological  period,  137  ;  Chinese  notions  of  cosmogony,  138  ; 
The  god  Pwanku,  139  ;  Chu  Hi's  cosmogony,  141  ;  The  legend- 
ary period,  Fuh-hi,  143  ;  The  eight  nionarchs,  145  ;  Hwangti 
and  the  sexagenary  cycle,  146  ;  The  deluge  of  Yao,  147 ;  The 
historical  period :  The  Hia  dynasty,  148  ;  Yu  tlie  Great,  his  in- 
scription on  the  rocks  of  Kau-lau  shau,  149  ;  Records  of  the 
Hia,  152  ;  The  Shang  dynasty,  154  ;  Chau-sin,  156  ;  Rise  of 
the  house  of  Chau,  157  ;  Credibility  of  these  early  annals,  159  ; 
The  Tsin  dynasties,  Tsin  Chi  Hwangti,  160;  The  dynasty  of 
Han,  162  ;  From  the  Han  to  the  Sui,  165  ;  The  great  Tang  dy- 
nasty, 167  ;  Taitsung  and  the  Empress  Wu,  169  ;  The  Five 
Dynasties,  172;  Tlie  Sung  dynasty,  173;  The  Mongol  conquest, 
Kublai  Khan,  175;  The  Mings,  177;  The  Manchus,  or  Tsing 
dynasty,  179;  Kanghi,  180;  Yungching  and  Kienlung,  181; 
Kiaking  and  Taukwang,  183;  Tables  of  the  monarchs  and 
dynasties,  186. 

CHAPTER  XVm. 

JlEHGION  OF  THE  CiTTNESE, 188-274 

Causes  of  the  perpetuity  of  Chinese  institutions,  188  ;  Isolation  of 
the  people,  189;  The  slight  influence  upon  them  of  foreign 
thought  and  customs,  191  ;  Their  religious  belief's,  two  nega- 
tive features,  191  ;  Three  sects:  the  State  religion,  called  Con- 
fucianism, 194;  Objects  and  methods  of  State  worship,  195; 


^J  7  4  8 


CONTENTS. 

The  Emperor  as  High  Priest,  198  ;  The  Ju  kino,  or  Sect  of 
Literati,  15)9  ;  Religious  functions  of  government  officers,  202  ; 
Purity  and  coldness  of  this  religious  system,  205  ;  Rationalism 
{Tuo  kia),  Lau-tsz'  its  founder,  207 ;  His  classic,  the  Tao-teh 
King,  208  ;  Visit  of  Confucius  to  the  philosopher  Lau-tsz',  212; 
Rites  and  mythology  of  the  Taoists,  214;  Their  degeneracy 
into  fetich  worshippers,  215  ;  Their  organization,  217 ;  The 
Sect  of  Fuh,  or  Buddhism,  218  ;  Life  of  Buddha,  219  ;  Influ- 
ence of  the  creed  among  the  people,  221  ;  Checks  to  its  power, 
223  ;  Its  tenets  and  liturgy,  224  ;  Opposition  to  this  sect  by  the 
literati,  227  ;  Perpetuated  in  monasteries  and  nunneries,  229  ; 
Similarity  between  the,  Buddhist  and  Roman  Catholic  rites, 
231 ;  Shamanism,  its  form  in  Tibet  and  Mongolia,  233 ;  Buddh- 
ist temples,  235  ;  Ancestral  worship,  its  ancient  origin,  236  ; 
Its  influence  upon  the  family  and  society,  237  ;  Infanticide  in 
China,  its  prevalence,  239  ;  Comparison  with  Greece  and  Rome, 
242 ;  Customs  and  ceremonies  attending  a  decease,  243  ;  Funerals 
and  burial-places,  245 ;  Funtj-slnit,  240  ;  Interment  and  mourn- 
ing, 248  ;  Family  worship  of  ancestors,  250  ;  Character  of  the 
rites,  253 ;  Popular  superstitions,  255  ;  Dread  of  wandering 
ghosts,  257  ;  Methods  of  divination,  200  ;  Worship  at  graves 
and  shrines,  262  ;  Chinese  benevolent  institutions  and  the  prac- 
tice of  charity,  263  ;  General  condition  of  religion  among  them, 
266 ;  Secret  societies,  267  ;  Mohammedanism  in  China,  268 ; 
Jews  in  Kaifung,  271 ;  Their  miserable  condition,  273. 


CHAPTER  XIX.  ^ 

CiTRisTiAN  Missions  Among  the  Chinese, 275-37! 

Arrival  of  the  Nestorians  in  China,  275  ;  The  tablet  of  Si-ngan, 
277  ;  Prester  John  and  traces  of  Nestorian  labors,  286  ;  First 
epoch  of  Roman  Catholic  missions  in  Eastern  Asia,^7 ;  John 
of  Montecorvino,  ibid.;  Other  priests  of  the  fourteenth  century, 
288  ;  Second  period  :  Xavier's  attempt,  289  ;  Landing  of  Ricci, 
290  ;  His  life  and  character,  292  ;  The  Jesuits  in  Peking,  294 ; 
Faber,  295  ;  Adam  Schaal,  297  ;  Verbiest,  298  ;  Discussion  con- 
cerning the  rites,  299  ;  The  Pope  and  the  Emperor  Kanghi, 
300;  Quarrels  between  the  missionaries,  302;  Third  period: 
The  edict  of  Yungching  expels  the  Catholics,  304  ;  Statistics  of 
their  numbers,  307  ;  Their  methods :  the  baptism  of  dying  in- 
fants, 311  ;  Collisions  between  converts  and  magistrates,  312; 
Pagan  and  Christian  superstitions:  casting  out  devils,  314; 
Character  of  Catholic  missionary  work,  317;  Protestantism  in 


VI  CONTENTS. 

China :  The  arrival  of  Morrison  in  Canton,  318  ;  His  mission- 
ary and  literary  work,  320  ;  Comparison  with  that  of  llicci,  322 ; 
Protestant  missions  among  the  Chinese  of  the  Archipelago,  323 ; 
Early  efforts,  tract  distribution,  328  ;  Gutzlaff's  voyages  along 
the  coast,  329  ;  Foundation  of  the  Medical  Missionary  Society, 
333  ;  Success  of  hospital  work  among  the  natives,  338  ;  Society 
for  the  Diffusion  of  Useful  Knowledge  in  China,  340;  The 
Morrison  Education  Society,  341  ;  Protestant  mission  work  at 
Canton,  34G  ;  At  Amoy  and  Fuhchan,  348  ;  In  Chehkiang  prov- 
ince, 351  ;  At  Shanghai,  352 ;  Toleration  of  Christianity  in 
China  obtained  through  Ki'ying,  355  ;  Policy  of  the  government 
toward  missionaries,  359  ;  Articles  qf  toleration  in  the  treaties 
of  1858,  360  ;  Bible  translation  and  the  Term  Question  among 
missionaries,  363  ;  Female  missionaries,  364  ;  Statistics  of  Prot- 
estant missions  in  China,  366 ;  Notices  of  deceased  mission- 
aries, 368  ;  Facilities  and  difficulties  attending  the  work,  369 


X  CHAPTER  XX. 

Commerce  of  the  Chinese, 372-405 

Ancient  notices  of  foreign  trade,  373  ;  The  principal  import,  opium, 
374  ;  Peculiarities  of  its  cultivation  in  India,  ibid.;  Its  prepara- 
tion and  sale  in  Calcutta,  376  ;  Early  efforts  at  introduction  into 
China,  377  ;  Rise  of  the  smuggling  trade,  378  ;  Manipulation  of 
the  drug  in  smoking,  380  ;  The  pipe  and  its  use,  382  ;  Effects  of 
the  practice,  383  ;  Quantity  and  value  of  the  import,  3S7  ;  Coast- 
ing and  inland  navigation  in  China,  389 ;  Detail  of  the  princi- 
pal exports  from  China,  391  ;  Of  the  imports,  396  ;  An  example 
of  pigeon-English,  402  ;  Present  management  of  the  maritime 
customs,  403  ;  Trade  tables,  404. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

Foreign  Intercourse  with  China 406-463 

t-  Limited  conception  of  the  Chinese  as  to  embassies,  406 ;  Earliest 
mention  of  China  or  Cathay,  408  ;  Acquaintance  between  Rome 
and  Seres,  or  Sin;e,  409  ;  Knowledge  of  China  under  the  Greek 
Empire,  412  ;  Narratives  of  Buddliist  pilgrims,  413  ;  Notices  of 
Arab  travellers,  414 ;  Piano  Carpini's  mission  from  the  Pope  to 
Kuyuk  Klian,  415;  Rubruquin  sent  by  Louis  XL  to  Mangu 
Khan,  418  •  Travels  of  Marco  Polo  and  King  Ilayton  of  Armenia, 


CONTENTS.  Vil 

pAoa 
420  ;  Of  the  Moor,  Ibn  Batuta,  421  ;  Of  Friar  Odoric,  422  ;  Of 

Benedict  Goes,  424 ;  Of  Ibn  Waliab,  425 ;  The  Manchus  con- 
fine foreign  trade  to  Canton,  42G ;  Character  of  early  Portu- 
guese traders,  427  ;  Their  settlement  at  Macao  and  embassies  to 
Peking,  428  ;  Relations  of  Spain  with  China,  431  ;  The  Dutch 
come  to  China,  438  ;  They  occupy  Formosa,  434 ;  Koxinga  ex- 
pels them  from  the  island,  437 ;  Van  Hoorn's  embassy  to  Peking, 
438  ;  Van  Braam's  mission  to  Kienlung,  439  ;  France  and  China, 
440 ;  Russian  embassies  to  the  court  at  Peking,  441  ;  Inter- 
course of  the  English  with  China,  443 ;  Attempts  of  the  East 
India  Company  to  establish  trade,  445 ;  The  Co-hong,  447 ; 
Treatment  of  Mr.  Flint,  448  ;  Anomalous  position  of  foreigners 
in  China  during  the  eighteenth  century,  450  ;  Chinese  action  in 
sundry  cases  of  homicide  among  foreigners,  451  ;  Lord  Macart- 
ney's embassy  to  Peking,  454  ;  Attitude  of  the  Chinese  regard-  • 
ing  Macao,  456  ;  Regarding  English  and  American  "squabbles," 
457  ;  Embassy  of  Lord  Amherst,  458  ;  Close  of  the  East  India 
Company  monopoly,  459  ;  American  trade  with  China,  4G0  ; 
Chinese  terms  for  foreigners,  461.  •^— 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

OitKJiN  OP  THE  First  War  with  England, 463-513 

Features  of  the  war  witli  England,  463  ;  Lord  Napier  appointed 
superintendent  of  British  trade,  404  •,  He  goes  to  Canton,  467 ; 
His  contest  with  the  governor,  468 ;  Chinese  notions  of  supi-em- 
acy,  472  ;  Lord  Napier  retires  from  Canton,  his  sudden  death, 
474  ;  Petition  of  the  British  merchants  to  the  king,  47() ;  Trade 
continued  as  before,  478  ;  Sir  B.  G.  Robinson  the  superin- 
tendent at  Lintin,  479  ;  Is  succeeded  by  Captain  Elliot,  481  ; 
Hil  Nai-tsi  proposes  to  legalize  the  opium  trade,  482  ;  Counter- 
memorials  to  the  Emperor,  483 ;  Discussion  of  the  matter  among 
foreigners,  487 ;  Canton  officers  enforce  the  prohibitory  laws, 
490  ;  Elliot  ordered  to  drive  the  opium  ships  from  Lintin,  491 ; 
Arrival  of  Admiral  Sir  F.  Maitland,  492  ;  Smuggling  increases, 
493  ;  A  mob  before  the  factories,  495 ;  Captain  Elliot's  papers 
and  actions  regarding  the  opium  traffic,  496 ;  Commissioner 
Lin  sent  to  Canton,  497;  He  demands  a  surrender  of  opium 
held  by  foreigners,  499  ;  Imprisons  them  in  the  factories,  500  ; 
The  opium  given  up  and  destroyed,  502 ;  Homicide  of  Lin 
Wei-hi  at  Hongkong,  505 ;  Motives  and  position  of  Governor 
Lin,  508;  The  war  an  opium  war,  510;  Debate  in  Parliament 
upon  the  (juestion,  512. 


vm  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

PAOB 

Progress  and  Results  of  the  First  War  between  England 
AND  China,    ....." 514-574 

A>./ival  of  the  British  fleet  and  commencement  of  hostilities,  514 ; 
Fall  of  Tiughai,  515;  Lin  recalled  to  Peking,  510;  Kishen 
sent  to  Canton,  negotiates'  a  treaty  with  Captain  Elliot  at  the 
Bogue,  517  ;  The  negotiations  fail,  519  ;  Captiire  of  the  Canton 
River  defences,  521 ;  The  city  ransomed,  52fj ;  Amoy  and  Ting- 
hai  taken,  525  ;  Fall  of  Chinhai  and  Ningpo,  527  ;  The  Em- 
peror determines  to  resist,  529 ;  Attempt  to  recapture  Ningpo, 
531 ;  The  British  reduce  the  neighboring  towns,  533  ;  The  fleet 
enters  the  Yangtsz',  capture  of  Wusung,  535  ;  Shanghai  taken, 

536  ;  Proclamations  issued  by  both  parties  respecting  the  war, 

537  ;  Storming  of  Chinkiang,  540  ;  Terrible  carnage  among  its 
Manchu  inhabitants,  542  ;  Singular  contrast  at  Iching,  544 ; 
Kiying  communicates  with  Sir  H.  Fottinger,  546  ;  The  envoy 
and  commissioners  meet,  547  ;  A  treaty  drawn  up,  549  ;  Con- 
versation on  the  opium  question,  550 ;  The  Treaty  of  Nanking 
signed,  553  ;  Massacre  of  shipwrecked  crews  on  Formosa,  554  ; 
iiosses  and  rewards  on  both  sides  alter  the  war,  556  ;  Settle- 
ment of  a  tariff  and  commercial  relations,  557  ;  Deaths  of 
Howqua  and  John  R.  Mori'ison,  559  ;  A  supplementary  treaty 
signed,  561  ;  Renewal  of  opium  vexations,  562  ;  Treaties  ar- 
ranged with  other  foreign  powers,  565  ;  The  ambassador  and 
letter  from  the  United  States  to  China,  566  ;  Caleb  Cushing 
negotiates  a  treaty  with  Kiying,  567  ;  Homicide  by  an  American 
at  Canton,  and  subsequent  correspondence,  568 ;  A  French 
treaty  concluded  by  M.  de  Lagreno  at  Whampoa,  571 ;  Position 
of  England  and  China  after  the  war,  572. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

TuE  Tai-ping  Rebellion, 575-624 

Attitude  of  the  ruling  classes  in  China  toward  foreigners,  575;  GoT- 
ernor  Sir  J.  Davis  and  Commissioner  Kiying,  577 ;  Killing  of 
six  Eiiglishmen  at  Canton,  578 ;  Chinese  notions  of  treaties, 
ibuK ;  fc&iises  of  the  Ta^j)ing_Rebellion,  581  ;  Life  of  Hung  Siu- 
tsuen.^its  leader,  582ThTs  womlerful  vision,  583;  He  inter- 
prets it  by  Christian  ideas,  585  ;  Early  phases  of  the  movement, 
587 ;  Commencement  of  the  insurrection,  590 ;  Political  and 
religious  tenets  of  the  rebels,  592 ;  Rapid  advance  to  the  Yangtsz' 
and  occupation  of  Nanking,  596 ;  The  expedition  against  Pe- 


CONTENTS.  ix 

PAoa 
king,    597 ;    Its   failure,    599 ;    Dissensions   among    llie    rebel 

wini(/s,  or  leaders,  603  ;  Rebel  sortie  from  Nanking,  G05  ;  Assist- 
ance of  foreigners  sought  by  imperialists,  GOT  ;  Acliievements  of 
the  Chung  Wang,  (508  ;  Colonel  Gordon  assumes  control  of  the 
"Ever-Victorious  force,"  (iOO  ;  His  successful  campaigns,  (ill  ; 
Environment  of  Suchau,  Gt3  ;  The  city  surrenders,  G14 ;  Exe- 
cution of  its  wangs  by  Governor  Li,  G15 ;  Gordon's  responsi- 
bility in  the  matter,  GIG ;  Further  operations  against  the  insur- 
gents, 617  ;  The  Ever-Victorious  force  disbanded,  618  ;  FaU_of 
Nanking  and  dispersion  of  the  rebels,  621  J)  Subsequent  efforts 
of  the  Shi  and  Kau  wangs,  633  ;  Disastrous  character  of  the  re- 
bellion, 633. 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

The  Second  War  between  Great  Britain  and  China,    .        .  625-689 

Relations  between  the  ^antonese  and  foreigners  after  the  first  war, 
626  ;  Collecting  of^customs  duties  at  Slm,i^^Ji n i  entrusted  to  for- 
eigners, 637  ;  Common  measures  of  defence  against  the  rebels 
there,  629  ;  The  insurrection  in  Kwangtung,  G30  ;  Frightful  de- 
struction of  life,  632  ;  Governor  Yeh's  policy  of  seclusion,  633  ; 
Smuggling  lorchas  at  Hongkong  and  Macao,  634  ;  The  lorcha 
Arrow  affair,  G35  ;  The  initial  acts  of  the  war,  638  ;  Collision 
with  Americans  at  the  Barrier  forts,  639 ;  View  of  the  war  in 
England,  641  ;  Arrival  of  Lord  Elgin  and  Baron  Gros  in  China, 
G43  ;  Bombardment  and  capture  of  Canton,  ibid.;  Problem  of 
governing  the  city,  64G  ;  The  allies  repair  to  the  Pei  ho,  649  ; 
Capture  of  the  Taku  forts,  651  ;  Negotiations  with  Kweiliang 
and  Hwashana  at  Tientsin,  652 ;  Unexpected  appearance  of 
Kiying,  653  ;  Difficulties  of  Lord  Elgin's  position  at  Tientsin, 
^54 ;  The  treaties  signed  and  ratified,  656  ;  Revision  of  the 
tariff  undertaken  at  Shanghai,  657 ;  Effect  of  treaty  a>;ipulations 
and  foreign  trade  on  the  people  of  China,  658  ;  (Lord  ^^Jgin 
visits  the  Tai-ping  rebels  at  Hankow,  659  ;  Sentiment  of  officials 
and  people  in  China  regarding  foreigners,  660  ;  Coolie  trade 
outrages,  663  ;  The  foreign  ministers  repair  to  Taku,  664  ;  Re- 
pulse at  the  Taku  forts,  66G  ;  The  American  minister  conducted 
to  Peking,  (iG8  ;  Discussion  concerning  the  formalities  of  an 
audience,  669  ;  He  retires  and  ratifies  the  treaty  at  Pehtang, 
670  ;  Lord  Elgin  and  Baron  Gros  sent  back  to  China,  671  ;  War 
resumed,  the  allies  at  Pehtang,  673 ;  Capture  of  villages  about 
Taku,  674  ;  Fall  of  the  Taku  forts,  676  ;  Lord  Elgin  declines  to 
remain  at  Tientsin,  677  ;  Interpreters  Wade  and  Parkes  sent  to 
Tungchau,  678  ;  Capture  of  Parkes  and  Loch,  680  ;  Skirmish  of 


X  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Pa-li-kiau,  682  ;  Pillage  of  Yuen-ming  Yuen,  G83  ;  Its  destruc- 
tion upon  the  return  of  the  prisoners,  684  ;  Entry  into  Peking 
and  signing  of  the  treaties,  686 ;  Permanent  settlement  of  for- 
eign embassies  at  the  capital,  688. 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 
Narrative  of  Recent  Events  in  China, 690-748 

Palace  conspiracy  upon  the  death  of  Hienfung,  690  ;  The  regency 
established  at  Peking,  691  ;  The  Lay-Osborne  flotilla,  693  ;  Col- 
lapse of  the  scheme  and  dismissal  of  Lay,  695 ;  The  Burlingame 
mission  to  foreign  countries,  696  ;  Its  treaty  with  the  United 
States,  698  ;  Outbreak  at  Tientsin,  700  ;  Investigation  into  the 
riot,  703  ;  Bitter  feeling  among  foreigners,  705  ;  Memorandum 
from  the  Tsung-ii  Yamun  on  the  missionary  question,  707 ; 
Conclusion  of  the  Kansuh  insurrection,  709 ;  Marriage  of  the 
Emperor  Tungchi,  710  ;  The  foreign  ministers  demand  an  au- 
dience, 712  ;  Reception  of  the  ambassadors  by  Tungchi,  714 ; 
Stopping  of  the  coolie  trade,  715  ;  Japanese  descent  upon  For- 
mosa, 717  ;  English  expedition  to  Yunnan,  719  ;  Second  mis- 
sion, murder  of  Margary,  721  ;  The  Grosvenor  mission  of 
inquiry,  723  ;  The  Chifu  Convention  between  Li  Hung-chang 
and  Sir  T.  Wade,  725  ;  Death  of  Tungchi  and  accession  of 
Kwangsii,  727  ;  The  rebellion  of  Yakub  Beg  in  Turkestan,  727  ; 
He  overthrows  the  Dungani  Confederation,  730  ;  His  forces 
conquered  by  Tso  Tsung-tang,  731  ;  Negotiations  as  to  the  ces- 
sion of  Kuldja,  732  ;  The  great  famine  of  1878,  734  ;  Efforts  of 
foreigners  for  its  relief,  736  ;  Chinese  boys  sent  to  America  for 
education,  739  ;  Grounds  of  hope  for  the  future  of  China,  741. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS  IN  VOLUME  II. 


PAGE 

Signing  of  the  Treaty  op  Peking, Frontispiece 

Manner  of  Shoeing  Horses, 4 

Pedler's  Barrow, .      8 

Group  and  Residence  op  Fishermen  near  Canton,         ,        .        .15 

The  Fishing  Cormorant, 16 

The  Cobbler  and  his  Movable  Workshop, 88 

Mode  op  Firing  Tea, 43 

Travelling  Blacksmith  and  Equipment, 57 

Itinerant  Dish-mender, 58 

Fancy  Carved  Work, (jl 

Fable  of  the  Herdsman  and  Weaver-girl.     (From  a  bowl.),  •        •     77 

Representation  op  a  Man  Dreaming, U)6 

The  Vengeance  op  Heaven  upon  the  Fai,re  Grave,       .        .        .  108 

A  would-be  Assassin  Followed  by  Spirits, 110 

Symbols  op  Happiness  and  Old  Age.     (From  a  plaque.),    .        .        .113 

Caricature  op  an  English  Foraging  Party, 116 

Chinese  Notions  op  the  Internal  Structure  of  the  Human  Body,  120 

PwANKU  Chiselling  Out  the  Universe, 139 

Gateway  OP  the  Yuen  Dynasty,  Ku-yungKwan,  Great  Wall,  to  face  176 
Ancestral  Hall  and  Mode  of  Worshipping  the  Tablets,     .        .251 

Buddhist  Priests, 256 

Consulting  a  Fortune-teller, 261 

Head  op  Nestorian  Tablet  at  Si-ngan 376 


Xll  LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAQF 

Roman  Catholic  Altar  near  Shanghai 315 

Manner  of  Smoking  Opium, 385 

Wall  of  Canton  City.     (From  Fisher.),       ....        to  face  523 

Plan  of  Canton  and  Vicinity, 645 

Portrait  of  Commissioner  KIying, to  face  054 

Plan  of  the  Pei  ho  and  Forts.     (From  Fisher.),       ....  C67 

Portrait  of  Prince  Kung, to  face  G90 

Portrait  of  Wanslang, to  face  715 


MAP  OF  THE  CHINESE  EMPIRE. 
(/»  poc.kst  at  end  qf  this  voluim.) 


THE 


MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

INDUSTRIAL  ARTS  OF  THE  CHINESE. 

The  superiority  of  the  Chinese  over  their  immediate  neigh- 
bors in  the  enjoyments  of  life  and  in  the  degree  of  security  for 
which  individuals  can  look  under  the  protection  of  law  have 
their  bases  chiefly  in  the  industiy  of  the  people.  Agriculture 
holds  the  first  place  among  the  branches  of  labor,  and  the  honors 
paid  to  it  by  the  annual  ploughing  ceremony  are  given  from  a 
deep  sense  of  its  importance  to  the  public  welfare ;  not  alone  to 
provide  a  regular  supply  of  food  and  labor  for  the  population, 
but  also  to  meet  the  wants  of  government  by  moderate  taxes, 
and  long  experience  of  the  greater  ease  of  governing  an  agri- 
cultm-al  than  a  mercantile  or  warlike  community.  Notwith- 
standing the  encouragement  given  to  tillage,  many  tracts  of  land 
still  lie  waste,  some  of  it  the  most  fertile  in  the  country ;  partly 
because  the  people  have  not  the  skill  and  capital  to  drain  and 
lender  it  productive,  partly  because  they  have  not  sufficient  pros- 
pect of  remuneration  to  encourage  them  to  make  the  necessary 
outlay,  and  sometimes  from  the  outrages  of  local  banditti  making 
it  unsafe  to  live  in  secluded  districts. 

Landed  property  is  held  in  clans  or  families  as  much  as  pos- 
sible, and  is  not  entailed,  nor  are  overgrown  estates  frequent. 
The  land  is  all  held  directly  from  the  crown,  no  allodial  property 
being  acknowledged ;  if  mesne  lords  existed  in  feudal  times 
Vol.  II.— 1 


2  THE  MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

they  are  now  unknown.  The  conditions  of  common  tenure  are 
the  payment  of  an  annual  tax,  the  fee  for  alienation,  with  a 
money  composition  for  personal  service  to  the  government,  a 
charge  generally  incorporated  into  the  direct  tax  as  a  kind  of 
scutage.  The  proprietors  of  land  record  their  names  in  the  dis- 
trict and  take  out  a  hung  ki,  or  '  red  deed,'  which  secures  them 
in  possession  as  long  as  the  ground  tax  is  paid.  This  sum  varies 
according  to  the  fertility,  location,  and  use  of  the  land,  from 
$1.50  per  acre  for  the  best,  down  to  twenty  or  thirty  cents  for 
unproductive  or  hilly  fields.  As  the  exactions  for  alienation  oi 
sale  of  lands  are  high,  amounting  to  as  much  as  one-third  of  the 
sale  price  sometimes,  the  people  accept  white  deeds  from  each 
other  as  proofs  of  ownership  and  responsibility  for  taxes.  As 
many  as  twenty  or  thirty  such  deeds  of  sale  occasionally  accom- 
pany the  original  hung  Ai,  without  which  they  are  suspicious  if 
not  valueless.  In  order  to  keep  the  knowledge  of  the  alienations 
of  land  in  government  offices,  so  that  the  taxes  can  be  assured, 
it  is  customary  to  furnish  a  kl-wei,  or  '  deed-end,'  containing  a 
note  of  the  terms  of  sale  and  amount  of  tax  liable  on  the  prop- 
erty. There  is  no  other  proof  of  ownership  required  ;  and  the 
simplicit}'  and  efficiency  of  this  mode  of  transfer  offer  a  striking 
contrast  to  the  cumbrous  rules  enforced  in  western  kingdoms. 
Revised  codes  of  land  laws  are  issued  by  the  provincial  authori- 
ties when  necessary,  as  was  done  in  1846  at  Canton.' 

The  paternal  estate  and  houses  thereon  descend  to  the  eldest 
son,  but  his  brothers  can  remain  upon  it  with  their  families,  and 
devise  their  portion  inperpetuo  to  their  children,  or  an  amicable 
composition  can  be  made ;  daughters  never  inherit,  nor  can  an 
adopted  son  of  another  clan  succeed.  A  mortgagee  must  enter 
into  possession  of  the  property  and  make  himself  responsible  for 
the  payment  of  the  taxes ;  unless  explicitly  stated,  the  land  can 
be  redeemed  any  time  within  thirty  years  on  payment  of  the 
original  sum.  Sections  XC.  to  C.  of  the  Code  contain  the  laws 
relating  to  this  subject,  some  of  which  bear  a  resemblance  to 
those  established  among  the  Hebrews,  and  intended  to  secure  a 
similar  result  of  retaining  the  land  in  the  same  clan  or  tribe. 

»  T.  T.  Meadows  in  N.  C.  Br.  R.  A.  S.  Transactions,  Hongkong,  1848,  Vol.  1 


TENURE   AND   CULTIVATION    OF   THE   SOIL.  3 

The  enclosure  of  recent  alluvial  deposits  cainiot  be  made  without 
the  cognizance  of  the  authorities,  but  the  terms  are  not  onerous; 
for  waste  hillsides  and  poor  spots  ample  time  is  allowed  for  a 
return  of  the  capital  expended  in  reclaiming  them  before  assess- 
ment is  made. 

The  Chinese  are  rather  gardeners  than  farmers,  if  regard  be 
had  to  the  small  size  of  their  grounds.  They  are  ignorant,  too, 
of  many  of  those  operations  whereby  soils  naturally  unfruitful 
are  made  fertile  and  the  natural  fertility  sustained  at  the  cheap- 
est rate  by  proper  manuring  and  rotation  of  crops ;  but  they 
make  up  for  the  disadvantages  of  poor  implements  by  hard  work. 
Their  agricultural  utensils  are  few  and  simple,  and  are  probably 
now  made  similar  to  those  used  centuries  ago.  The  broad  hoe 
is  used  in  soft  land  more  than  any  other  tool ;  the  weight  of  its 
large  wooden  blade,  which  is  edged  with  iron,  adds  impetus  to 
the  blow.  Spades,  rakes,  and  mattocks  are  employed  in  kitchen 
gardening,  and  the  plough  and  harrow  in  rice  cultivation.  The 
plough  is  made  of  wood,  except  the  iron-edged  share,  which  lies 
flat  and  penetrates  the  soil  about  five  inches.  The  whole  im- 
plement is  so  simple  and  rude  that  one  would  think  the  inventor 
of  it  was  a  laborer,  mIio,  tired  of  the  toil  of  spading,  called  the 
ox  to  his  aid  and  tied  his  shovel  to  a  rail ; — fastening  the  ani- 
mal at  one  end  and  guiding  the  other,  he  was  so  pleased  with 
the  relief  that  he  never  thought  of  improving  it  nnicli  further 
than  to  sharpen  the  spade  to  a  coulter  and  bend  the  rail  to  a 
beam  and  handle.  The  harrow  is  a  heavy  stick  armed  with  a 
single  row  of  stout  wooden  teeth,  and  furnished  with  a  frame- 
work to  guide  it ;  or  a  triangular  ma^^hine,  with  rows  of  iron 
teeth,  on  which  the  driver  rides  to  sink  it  in  the  ooze. 

The  buffalo  is  used  in  rice  cultivation,  and  the  ox  and  ass  in 
dry  ploughing ;  horses,  mules,  cows,  and  goats  likewise  render 
service  to  the  farmer  in  various  Avays,  and  are  often  yoked  in 
most  ludicrous  combinations.  The  team  which  Nieuhoff  depicts 
of  a  man  driving  his  wiie  and  his  ass  yoked  to  the  same  plough 
is  too  bad  for  CluTia  often  to  present,  though  it  has  been  so  fre- 
quently repeated  and  used  to  point  a  comj)arison  that  one  almost 
expects  on  landing  to  see  half  the  women  in  the  harness.  It 
may  be  doubted,  however,  if  tliis  country  can  vie  with  some  por- 


4  THK    MIDDLK    KINGDOM. 

tions  of  Germany  and  Holland  in  the  matter  of  mongrel  teams 
employed  on  farms. 

The  arrangements  of  farriers'  shops  in  China  are  very  similar 
to  those  of  Enropean  countries,  savitig  that  the  tools  are  of  the 
simplest  character.     The  manner  of  trussing  up  the  poor  beast 


which  is  to  be  shod  would  seem,  however,  an  unnecessary  exer- 
cise of  caution  in  the  case  of  a  majority  of  the  over-worked 
liorses  and  nuiles.  The  animal  is  fastened  to  a  frame  and  lifted 
almost  entirely  off  the  ground,  while  a  rope  twisted  al>out  his 
nose  and  tightened  at  will  with  a  turn-stick  controls  the  least 
attempt  at  unruliness.  Iron  shoes  are  employed  in  the  north  : 
in  the  south,  where  horses  are  little  used,  they  are  usually  left 


METHOD   OF   PLANTING   IIICE.  5 

nnsliod^  though  the  fore  feet  are  often  covered  with  leather 
shoes  which  lit  the  lioof. 

An  earl}-  rain  is  necessary  to  the  preparation  of  rice-fields, 
except  where  water  can  be  turned  upon  them.  The  grain  is  first 
soaked,  and  when  it  begins  to  swell  is  sown  very  thickly  in  a 
small  plat  containing  licpiid  manure.  "When  about  six  inches 
high  the  shoots  are  planted  into  the  fields,  which,  from  being  an 
unsightly  marsh,  are  in  a  few  days  transformed  to  fields  clothed 
with  living  green.  Holding  the  seedlings  in  one  hand,  the 
laborer  wades  through  the  nnid,  at  every  step  sticking  into  it 
five  or  six  sprouts,  which  take  root  without  further  care ;  six 
men  can  transplant  two  acres  a  day,  one  or  two  of  whom  are  en- 
gaged in  supplying  the  others  with  shoots.  The  amount  of  grahi 
r£(j|IU2£d  to  sow  a  Chinese  mao  in  this  way  is  thirty-seven  and 
one-half  catties,  or  three  hundred  and  thirt}'  pounds-Wbout^two 
and  one-halTUushels  to  an  Jiinglish  acre.  The  produce  is  on  an 
average  tenfokh  Rent  of Taiid  is  usually  paid  according  to  the 
amount  of  the  crop,  the  landlord  paying  the  taxes  and  the  tenant 
stocking  the  farm ;  leases  are  for  three,  four,  or  seven  years ;  the 
terms  vary  according  to  the  position  and  goodness  of  the  soil.' 

Grain  is  not  sown  broadcast,  and  this  facilitates  hoeing  and 
weeding  the  fields  as  they  require.  Two  crops  are  planted,  one 
of  which  ripens  after  the  other;  maize  and  pulse,  millet  and 
sesamnm,  or  sorghum  and  squash  are  thus  grown  together.  The 
plough  is  an  efiicient  tool  in  soft  soil,  but  a  wide  hoe,  the  blade 
set  almost  at  a  right  angle,  is  the  common  implement  in  the 
north.  Barrow  describes  a  drill-plough  in  common  use  in  the 
north  which  remarkably  economizes  time  and  seed.  "  It  con- 
Eisted  of  two  parallel  poles  of  Avood  shod  at  the  lower  extremity 


'  The  amount  of  tribute  rice  sent  to  Peking  from 

Kiangsu  Province  is 01)0,000  tons  of  640  catties,  or  974,400  peculs 

Chelikiang        "         44r),000     "         "  "  633,000  " 

Kiangsi  "         80,000     "         "  "  112,000  " 

Hupeh  "        50,000     "        "  "  70,000  " 

1,789,400  " 

Of  this  the  Chinese  Company  carried  in  1875  to  Tientsin.  .    626,900  " 

Went  by  junks 1,162,500  «♦ 


6  THE  middlp:  kixgdom. 

uith  iron  to  open  the  furrows ;  these  poles  were  placed  upon 
wheels ;  a  small  hopper  was  attached  to  each  pole  to  drop  the 
seeds  into  the  furrow,  which  were  covered  with  earth  hy  a  trans- 
verse piece  of  wood  fixed  behind,  that  just  swept  the  face  of  the 
ground." ' 

The  extent  to  which  terrace  cultivation  has  been  described  as 
common  is  a  good  instance  of  the  way  in  which  erroneous  im- 
pressions concerning  China  obtain  currency  from  accounts  not 
exactly  incorrect,  perhaps,  but  made  to  convey-  wrong  notions  by 
the  mode  of  their  description.  The  hills  are  terraced  chiefly  for 
rice  cultivation  or  to  retain  soil  which  would  otherwise  be  washed 
away ;  and  this  restricts  their  gradation,  generally  speaking,  to 
the  southern  and  eastern  provinces.  Most  of  the  hills  in  Kwang- 
tung  and  Fuhkien  are  unfit  for  the  plough  except  near  their 
bases,  M'hile  in  the  north  it  is  unnecessary  to  go  to  great  ex- 
pense in  terracing  for  a  crop  of  cotton,  wheat,  or  millet.  Much 
labor  has  been  expended  in  terracing,  and  many  hillsides  other- 
M'ise  useless  are  thus  rendered  productive ;  but  this  does  not 
mean  that  every  hill  is  cut  into  plats,  nor  that  the  entire  face  of 
the  country  is  one  vast  garden.  Terracing  was  probably  a  more 
important  feature  of  agriculture  in  Palestine  in  former  days 
than  it  is  in  China.  The  natural  terraces  of  the  loess  districts, 
and  their  extraoi'dinary  convenience  as  well  as  fertility,  have 
already  been  noticed  in  a  former  chapter.  These,  it  should 
however  be  remembered,  do  not  occur  south  of  the  Yangtsz' 
Kiver. 

The  ingenuity  of  the  farmer  is  well  exhiluted  in  the  various 
modes  he  employs  to  insure  a  supply  of  water  for  his  rice.  In 
some  places  pools  are  made  in  level  fields  as  reservoirs  of  rain, 
from  which  the  Avater  is  lifted  as  occasion  i-equires  by  well- 
sweeps.  It  is  also  expeditiously  raised  b}-  two  men  holding  a 
pail  between  them  l)y  ropes,  and  with  a  swinging  motion  rapidly 
dipping  the  water  out  of  the  tank  into  little  furrows.  A  favor- 
ite plan  is  to  use  a  natural  brooklet  and  conduct  it  from  one  plat 
to  another  till  it  has  irrigated  the  whole  hillside.  It  is  where 
such  water  privileges  offer  that  the  terrace  cultivation  is  best 

'  Travels  in  China,  London,  1804. 


TERRACE   CULTIVATION   AND   IRRIGATION.  7 

developed,  especially  in  the  neighborhood  of  large  cities,  where 
the  demand  for  provisions  promises  the  cultivator  a  sure  reward 
for  his  labor. /The  appearance  of  the  slopes  thus  graduated  into 
small  ledges  is  beautiful ;  each  plat  is  divided  by  a  bank  serving 
the  triple  purpose  of  fence,  path,  and  dyke,  and  near  which  the 

•  rills  glide  with  refreshing  lapse,  turning  whithersoever  the  mas 
ter  willeth.     This  primitive  method  of  upland  irrigation  is  car 
ried  out  far  more  perfectly  in  China  than  in  Switzerland,  where 
it  is  better  known  to  the  generality  of  travellers.     Water  is  not 
often  wasted  upon  grass  meadows  in  the  former  country.     The 
food  these  marshy  plats  furnish  to  insects,  mollusks,  snakes,  and 

.  birds  is  surprising  to  one  who  examines  them  for  the  first  time. 

\Wheels  of  various  sorts  are  also  contrived  to  assist  in  this  labor, 
some  worked  by  cattle,  some  by  human  toil,  and  others  carried 
round  by  the  stream  whose  waters  they  elevate.j  The  last  are 
very  common  on  the  banks  of  the  rivers  Siang,  Ivan,  Min,  and 
their  affluents,  wherever  the  banks  are  convenient  for  this  pur- 
pose. High  wheels  of  bamboo,  firmly  fixed  on  an  axle  in  the 
bank,  or  on  pillars  driven  into  the  bed,  and  furnished  with 
buckets,  pursue  their  stately  round,  and  pour  their  earnings  of 
two  hundred  and  fifty  or  three  hundred  tons  a  day  into  troughs 
fixed  at  an  elevation  of  twenty  or  thirty  feet  above  the  stream. 
The  box-trough,  containing  an  axle  to  be  turned  by  two  men 
treading  the  pedals,  is  rather  a  more  clumsy  contrivance,  used 
for  slight  elevations  ;  the  chain  of  paddles  runs  around  two  axles 
and  in  the  trough  as  closely  as  possible,  and  raises  the  water  ten 
or  twelve  feet  in  an  equable  current. 

Few  carts  or  wagons  are  used  with  animals  in  the  southern 
and  eastern  provinces  where  boats  are  at  all  available,  human 
strength  supplying  the  means  of  transportation ;  the  implements 
of  husbandry  and  the  grain  taken  from  the  fields  both  being 
carried  on  the  back  of  the  laborer.  It  is  not  an  uncommon 
sight  about  Canton  to  see  a  ploughman,  when  he  has  done  his 
work,  turn  his  buffalo  loose  and  shoulder  his  plough,  harrow, 
and  hoe,  with  the  harness,  and  carry  them  all  home.  It  is  when 
one  crosses  the  Yangtsz'  on  his  way  north  that  pack  animals  are 
met  transporting  goods  and  food  in  great  droves ;  here,  too, 
people  on  carts  and  wheelbarrows  fill  the  roads.     On  the  Great 


8 


TUE    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 


Flain  a  sail  is  raised  on  tlic  latter  when  a  fair  wind  will  heln 
the  man  to  trundle  it  over  a  level  way. 

The  Chinese  manure  the  plant  rather  than  the  ground,  both 
in  the  seed  and  growing  grain.  The  preparation  of  manure 
from  night  soil,  by  mixing  it  with  earth  and  drying  it  into  cakes, 
furnishes  employment  to  multitudes  who  transport  at  all  hours 
their  noisome  loads  through  the  narrow  city  streets.     Tanks 


are  dug  by  the  wayside,  paila  are  placed  in  the  streets  and  re- 
tiring stalls  opened  among  the  dwellings,  whose  contents  are 
carried  away  in  boats  and  buckets ;  but  it  is  a  small  compen- 
sation for  this  constant  pollution  of  the  sweet  breath  of  heaven 
to  know  that  the  avails  are  to  be  by  and  by  brought  to  market. 
Science  may  yet  ascertain  how  the  benefits  of  this  necessai-y 
work  can  be  obtained  without  its  disgusting  exposure  among 
the  Chinese.     Besides  this  principal  ingredient  of  manure  vats, 


MANUFACTURE   AND    USE   OF    MANURES.  9 

other  substances  are  diligently  collected,  as  liair  from  the  bar 
ber's  shop,  exploded  tire-ci"ackers  and  sweepings  from  the  streets, 
lime  and  plaster  from  kitchens  and  old  buildings,  soot,  bones, 
tish  and  animal  remains,  the  mud  from  the  bottom  of  canals 
and  tanks,  and  dung  of  every  kind.  In  Kiangsu  a  small  leaf 
clover  {^Medleago  satlva)  is  grown  through  the  winter  upon 
ridges  raised  in  the  rice-fields,  and  the  plants  pulled  up  in  the 
spring  and  scattered  over  the  fields  to  be  ploughed  and  harrowed 
into  the  wet  soil  with  the  stubble,  their  decomposition  furnish- 
ing large  quantities  of  ammonia  to  the  seedlings.  Vegetable 
rubbish  is  also  collected  and  covered  with  turf,  and  then  slowly 
burned;  the  residue  is  a  rich  black  earth,  which  is  laid  upon  the 
seeds  themselves  when  planted.  The  refuse  left  after  express- 
ing the  oil  from  ground-nuts,  beans,  vegetable  tallow,  tea,  and 
cabbage  seeds,  etc.,  is  mixed  with  earth  and  made  into  cakes,  to 
be  sold  to  farmers.  The  bean-cake  made  in  Liautung  thus  aids 
the  cotton  and  sugar  planter  in  Swatow  with  a  rich  compost. 

The  ripe  grain  is  cut  with  bill-hooks  and  sickles,  or  pulled  up 
by  the  roots ;  scythes,  mowing-machines,  and  cradles  are  un- 
known where  human  arms  are  so  plenty.  Eice-straw  is  made 
into  brooms  and  besoms ;  the  rice  is  thrashed  out  against  the 
side  of  a  tub  having  a  curtain  on  one  side,  or  bound  into  sheaves 
and  carried  away  to  be  stacked.  The  thrashing-floors  about 
Canton  are  made  of  a  mixture  of  sand  and  lime,  well  pounded 
upon  an  inclined  surface  enclosed  by  a  curb ;  a  little  cement 
added  in  the  last  coat  makes  it  impervious  to  the  rain  ;  with 
proper  care  it  lasts  many  years,  and  is  used  by  all  the  villagers 
for  thrashing  rice,  peas,  mustard,  turnips,  and  other  seeds, 
either  with  unshod  oxen  or  flails.  Where  frost  and  snow  come 
the  ground  requires  to  be  repaired  every  season ;  and  each 
farmer  usually  has  his  own. 

The  cultivation  of  food  plants  forms  so  large  a  proportion  of 
those  demanding  the  attention  of  the  Chinese,  that  excepting 
hemp,  indigo,  cotton,  silk,  and  tea,  those  raised  for  manufacture 
are  quite  unimportant.  The  great  cotton  region  is  the  basin  of 
the  Yangtsz'  kiang,  where  the  white  and  yellow  varieties  grow 
side  hy  side.  The  manure  used  is  nnul  taken  from  the  canals 
and  spread  with  ashes  over  the  ploughed  fields,  in  which  seeds 


10  THE    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

are  sown  about  the  20tL  of  April.  The  seeds  are  planted,  aftei 
sprouting,  five  or  six  in  a  hole,  being  rubbed  with  ashes  as  they 
are  put  in,  and  weeded  out  if  necessary.  After  the  winter  crops 
have  been  gathered  cotton-fields  are  easily  made  ready  for  the 
shoots, which,  while  growing,  are  carefully  tended,  thinned,  hoed, 
and  weeded,  until  the  flowers  begin  to  appear  about  August.  As 
the  pods  begin  to  ripen  and  burst  the  cultivator  collects  them 
before  they  fall,  to  clean  the  cotton  of  seeds  and  husks.  The 
weather  is  carefully  watched,  for  a  dry  summer  or  a  wet  autumn 
are  alike  unpropitious,  and  as  the  pods  are  ripening  from  August 
to  October,  it  is  not  uncommon  for  the  crop  to  be  partially  lost. 
The  seeds  are  separated  by  a  wheel  turning  two  rollers,  and  the 
cotton  sold  by  each  farmer  to  merchants  in  the  towns.  Some 
he  keeps  for  weaving  at  home ;  spinning-wheels  and  looms 
being  common  articles  of  furniture  in  the  houses  of  the  peas- 
antry. Cotton  is  cultivated  in  every  province,  and  most  of  it  is 
used  where  it  grows.  Around  Peking  the  plant  is  hardly  a  foot 
high ;  the  bolls  are  cleaned  for  wadding  to  a  great  extent,  while 
the  woody  stalks  supply  fuel  to  the  poor.  Minute  directions 
are  given  in  Sii's  EneyelojKedia  of  Agricultui'e  respecting  the 
cultivation  of  this  plant,  whose  total  crop  clothes  the  millions 
of  the  Empire  without  depending  on  any  other  land.' 

Hemp  is  largely  cultivated  north  of  the  Mei  ling,  and  also 
grows  in  Fuhkien  ;  grass-cloth  made  from  the  iJulicltos  htilhosus 
is  used  for  sunuuer  dresses.  There  are  four  plants  which  pro- 
duce a  fibre  made  into  cloth  known  under  this  name,  viz.:  the 
Cannahis  sativa,  or  connnon  hemp,  at  Canton;  tlie  Bn'Jnncfia 
nivea,  a  species  of  nettle ;  the  S'ula  tillarfoHay  or  abutilon  hemp, 
in  Chihli ;  and  the  Hibiscus  cannahinus.  The  coloring  matter 
used  for  dyeing  blue  is  derived  from  two  plants,  the  Pohjgonuin 
tinctoriurii  at  the  south,  and  the  tlen  tshig  {Isatls  indujotlcci)^ 
cultivated  at  Shanghai  and  Chusan.  The  mulberry  is  raised  as  a 
sluide  and  fruit  tree  in  the  northern  ])rovinees,  where  it  forms 
a  beautiful  plant  fiftj^  feet  high  ;  elsewhere  the  consumption  of 
the  leaves  renders  its  culture  an  important  branch  of  labor  in 


'Fortune's  Wanderings,  Cliap.    XIV.;    Chinese  Itejjository,  Vol.   XVIIT., 
pp.  449-409. 


COTTOX,    HEMP,    MULBEKKY,   AND   SUGAR.  11 

the  silk-pr(xliicing  provinces.  Some  growers  allow  it  to  attain 
its  natural  height,  others  cut  it  down  to  increase  the  branched 
and  the  produce  of  leaves.  In  Chelikiang  it  is  cut  in  January 
and  deprived  of  its  useless  brandies,  leaving  only  the  outer  ones, 
which  are  trinnned  into  two  or  three  points  in  order  to  force 
the  plant  to  extend  itself.  The  trees  are  set  out  in  rows  twelve 
feet  or  more  apart,  each  tree  being  half  that  distance  from  its 
neighbor  and  opposite  the  intervals  in  the  parallel  rows;  the 
interspaces  are  occupied  with  legumes  or  greens.  The  trees  are 
propagated  by  seed  and  by  suckers,  but  soon  losing  their  vigor 
from  being  constantly  sti'ipped  of  leaves,  are  then  rooted  up 
and  replaced  by  fresh  nurslings. 

Sugar  is  only  a  southern  and  southeastern  crop.  The  name 
che^  by  which  it  is  known,  is  an  original  character,  which  favors 
the  opinion  that  the  plant  is  indigenous  in  China,  and  the  same 
argument  is  applicable  to  wheat,  hemp,  mulberry,  tea,  and  some 
of  the  common  fruits,  as  the  plum,  pear,  and  orange.  The 
canes  are  pressed  in  machines,  and  the  juice  boiled  to  sugar  or 
boiled  and  hawked  about  the  streets  for  consumption  by  the 
people.  The  sugar-mill  consists  merely  of  two  upright  cylin- 
ders, between  which  the  cane  is  introduced  as  they  turn,  and 
the  juice  received  into  reservoirs;  it  is  then  boiled  down  and 
sent  to  the  refiners  to  inidergo  the  necessary  processes  to  fit  it 
for  market ;  much  is  lost  by  this  slovenly  manufacture. 

Many  plants  are  cultivated  for  their  oil,  used  in  the  arts  or  in 
cooking.  The  seeds  of  two  or  three  species  of  Elcococea  be- 
longing to  the  Euphorbiaceous  family,  and  the  Cu/raspu/yans, 
are  gathered,  and  by  pressure  furnish  an  oil  to  mix  with  lacker 
and  paints,  or  to  smear  boats  as  a  preservative  against  teredoes 
and  other  insects.  It  is  deleterious  when  taken  into  the  sys- 
tem, but  does  not  appear  to  injure  those  who  use  or  express  it. 
The  tallow-tree  {StlUiiKjia  schtfera)  grows  over  the  eastern 
provinces ;  it  is  a  beautiful  ti-ee,  resembling  the  aspen  in  its 
shape  and  foliage,  and  would  form  a  valuable  addition  to  the 
list  of  shade-trees  in  any  country.  Mr.  Denny,  the  United 
States  Consul  at  Shanghai,  has  i-ecently  sent  a  quantity  of  these 
seeds  to  California,  where  efforts  are  being  made  to  grow  them. 
The  tree  has  been  introduced  into  India  for  its  timber.     The 


12  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

seeds  grow  in  clusters  like  ivy  berries,  and  are  collected  in  Xo- 
veinber ;  when  ripe  the  capsule  divides,  and  falling  off  dis- 
covers two  or  three  kernels  covered  with  the  pure,  hard  white 
tallow.  AVhen  the  tallow  is  to  be  pi-epared,  these  are  picked 
from  the  stalks  and  put  into  an  open  wooden  cylinder  with  a 
perforated  bottom,  in  which  they  are  well  steamed  over  boiling 
water.  In  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  the  tallow  covering;  the  seeds 
becomes  soft,  and  they  are  thrown  into  a  stone  mortar  and 
gently  beaten  with  mallets  to  detach  it.  The  whole  is  then 
sifted  on  a  hot  sieve,  by  which  the  tallow  is  separated  from  the 
kernels,  though  containing  the  brown  skin  which  envelops  the 
latter  and  presenting  a  dirty  appearance.  The  tallow  in  this 
state  is  enclosed  in  a  straw  cylindei",  or  laid  upon  layers  of  straw 
held  together  by  iron  hoops,  and  subjected  to  pressure  in  a  rude 
press,  from  which  it  runs  clear  in  a  semifluid  state  and  soon 
hardens  into  cakes.  The  candles  made  from  it  become  soft  in 
liot  weather,  and  are  sometimes  coated  by  dipping  them  in  col- 
ored wax.'  From  one  hundred  and  thirty-three  pounds  of  nuts 
is  obtained  some  forty  or  fifty  pounds  of  tallow. 

The  departments  of  floriculture  and  arboriculture  have  re- 
ceived great  attention,  but  the  efforts  of  their  promoters  are  di- 
rected to  producing  something  curious  or  bizarre,  rather  than 
improving  the  quality  of  their  fruits  or  enlarging  the  number 
of  their  flowers.  A  common  mode  of  multiplying  specimens  is 
to  slit  the  stem  and  insert  half  of  it  in  damp  earth  tied  around 
the  stalk  until  it  has  rooted,  and  then  cutting  off  the  whole. 
Dwarfing  trees  or  forcing  them  to  grow  in  grotesque  shapes 
employs  much  time  and  patience.  The  juniper,  cypress,  pine, 
elm,  bamboo,  peach,  plum,  and  flowering-almond  are  selected 
for  this  purpose ;  the  former  is  trained  into  the  shapes  of  deer 
or  other  animals,  pagodas,  etc.,  with  extraordinary  fidelit}',  the 
eyes,  tongue,  or  other  parts  being  added  to  complete  the  resem- 
blance. The  principle  of  the  operation  depends  upon  retarding 
the  circulation  of  the  sap  by  stinting  the  supply  of  water,  con- 
finino;  the  roots,  and  bendino;  the  branches  into  the  desired 
form  when  young  and  pliable,   afterwards  retaining  them  in 

'  Fortune'ii  ]\'(iii(k'ri'ii(j.s,  ^.  78. 


CEKKMONY    OF    PLOUGHING    AND    SPUING    FESTIVAL.        13 

clieir  forced  position  in  pots,  and  clipping  off  all  the  vigorous 
shoots,  until,  as  is  the  case  of  the  cramped  fee.t  of  women,  na- 
ture gives  up  the  contest  and  yields  to  art.  Thesq^Uike  the 
similar  exhibitions  in  sculpture  and  painting,  indicate  the  un- 
cultivated taste  of  the  people,  who  admire  the  fantastic  and 
monstrous  more  than  the  natural.  Some  of  the  clumps  placed 
in  large  earthen  vases,  consisting  of  bamboos,  Howers,  and 
dwarf  trees  growing  closely  together  upon  a  piece  of  rock-work, 
and  overshadowing  the  water  in  the  vase,  in  which  gold-fish 
swim  through  the  crevices  of  the  stone,  are  beautiful  specimens 
of  Chinese  art.  Without  understanding  the  principles  of  an 
aquarium,  the  people  have  succeeded  in  combining  animal  and 
vegetable  life  in  these  elegant  ornaments  of  their  houses. 

The  annual  ceremony  of  ploughing  is  of  very  ancient  origin. 
At  Peking  it  consists  in  ploughing  the  sacred  field  in  the 
Temple  of  Agriculture  with  a  highly  oi-namented  plough  kept 
for  the  purpose,  the  Emperor  holding  it  while  turning  over  three 
furrows,  the  princes  five,  and  the  high  ministers  nine.  These 
furrows  were,  however,  so  short  that  the  monarchs  of  the  pres- 
ent dynasty  altered  the  ancient  rule,  ploughing  four  furrows 
and  returning  again  over  the  ground.  The  ceremony  finished, 
the  Emperor  and  his  ministers  repair  to  the  terrace  adjoining 
the  plat,  and  remain  till  it  has  all  been  ploughed.  The  crop  of 
wheat  is  used  in  idolatrous  services.  The  rank  of  the  actors  ren- 
ders the  ceremony  moi'e  imposing  at  Peking,  but  the  people  of 
the  capital  oidy  know  that  such  a  performance  takes  place,  as 
they  are  not  admitted  inside  of  the  enclosure  when  it  is  ob- 
served by  the  Emperor  and  his  suite.  This  ceremony  is  also  re- 
quired of  all  high  officers  throughout  the  Empire,  and  is  at- 
tended with  more  or  less  parade  in  April. 

In  the  provinces  its  celebration  varies,  and  as  there  are  two 
festivals  coming  near  together  connected  with  agriculture,  one 
or  the  other  of  them  is  apt  to  predominate.  Tlie  annual  plough- 
ing ritual  is  one,  and  tlie  ////  chan,  or  '  Eirst  day  of  spring,'  is 
the  other  and  prior  in  date.  The  prefect  of  every  city  and  his 
subordinates  on  that  day  repair  to  the  appointed  spot  outside  of 
the  walls,  accompanied  i>y  music  and  a  great  procession  of  the 
citizens,  carrying  through  the  streets  a  paper  image  of  the  buf- 


14  THE    MIDDLE    KINGDOM, 

falo  or  ox,  wliicli,  with  the  idol  image  worshipped  at  the  same 
time,  are  at  some  places  taken  into  his  yamun.  Here  the 
whole  is  placed  on  an  altar,  and  the  officials  present  walk 
around  and  whip  the  effigy  with  rods  before  it  is  set  on  fire 
and  scrambled  for  by  the  people  present.  Besides  the  paper 
ox,  a  clay  one  is  also  made  and  taken  beyond  the  eastern  gate, 
sometimes  accompanied  by  or  holding  hundreds  of  little  im- 
ages inside  ;  after  the  ceremonies  are  over  it  is  broken  up,  and 
the  pieces  and  small  images  are  carried  off  by  the  crowd  to 
scatter  the  powder  on  their  own  fields,  in  the  hope  of  thereby 
insuring  a  good  crop. 

In  Xingpo  the  principal  features  of  the  ceremony  consist  of 
a  solemn  worship  by  all  the  local  officers  of  a  clay  image  of  a 
buffalo  and  an  idol  of  a  cow-herd.  The  prefect  then  ploughs  a 
small  piece  of  ground,  and  he  and  his  associates  disperse  till  the 
morrow,  when  they  come  together  in  another  temple  at  dawn. 
Here  a  series  of  prostrations  and  recitals  of  pra^'ers  are  per- 
formed by  the  "fathers  of  the  people"  in  their  presence,  some 
of  whom  have  no  respect  for  the  worship,  Mhile  others,  perhaps, 
evince  deep  reverence.  As  soon  as  it  is  over  the  clay  ox  is 
brought  out,  and  a  procession  consisting  of  all  the  officers  pass 
around  it  repeatedly,  striking  the  body  at  a  given  signal,  and 
concluding  the  ceremony  by  a  heavy  blow  on  the  head.  The 
crowd  then  rush  in  and  tear  the  effigy  to  pieces,  each  one  car- 
rying off  a  portion  to  strew  on  his  fields.' 

The  various  modes  of  catching  and  rearing  fish  exhibit  the 
contrivance  and  skill  of  the  Chinese  quite  as  much  as  their  ag- 
ricultural operations.  Some  persons  reckon  that  at  least  one- 
tenth  of  the  population  in  the  prefecture  of  Kwangehau  derive 
their  food  from  the  water,  and  necessity  leads  them  to  invent 
and  try  many  ingenious  ways   of   securing   the   finny  tribes. 


'  PereCibot  in  Mem.  cone,  les  Chinois,  Tome  III.,  p.  499.  Penal  Code,  pp. 
94-106,  520.  Chinese  nepository,  Vol.  II.,  p.  :}50  ;  Vol.  III.,  pp.  121,  231; 
Vol.  v.,  p.  485.  La  Chine  Ouverte,  p  340.  Foreign  Mixnionari/  Chronide, 
Vol.  XIII.,  p.  290.  Gray's  China,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  115-117.  Doolittle's  Social 
Life,  Vol.  TI.,  pp.  18-23.  Revue  de  V Orient,  Tome  V.  (1844),  p.  297.  Baron 
d'Hervey  Saint-Denys,  Recherchea  stir  VAc/ricnUure  et  VHorticuUitre  des  Ohi 
mis,  Paris,  1850.     Journal  iV:  C  Br.  R.  A.  Soc,  No.  IV.,  pp.  209  fif. 


FISHING    ANL>    FISHERMEN    ALONG    THE    COAST. 


15 


Xets  woven  of  hempen  thread  are  boiled  hi  a  solution  of  gam- 
bier  to  preserve  them  from  i-otting.  The  smacks  which  swarm 
along  the  coast  go  out  in  pairs,  partly  that  the  crews  may  af- 
ford mutual  relief  and  protection,  but  chiefly  to  join  in  drag- 
ging the  net.  In  the  sliallows  of  rivers  rows  of  heavy  posts 
are  driven  down  and  nets  secured  to  them,  which  are  examined 
and  changed  at  every  tide.     Those  who  attend  these  nets,  more- 


Group   and    Residence   of   Fishermen   near   Canton. 

over,  attacli  scoops  or  drag-nets  to  their  boats,  so  loaded  that 
they  will  sink  and  gather  the  sole,  ray,  and  other  fish  feeding 
near  the  bottom.  Lifting-nets,  twenty  feet  square,  are  sus- 
pended from  poles  elevated  and  depressed  by  a  hawser  worked 
by  a  windlass  on  shore ;  the  nets  are  baited  with  the  whites  of 
eggs  spread  on  the  meshes. 

'  The  fishermen  along  the  coast  form  an  industrious,  though 
rather  turbulent  comnnmity,  by  no  means  confining  their  enter- 


16 


THE    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 


pi'ises  to  tlieir  professed  business  when  piraty,  dakoity,  or  ma- 
rauding on  shore  liold  out  greater  prospects  of  gain.  When 
their  boats  become  unseaworthy  they  are  still  considered  land- 
worthy,  and  are  transformed  into  houses  by  setting  them  bodily 
npon  a  stone  foundation  above  the  reach  of  the  tide,  or  break- 
ing them  up  to  construct  rude  huts. 

Cormorants  are  trained  in  great  numbers  to  captui'e  fish  in 
the  rivers  and  lakes ;  they  will  disperse  at  a  given  signal  and  re- 
turn with  their  prey,  but  not  often  without  the  precaution  of  a 
neck-ring.  A  single  boatman  can  easily  oversee  twelve  or  fif- 
teen of  these  birds,  and  although  hundreds  may  be  out  upon  the 


The   Fishing  Cormorant. 


water  each  one  knows  its  own  nuister.  If  one  seize  a  fish  too 
heavy  for  him  alone,  another  comes  to  his  assistance,  and  the 
two  carry  it  aboard ;  but  such  cases  are  very  rare  compared  with 
others  where  the  w^eak  or  young  bird  is  unceremonioaisly  robl)ed 
of  its  capture.  When  several  hundreds  of  them  fish  together  the 
scene  becomes  animated  and  noisy  in  the  extreme.  The  birds 
themselves  are  fed  on  bean-curd  and  eels  or  fish.  They  lay 
eggs  when  three  years  old,  which  are  often  hatched  under  barn- 
yard liens,  and  the  chickens  fed  with  eel's  blood  and  hash. 
They  do  not  fish  during  the  summer  months.  The  price  of  a 
pair  varies  from  five  to  eight  dollai-s. 

Mussels  are  caught  in  cylindrical  basket-traps  attached  to  a 
single  rope  and  drifted  with  the  tide  near  the  bottom.     Simi- 


METHODS    OF    CATCIIING    FIRII.  17 

lar  traps  fur  eatcliiiig  laiul-crabs  are  laid  along  the  edges  of  rice- 
fields,  baited  with  dried  fish.  When  the  i-eceding  tide  leaves 
the  river  banks  dry  the  boat  peo^Tje  get  overboard  and  wade  in 
the  mud,  or  push  themselves  along  on  a  board  with  one  foot, 
in  search  of  such  things  as  harbor  in  the  ooze. 

In  moonlight  nights  low,  narrow  shallops,  provided  with  a 
wide  white  board  fastened  to  the  wale  and  floating  upon  the 
water,  are  anchored  in  still  water  ;  as  the  moon  shines  on  the 
board  the  deceived  fish  leap  out  upon  it  or  into  the  boat ; 
twenty  or  thirty  of  these  decoy  boats  can .  be  seen  near  Macao 
engaged  in  this  fishery  on  moonlight  evenings.  Sometimes  a 
boat  furnished  witli  a  treadle  goes  up  and  down  near  the  shores 
striking  boards  against  its  bottom  and  sides  ;  the  startled  fish  are 
caught  in  the  net  dragging  astern.  The  crews  of  many  small 
boats  combine  to  drive  the  fish  into  their  nets  by  splashing  and 
striking  the  water,  or  into  a  pool  on  the  margin  of  the  river  at 
high  tide,  in  which  they  are  easily  retained  by  wattles,  and 
scooped  out  when  the  water  has  fallen.  Divers  clap  sticks  to- 
gether under  water  to  drive  their  prey  into  the  nets  set  for 
them,  or  catch  them  with  their  toes  when,  terrified  at  the  noise, 
they  hide  in  the  mud.  Xeither  fly-fishing  nor  angling  with  hook 
and  line  is  much  practised  ;  its  tedium  and  small  returns  would 
be  poor  amends  to  a  Chinese  for  the  elegance  of  the  tackle  or 
the  science  displayed  in  adapting  the  fly  to  the  fish's  taste. 

By  these  and  other  contrivances  the  Chinese  capture  the 
finny  tribes,  and  it  is  no  surprise  to  hear  that  China  contains  as 
many  millions  of  people  as  there  are  days  in  the  3'ear  when  one 
sees  upon  what  a  large  proportion  of  them  feed  and  how  they 
live.  Their  expenditure  of  human  labor  appears  enormous  to 
those  who  are  accustomed  to  the  manufactories  and  engines  of 
western  lands,  but  perhaps  nothing  would  cause  so  much  dis- 
tress in  China  as  the  prematui'o  and  inconsiderate  introduction 
of  labor-saving  machines.  Population  is  so  close  upon  the 
means  of  production,  not  seldom  overpassing  them,  tliat  those 
who  would  be  thrown  out  of  employment  would,  owing  to 
their  ignorance  as  to  the  best  resources  and  want  of  means 
to  do  anything  by  themselves,  suffer  and  cause  incalculable  dis- 
tress before  relief  and  labor  could  be  furnished  them.  There 
Vol.  II.— 2 


18  THE    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

are,  for  instance,  six  or  seven  3'ards  near  Canton  where  logs  are 
sawed  by  hand,  but  all  of  them  together  hardly  turn  out  as 
many  feet  of  boards  as  one  water-wheel  turning  three  or  four 
saws  would  do.  Yet  the  two  hundred  men  emploj'ed  in  these 
yards  would  perhaps  be  half -starved  if  turned  off  in  their  pres- 
ent condition,  even  if  they  did  not  destroy  their  competitor  ; 
though  there  is  every  reason  for  believing  that  improvements 
will  be  introduced  as  soon  as  those  wdio  see  their  superiority 
are  assured  they  can  be  made  profitable. 

The  mechanical  arts  and  implements  of  the  Chinese  partake 
of  the  same  simplicity  which  has  been  remarked  in  their  agri- 
cultural,— as  if  the  faculty  of  invention  or  the  notion  of  altering 
a  thing  had  died  with  the  discoverer,  and  he  had  had  the  best 
guarantee  for  the  patent  of  his  contrivance  in  the  depriva- 
tion of  all  desire  in  his  successors  to  alter  it.  This  servility  of 
imitation  marks  them  in  many  things,  but  in  machinery  and 
metallurgy  is  chiefly  owing  to  ignorance  of  the  real  nature  of  the 
ma*"erials  they  use,  a  knowledge  which  has  only  recently  become 
familiar  to  ourselves.  In  the  absence  of  superior  models,  it 
produces  a  degree  of  apathy  to  all  improvement  which  strangely 
contrasts  with  their  general  industry  and  literary  tastes.  Sim- 
plicity of  design  pervades  all  operations,  and  when  a  machine 
directs  in  the  best  known  manner  the  power  of  the  hand  which 
M'ields  it,  or  aids  in  executing  tiresome  operations,  its  purpose  is 
considered  to  be  fully  answered,  for  it  was  intended  to  assist 
and  not  to  supplant  human  labor.  Yet  with  all  their  simplicity 
some  of  them  are  both  effectual  and  ingenious,  and  not  a  few 
are  made  to  answer  two  or  thi-ee  ends.  For  example,  the  bel- 
lows, an  oblong'  box  divided  into  two  compartments,  and  worked 
by  a  piston  and  two  valves  in  the  upper,  which  forces  the 
wind  into  the  lower  part  and  out  of  the  nozzle,  is  used  by 
the  travelling  tinker  as  a  seat  when  at  woi'k  and  a  chest  for 
iiis  tools  when  his  woi-k  is  done  ;  though  it  does  not,  indeed, 
serve  all  these  purposes  with  efliciency. 

In  the  arts  of  metallurgy  the  Chinese  have  attained  only  to 
mediocrity,  and  on  the  whole  do  not  equal  the  Japanese.  To 
this  deficiency  may  perhaps  be  ascribed  their  little  progress  in 
some  other  branchet^  which  could  not  be  executed  without  tools 


CONDITION    OF   THE    MECHANICAL   ARTS.  19 

of  peculiar  size  or  nicety.  Mines  of  iron,  lead,  coppei',  and 
zinc  are  worked,  though  the  modes  employed  in  digging  the 
ore,  preparing  and  smelting  it,  and  purifying  the  metals  have 
not  yet  been  fully  examined.  Gold  is  used  sparingly  for  orna- 
ments, but  is  consumed  in  vast  quantities  for  gilding ;  gold 
thread  is  commonly  imported,  and  the  ingots  are  known  only 
as  bullion.  Mi'.  Gordon  found  the  people  in  the  country  parts 
of  Fuhkien  quite  ignorant  of  its  value,  for  lie  could  only  pass 
doubloons  for  a  dollar  apiece,  the  natives  having  never  seen 
them  before. 

The  Chinese  workmanship  in  chased,  repousse,  and  carved 
work  of  gold  and  silver — baskets,  card-cases,  teapots,  combs, 
etc. — is  almost  unequalled.  Their  jewelry,  too,  admirably  ex- 
hibits the  delicate  filigree  work  which  agrees  so  well  with 
their  genius.  Flower-baskets  wnth  chased  flowers  and  figures 
of  various  sorts  enamelled  on  the  outside  of  the  open  work  of 
wire,  and  set  with  precious  stones,  may  perhaps  be  regarded  as 
the  masterpiece  of  native  art  in  the  working  of  metals. 

Steel  is  everywhere  manufactured  in  a  rude  way,  but  the 
foreign  importation  is  gradually  supplying  a  better  article.  The 
quality  of  this  metal  made  is  best  shown  by  the  carvings  in  the 
hardest  stones  for  ornaments,  which  have  never  been  exceeded 
elsewhere.  Iron  is  cast  into  thin  plates  and  various  machines  of 
considerable  size,  but  the  largest  pieces  they  make,  viz.,  bells 
and  cannon,  are  small  compared  with  the  shafts  and  steam- 
hammers  turned  out  abroad.  Wrought  iron  is  chiefly  woi-ked 
up  into  nails,  screws,  hinges,  and  small  articles  needed  in  daily 
life,  though  its  quality  is  remarkably  good.  The  jWi  tung, 
argentan  or  '  white  copper'  of  the  Chinese,  is  an  alloy  of  cop- 
per 40.4,  zinc  25.4,  nickel  81.6,  and  iron  2.6,  and  occasionally  a 
little  silver ;  these  proportions  are  nearly  the  same  as  Ger- 
man-silver. "  When  in  a  state  of  ore,  it  is  said  to  be  powdered, 
mixed  with  charcoal  dust,  and  placed  in  jars  over  a  slow  fire, 
the  metal  rising  in  the  form  of  vapor  in  a  distilling  apparatus, 
and  afterward  condensed  in  water." '     When  new,  this  alloy  ap- 


•  Davis'  Chinese,  Vol.  II. ,  p.  235.    Penny  Cydopcedia,  Art.  Coppeb.    Natalia 
Rondot,  Commerce  de  la  Chine,  1849,  p.  142. 


30  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

pears  as  lustrous  as  silv^er,  and  is  uuiTiufactured  into  incense- 
jars,  flower-stands  for  temple  service,  boxes,  a  vast  variety  of 
fancy  articles,  and  a  few  liouseliold  utensils  not  intended  to 
be  used  near  tlie  fire.  Puzzling  specimens  of  work  are  made 
of  it,  sucb  as  teapots  enclosed  in  chinaware  and  ornamented 
with  a  handle  and  a  spout  of  stone,  and  having  characters  on 
the  sides.  The  white  copper  varies  a  good  deal  in  its  appear- 
ance and  malleability,  owing  probably  to  mixtures  added  after 
distillation. 

Copper  is  less  used  than  iron  for  culinary  vessels,  but  will 
probably  increase  as  rapid  importation  diminishes  the  cost,  for 
iron  rusts  quickly  in  the  southern  parts.  The  manufactures  of 
gongs,  cymbals  and  trumpets,  lamps,  brass-leaf  for  working 
into  the  hin  kwa,  or  tinsel-flowers  used  in  worship,  and  the 
copper  coin  of  the  country,  consume  probably  four  fifths  of  all 
the  copper  used.  The  gong  is  employed  on  all  occasions, 
and  its  piercing  clamor  can  be  heard  at  any  time  of  day  and 
night,  especially  if  one  lives  near  the  water.  It  is  an  alloy  of 
twenty  parts  of  tin  with  eighty  of  copper,  and  is  made  b}"" 
melting  one  hundred  catties  of  hung  tung,  or  '  red  copper,' 
with  twenty-five  catties  of  tin.  The  alloy  is  run  into  thin  plates, 
and  the  gongs  are  made  by  long  and  expert  hammering  until 
the  requisite  sonorousness  is  obtained. 

Bells  and  tripods  are  frequently  cast  of  a  large  size.  The 
bells  at  Peking  (mentioned  in  Volume  I.,  p.  79)  are  peculiarly 
rich  in  quality  of  tone  ;  they  are  almost  invariably  made  with- 
out tongues,  being  sounded  with  a  mallet.  The  tripods  for 
receiving  the  ashes  of  papers  consumed  in  worship  also  bear 
inscriptions  of  a  religious  character  ;  the  priests  of  temples  con- 
taining them  take  great  pride  in  showing  their  ancient  bells, 
tripods,  and  other  like  rarities.  The  pieces  of  bronze  formerly 
produced  under  the  patronage  of  the  Emperor  Ivienlung,  as 
incense  tripods,  lions,  astronomical  instruments,  and  the  infinite 
variety  of  ornaments,  probably  represent  their  highest  attain- 
ments in  this  branch  of  metallurgy  for  beauty  and  excellence. 
The  metallic  miri-ors,  once  the  oidy  reflectors  the  Chinese 
manufactured,  are  now  nearly  supei-seded  by  glass  ;  the  alloy  is 
like  that  of  gongs  with  a  little  silver  added.     These  mirrors 


CHINESE   ATTAINMENTS   IN    METALLURGY.  21 

have  long  been  remarkable  for  a  singular  property  which  some 
of  them  possess  of  reflecting  the  raised  characters  or  device  on 
the  back  when  held  in  the  sun  ;  this  is  caused  by  their  outline 
being  traced  upon  the  polished  surface  in  very  shallow  lines,  the 
whole  plate  being  afterward  rubbed  until  the  lines  are  equally 
bi;ight  with  the  other  parts,  and  only  rendered  visible  by  the 
strongest  sunlight.'  Besides  the  metallic  articles  already  men- 
tioned, the  ornamental  and  antique  bronze  and  copper  figures, 
noticeable  fur  their  curious  forms  and  fine  polishing  and  tracery, 
afford  the  best  specimens  of  Chinese  art  in  imitating  the  hu- 
man figure.  They  are  mostly  statuettes,  representing  men, 
gods,  birds,  monsters,  etc.,  in  grotesque  shapes  and  attitudes  ; 
some  of  them  are  beautifully  ornamented  with  delicate  scrolls 
and  flowers  in  niello  work  of  silver  or  gold  wire  inserted  into 
grooves  cut  in  the  metal. 

The  manufacture  of  glass  is  carried  on  chiefly  at  Canton,  and 
its  increasing  use  for  windows,  tumblers,  lamps,  mirrors,  and 
other  articles  of  household  furniture,  shows  that  the  Chinese 
are  quite  ready  to  adopt  such  things  from  foreign  countries  as 
they  find  to  be  advantageous.  The  importation  of  broken  glass 
for  remelting  has  entirely  ceased,  but  flints  are  carried  from 
England  for  the  use  of  glass-blowers.  The  furnaces  are  small, 
and  from  the  ignorance,  on  the  part  of  the  workmen,  of  the 
constituents  of  good  glass,  their  products  are  not  uniform. 
Foreign  window  glass  is  now  brought  so  cheaply  that  the  native 
inferior  article,  which  distorts  objects  seen  through  it,  is  disap- 
pearing ;  colored  articles  and  chandeliers  are  still  made.  The 
most  finished  articles  which  the  Chinese  have  yet  produced  are 
ground  shades  for  Argand  lamps.  Beautiful  ornaments  are 
made  of  the  liao-ll,  the  old  native  name  for  a  vitreous  com- 
position like  strass,  between  glass  and  porcelain.  Ear-rings, 
wristlets,  snuff-bottles,  jars,  cups,  etc.,  are  made  of  it,  plain, 
colored,  and  variegated,  in  vast  variety.  Some  of  these  articles 
exhibit  different  tints  in  layers,  each  layer  being  ground  away 
w'here  it  is  not  wanted,  as  in  cameo  carving ;  blue,  red,  and  yel- 


'  Other  and  perhaps  more  correct  explanations  of  this  peculiarity  have  been 
given. 


22  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

low  are  the  prevailing  colors.  The  art  of  producing  it  has  been 
known  longer  than  glass-making,  but  was  invented  later  than 
that  of  porcelain. 

The  cutting  and  setting  of  liard  and  precious  stones  is  carried 
on  to  some  extent.  Spectacles  are  cut  and  ground  in  lathes 
from  crystal,  smoky  quartz,  and  a  variety  of  rose  quartz  resem- 
bling the  cairngorm-stone,  which  the  Chinese  call  cha-tsing^  or 
'  tea-stone,'  from  its  color.  Their  spectacles  are  not  always  true, 
and  the  wearer  is  obliged  to  have  tliem  ground  away  until  his 
eyes  are  suited.  The  pebble  is  cut  in  a  lathe,  by  a  wire-saw 
working  in  its  own  dust,  into  a  round  shape  Avitli  plane  edges. 
When  worn,  the  rim  rests  upon  the  cheek-bones;  the  frame 
has  a  hinge  between  the  glasses,  and  the  machine  is  sometimes 
kept  on  the  ears  b}'  loops  or  weights.  Foreign-shaped  specta- 
cles are  supplanting  these  primitive  optics,  but  the  prejudice  is 
still  in  favor  of  crystal.  The  cutting  of  diamonds  is  sometimes 
attempted,  but  it  is  not  a  favorite  gem  among  the  Chinese. 
Diamonds  and  corundums  are  both  employed  to  drill  holes  in 
clamping  and  mending  broken  glass  and  porcelain  ;  tumblers, 
jars,  etc.,  are  joined  so  securelj''  in  this  way  without  cement  as 
to  hold  fluids.  Both  these  gems  are  used  to  cut  glass,  but 
another  mode,  not  unconnnon,  is  to  grease  the  place  to  be 
fractured,  and  slowly  follow  the  line  along  by  a  lighted  joss- 
stick  until  it  breaks. 

Sir  John  Davis  condensed  all  the  important  information 
known  half  a  centur}'  ago  concerning  the  materials  and  manu- 
facture of  porcelain  in  his  valuable  work,  but  great  advance  has 
since  been  made  in  a  better  understanding  of  this  branch  of 
Chinese  industry.  The  wordj)o?'ccla/'}i  is  derived  h'on\  p<»\'el- 
lana,  which  was  given  to  the  ware  by  the  Portuguese  under  the 
belief  that  it  was  made  from  the  fusion  of  egg-shells  and  fish's 
glue  and  scales  to  reseml)le  the  nacre  of  sea-shells  (Cypr?ea)  or 
porcellana.  This  instance  of  oft-hand  nomenclature  is  like 
that  of  the  Chinese  calling  ca,outchouc  elephmifs  skin  horn  its 
appearance. 

M.  Julien's  translation  of  the  Klmj-teh  chin  Tun  Luh  (Paris, 
1856)  furnishes  the  native  accounts  of  the  porcelain  manufac- 
tures at  Kingteh   chin,   in    Kiangsi,   and  adds  so  nmch  from 


MATERIALS    AXD    M ANrKACTUIlE   OF    I'OIICKLAIX.        23 

other  sources  that  his  work  is  a  veritable  classic  in  its  special 
branch.  He  places  the  invention  of  porcelain  between  b.c.  185 
and  A.D,  85,  and  opening  the  first  kiln,  at  Sinping  (not  far 
from  the  present  centre  of  llonan  province),  nnder  the  reign  of 
Changti  of  the  Eastern  Ilan  dynasty.  From  this  the  manu- 
facture gradually  extended  as  raw  materials  were  found  in 
other  localities,  especially  in  Fauliang,  on  the  eastern  shores  of 
the  Poyang  Lake,  where  the  best  ware  is  still  made.  A  second 
preface  to  this  work,  written  by  M.  Salvetat,  of  the  manufac- 
tory at  Sevres,  gives  the  details  of  the  introduction  of  the  art 
into  Europe  about  1722,  and  the  subsequent  improvement  to 
the  time  when  European  Avares  far  exceeded  the  Chinese  or 
Japanese  for  beauty.  During  the  dreadful  ravages  of  the  Tai- 
ping  rebellion  the  manufactories  at  Kingteh  were  all  stopped. 

A  very  brief  epitome  of  M.  Salvetat's  paper  will  indicate  the 
ingredients  of  porcelain  and  their  manipulation :  Two  sub- 
stances enter  into  all  kinds  of  this  ware ;  one  a  strong,  infusible 
material  which  endures  great  heat,  and  the  other,  fusible  at  a 
low  temperature,  which  communicates  its  transparency  to  the 
other  as  they  together  pass  through  the  furnace.  The  first 
of  these  is  called  Ixiolin,  fi-om  the  name  of  a  range  of  hills  east 
of  Kingteh  chin,  known  as  Kao  Lituj  or  '  High  Ridge,'  a  word 
that  has  been  adopted  in  Europe  as  a  term  for  all  varieties  of 
the  argillaceous  or  feldspathic  components  of  porcelain.  The 
other  is  known  as  jx'h-tun-tss'',  a  Chinese  term  properly  applied 
to  the  bricks  of  prepared  silex,  called  tun,  but  now  generally 
adopted  to  denote  the  fusible  element.  The  discovery  near 
Taochau  fu  of  both  of  these  in  great  purity  led  to  the  establish- 
ment of  the  kilns  there  in  a.d.  583 ;  and  Chinese  artists  dis- 
criminate many  varieties  of  each.  It  is  apparently  only  since 
A.D.  1000,  or  thereabouts,  that  these  kilns  have  produced  the 
choice  pieces  now^  so  highly  prized. 

The  kaolin  comes  from  decomposed  granite,  and  is  reduced 
by  trituration  and  several  washings  to  an  impalpable  powder ; 
this  last  precipitate  is  put  on  cloths,  one  above  another,  and 
dried  under  slight  pressure  to  a  uniform  paste  ready  for  the 
furnace.  The  a^ka?- oi  j>eh-Ui n-Uz'  are  prepared  in  a  similar  man- 
ner ;  other  workmen  mix  the  clay  and  the  quartz— the  bones 


24  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

and  the  flesh,  as  thej  are  aptly  called  bv  the  Chinese  — in  such 
proportions  as  the  ware  requires.  In  general,  Chinese  porce- 
lain is  more  silicious  than  European,  containing  70  parts  of  silex, 
22  of  alumine,  G  of  potash  and  soda,  with  traces  of  lime,  man- 
ganese, magnesia,  and  iron.  Sevres  ware  has  58  silex,  34^  alu- 
mine, 3  alkali,  and  4^  lime  ;  as  the  feldspar  decreases  the  beauty 
of  the  ware  diminishes,  but  its  durability  and  usefulness  increase. 

To  make  ready  the  paste  for  the  furnace,  the  Ijricks  of  both 
ingredients  are  trodden  in  a  large  basin  by  buffaloes  or  men  till 
they  are  well  mixed  into  a  watery  mass,  which  is  then  worked 
and  kneaded  again  on  slate  slabs  in  small  pieces  till  it  is  deliv- 
ered into  the  hands  of  workmen  to  be  fashioned  on  lathes  and 
frames  into  the  desired  forms  and  sizes.  These  craftsmen  work 
with  very  simple  machinery,  as  is  apparent  from  the  rude  draw- 
ings of  their  operations.  M.  Salvetat  gives  high  praise  to  their 
skill  in  producing  large  jars  without  the  aid  of  the  machinery 
used  in  Europe,  and  indicates  the  great  use  they  make  of  their 
feet  in  these  operations  — a  feature  of  all  Asiatic  artisans  which 
attracts  the  traveller's  notice  wherever  he  goes.  Some  of  their 
procedures  are  inferior  and  ruder  than  the  Japanese  potters  ex- 
hibit, but  space  does  not  allow  them  to  be  described  in  this 
sketch. 

The  glazing  on  Chinese  ware  contains  silex  mixed  with  lime 
and  the  ashes  of  burnt  ferns,  in  such  proportions  as  are  found 
suitable  for  the  diiferent  varieties.  During  the  mixing  of  these 
ingredients  the  ashes  are  mostly  eliminated,  and  the  glazing 
really  consists  of  quartz  flexed  by  carbonate  of  lime.  The  liquid 
glaze  is  applied  to  the  biscuit  by  dipping,  by  aspersion,  and  by 
washing,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  ware ;  sometimes  it  is 
blown  through  a  tube  in  a  dewy  shower  oft  repeated. 

When  ready  for  the  furnace,  the  pieces  are  carried  to  work, 
men  specially  skilled  in  properly  firing  them,  where  the  differ- 
ent sizes  are  placed  in  ovens  particularly  fitted  to  bake  each 
kind.  Large  jars  require  a  separate  oven  so  as  to  adapt  the  fire 
to  their  size  and  thickness,  continuing  it  at  a  uniform  blast  for 
several  days.  Cups  and  small  pieces  are  baked  one  on  top  of 
another  in  smaller  ovens,  some  of  which  are  open  and  others 
closed.     Coal  and  wood  are  both  used  for  fuel.     The  pieces  are 


STYLES    AND    MATERIALS    OF   PORCELAIN   DECORATION.    2.1 

taken  from  the  furnaces  when  successfully  baked,  to  be  decor- 
ated and  colored  in  all  the  various  hues  and  pictures  which  have 
made  Chinese  porcelain  so  much  sought  after.  Some  of  their 
ground  colors  of  red,  yellow,  and  green  have  not  been  equalled 
elsewhere ;  a  careful  analysis  indicates  the  presence  of  the 
oxides  of  copper,  cobalt,  iron,  lead,  antimony,  and  manganese. 
Some  of  the  rarest  and  most  beautiful  tints  seem  to  have  been 
the  result  of  happy  experiment,  the  knowledge  of  which  died 
with  its  manufacture.  It  is  not  often  that  the  Chinese  artist 
adorns  his  plaque  or  jar  with  mythological  or  religious  charac- 
ters, preferring  to  let  his  fancy  run  riot  in  grotesque  combi- 
nations of  natural  scenes,  amid  which,  however,  the  unerring 
instinct  or  tlie  accumulated  experience  of  many  successive  gen- 
erations seldom  permit  him  to  wander  from  a  truly  artistic 
conception.  The  amount  of  labor  devoted  to  some  minute 
treasure  of  porcelain  decoration  is  little  short  of  fabulous.  Mr. 
Matthew  x\rnold"s  picture  of  the  "cunning  workman"  who 

Pricks  with  vermilion  some  clear  porcelain  vase, 
An  emperor's  gift — at  early  morn  lie  paints, 
And  all  day  long,  and  when  night  comes,  the  lamp 
Lights  up  his  studious  forehead  and  thin  hands, 

could  probably  be  seen  scores  of  times  in  the  humbler  quarters 
of  great  cities  in  China. 

Their  ignorance  of  analytical  chemistry  compels  them  to  fol- 
low a  rule  of  thumb  in  the  composition  of  their  colors ;  but 
generally  they  use  oxide  of  copper  for  green  and  bluish  greens, 
gold  for  reds,  oxide  of  cobalt  for  blues,  of  antimony  for  yellows, 
and  of  arsenic  and  tin  for  whites.  The  preparation  and  appli- 
cation of  these  materials  admit  of  less  scope  and  beauty  than 
are  found  on  the  finest  European  ware,  and  their  result  is  more 
like  enamelling  than  painting.  M.  Salvetat  admits  that  the 
Chinese  potter  has  excelled  in  producing  craqii^ele  ware,  and 
cei'tain  hues,  as  sea-green,  deep  rosedon  reds,  and  brilliant  blues, 
which  have  not  been  equalled  in  Europe. 

One  elegant  mode  of  ornament  peculiar  to  them  is  seen  in  the 
tao-mhi(j  ts3'-Vi,  lit.,  'clear,  bright  porcelain,'  called  eyelet-hole 
ware  or  grains  of  rice,  made  in  the  reign  Kienlung.     The  paste 


36  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

is  cut  throiigli  by  a  kind  of  stamp  wliich  takes  out  enougii  to 
form  tlie  figui'c,  in  which  the  glaze  is  inserted  before  the  piece 
is  tinally  joined  and  ready  for  the  kihi.  When  tired  the  glaze 
becomes  transparent ;  different  patterns  are  frequently  painted 
on  the  two  surfaces,  in  wliich  advantage  is  taken  of  the  eyelet- 
holes  to  adapt  them  to  two  sets  of  iigures.  An  instance  of 
mechanical  skill  is  occasionally  seen  in  their  articulated  vases,  in 
which  one  jar  is  baked  inside  of  another,  the  outer  one  being 
perforated  so  as  to  show  off  the  object  within;  the  baking  of 
such  pieces  must  be  very  difficult  and  uncertain. 

The  ware  sold  at  Canton  for  foreign  use  is  painted  in  that 
city  to  suit  the  caprice  of  purchasers,  and  during  the  present 
century  has  become  identified  abroad  witli  Chinese  art,  wdiile  it 
is  really  a  combination  of  two  or  three  styles.  Its  peculiarity 
consists  in  covering  the  dish  with  medallions  and  vignettes  in 
bright  colors,  containing  figures  of  heroes,  arms,  birds,  etc.,  or 
scenes  oti  a  colored  or  white  ground.  Such  ware  is  not  com- 
monly nsed  by  the  Chinese,  but  its  manufacture  is  unhappily 
beginning  to  affect  their  national  taste.  This  style  is  quite  dif- 
ferent from  the  well-known  blue  willow  pattern  which  has  long 
been  regarded  as  the  real  CdeHtlal  ware.  This  color  does  mark 
the  common  pottery  and  stoneware  used  all  over  the  Empire 
by  the  poor,  but  the  pattern  is  not  so  common. 

It  is  not  possible  to  enter  here  into  all  the  niceties  of  this 
subject,  which  is  now  attracting  great  attention,  and  has  been 
examined  by  Jacqnemart,  Prime,  Young,  and  many  others. 
Further  researches  into  native  and  foreign  books  and  collections 
will  bring  out  new  facts,  legends,  and  specimens,  while  we  may 
look  for  rare  old  pieces,  as  has  been  the  case  with  the  discovery 
of  the  small  perfume  bottles  in  Egypt,  as  soon  as  full  liberty  is 
given  over  all  Asia  to  seek  and  dig. 

Besides  table  furniture,  porcelain  statuettes  and  idols  are 
common,  and  vases  often  bring  extravagant  prices,  owing  to 
some  quality  of  fineness,  coloring,  antiquity,  or  shape,  which 
native  connoisseurs  can  only  appreciate.  The  god  of  porcelain 
liimself  is  usually  made  of  this  material.  D'Entrecolles,  in  his 
account  of  the  manufacture  of  the  ware,  says  that  this  deity 
owes  his  divinity  to  his  self-innnolation  in  one  of  the  furnaces. 


CHINESE   BOTTLES    DISCO V EKED    IN    EGYPT.  27 

in  utter  despair  at  being  able  to  accomplish  the  Emperor's  or~ 
ders  for  the  production  of  some  vases  of  peculiar  fineness ;  the 
pieces  which  came  out  of  the  furnace  after  the  wretch  was 
burned  pleased  his  Majesty  so  much  that  he  deified  him.  Cheap 
stoneware  is  made  at  Shaukinii;,  in  Kwangtung,  and  many  other 
places,  some  of  it  very  pure  and  white. 

The  exportation  of  })orcelain  has  formed  a  ver}^  ancient 
branch  of  commerce  westward,  and  it  is  not  strange  that  speci- 
mens should  occasionally  be  met  with  even  at  a  great  distance 
from  China.  The  discovery  of  Chinese  bottles  in  Egypt  and 
Asia  Minor,  containing  quotations  from  Chinese  poets,  shows 
'that  intercourse  existed  between  the  extremes  of  Asia  in  the 
tenth  or  eleventh  centuries.  Rosellini  seems  to  have  been  the 
earliest  to  notice  these  relics  of  an  ancient  trade,  during  his  re- 
searches in  Egypt  in  1828,  when  he  obtained  two  or  three.  In 
a  letter  written  in  reply  to  one  from  Sir  J.  F.  Davis,  he  states 
that  he  found  one  of  these  little  bottles  in  a  "  petit  panier  tissn 
de  feuilles  de  palmier,"  with  other  objects  of  Egyptian  manu- 
facture, in  a  tomb,  whose  date  he  places  between  b.c.  1800  and 
1100.  His  words  are,  "  Ayant  penetre  dans  un  de  ces  trois 
tombeaux  j'y  ai  trouve,"  etc.,  which  is  as  explicit  as  possible.  He 
also  adds,  that  many  fragments  of  similar  bottles  had  been  of- 
fered to  liim  by  the  peasants,  which  he  had  looked  upon  as 
quite  modern  till  this  discovery  showed  that  they  were  real 
antiques. 

Since  then,  several  more  have  been  picked  up ;  Dr.  Abbott's 
Egyptian  collection  in  Kew  York  contains  seventeen,  all  of 
which  came  from  Egypt,  but  none,  besides  llosellini's,  out  of  a 
tomb  directly  into  the  hands  of  an  Egyptologist.  Layard  and 
Cesnola  bought  similar  bottles  in  Cj'prus  and  Arban.  However, 
one  well-authenticated  fact,  like  that  of  llosellini's  discovery, 
gives  some  evidence  of  a  similar  ancient  origin  to  others  pre- 
cisely like  it  in  shape,  coloring,  and  inscriptions,  for  the  trade 
between  Arabia  and  Egypt  to  China  has  long  since  ceased ;  but 
as  fifty  years  have  passed  without  another  bottle  occuri'ing  in 
any  of  the  numerous  tombs  opened  by  careful  and  competent 
persons,  one  is  inclined  to  think  that  Ttosellini's  tomb  may  have 
been  twice  used  to  bury  mummies  in,  or  that  he  mistook  its  age. 


28  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

The  inscriptions  ;inJ  style  of  writing  of  five  different  kinds 
have  been  engraved,  and  Sir  Walter  H.  Medhnrst  gives  a  trans- 
lation of  each,  tracing  the  lines  to  their  original  authors.  One 
of  them  is  from  AV' ang  Wai  (a.d.  702-745),  and  reads,  JSLlng 
yueh  sung  chung  chao,  '  The  bright  moon  shines  amidst  the 
firs.'  A  second  i-eads,  Chlh  isai  Uz'  shan  chung,  '  Only  in  the 
midst  of  these  mountains,'  and  it  dates  a.d.  831-837.  A  third 
is  contracted  from  a  line  b}^  Wei  Ying-wuh  (a.d.  702-795), 
being  part  of  a  stanza  of  eight  lines,  as  follows:  IIivo  lal  ijta 
yih  nien,  '  The  flowers  open,  and  lo,  another  year  ! '  A  fourth 
dates  from  a.d.  1068-1085,  and  is  from  the  famous  poet  Su 
Tung-po :  Hang  hioa  hung  sJiih  11,  'The  apricot  flowers  bloom 
for  miles  around ; '  this  is  abridged  from  a  distich  in  penta- 
meter as  follows : 

One  mass  of  color,  the  apricot  flowers  bloom  for  miles  around  ; 

The  successful  graduate  urges  on  his  steed  as  if  flying.  . 

Sir  John  Davis  ascribes  this  inscription  to  a  Chinese  song 
written  prior  to  the  Christian  eia,  but  gives  no  proof  of  so  early  a 
date,  and  he  is  probably  in  error.  The  fifth  inscription  is  of  the 
same  date  as  the  last ;  it  forms  part  of  a  quatrain  by  Chao  Yung, 
and  reads,  Liao  teh  shaojhi  eld, '  Which  few,  I  ween,  can  compre- 
hend.' In  Prime's  work  on  pottery  he  has  given  fac-similes 
of  five  bottles  whose  inscriptions  are  the  same  as  those  explained 
by  Medhnrst ;  his  No.  142  and  Xo.  14G  is  the  second  in  this 
list ;  his  Xo.  143  is  the  first ;  his  144  is  the  third  ;  and  his  145 
is  the  fifth  and  is  different  in  shape  from  the  others.  The  char- 
acters on  the  one  found  at  Arban  by  Layard  are  wi'itten  in  a 
very  cursive  style.' 

The  age  and  origin  of  these  bottles  lias  excited  much  inquiry, 
l)ut  the  weight  of  evidence  points  to  their  having  been  taken  to 
Egypt  and  Arabia  by  the  Arabs  who  traded  at  Canton  and 
Ilangchau  down  to  the  end  of  the  Sung  dynasty  in  1278.  They 
were,  as  AVilkinson  suggests  in  his  Ancient  Kgijpthin^,  prob- 
ably used  by  the  purchasers  to  hold  Void,  to  paint  the  eyes  and 

'  Davis'  Sketches,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  72-84.  Medhurst's  Ohinn,  p.  135.  Julien's  His- 
toire  de  la  Porcelain  Ohinow',  pp.  xi-xxii.  Prime's  Pottery  and  Porcelain^ 
p.  232.     N.  G.  Br.  R.  A.  S.  Tranmctions,  1852,  pp.  34-40 ;  1854,  p.  93. 


INSCRIPTIONS    UPON   THE   BOTTLES.  2l3 

eyelids  of  women ;  their  original  use  was  probably  to  liokl  pep- 
permint and  other  oils,  bandoline  and  tooth-powders,  though 
snuff  is  now  generally  carried  in  them,  as  glass  bottles  contain 
the  essences  and  oils  seen  in  shops.  The  uniformity  in  size,  shape, 
coloring,  and  decoration  in  these  bottles  indicates  that  the 
trade  was  rather  confined  to  one  port  in  China,  for  at  present  a 
vast  variety  in  all  these  particulars  would  be  seen,  as  I  ascer- 
tained some  years  ago  at  Canton  when  unsuccessfully  looking 
in  the  shops  for  some  having  inscriptions  like  those  discovered 
in  Egypt.  Mr.  Fortune  found  one  having  the  same  inscription 
as  Xo.  2,  and  Sir  Harry  Pai-kes  came  across  three  others,  but 
their  rarity  now  proves  the  change ;  and  these  were  probably 
real  antiques.  The  latter  found  two  other  inscriptions  on  similar 
bottles  in  China,  whose  authors  lived  a.d.  584  and  later;  and 
argues  against  their  high  antiquity  from  the  metre  having  been 
introduced  in  later  times.  The  strongest  proof  of  their  modern 
origin  is  the  material  and  the  date  of  the  style  of  writing,  neither 
of  which  could  have  been  prior  to  the  Han  dynasty  if  Chinese 
records  are  Avorth  anything ;  such  simple  lines  as  these  five 
could  indeed  have  been  handed  down  and  adopted  by  later 
poets  from  lost  authors,  but  this  possibility  weighs  nothing 
against  the  others.  The  more  antiquarian  researches  extend 
in  Asia,  however,  the  more  shall  we  find  that  the  books  and 
inscriptions  now  extant  do  not  contain  the  earliest  dates  of  in- 
ventions and  travels. 

The  cheap  pottery  of  the  Chinese  resembles  the  Egyptian 
ware  in  color  and  brittleness,  but  is  less  porous  when  unglazed. 
Tea-kettles,  pans,  plates,  teapots,  and  articles  of  household  use, 
bathing-tubs,  immense  jars,  comparable  to  hogsheads,  for  liold- 
ing  water,  fancy  images,  statuettes,  figurines,  toys,  flower-pot >, 
and  a  thousand  other  articles  are  everywhere  burned  from  clay 
and  sold  at  extremely  low  prices.  The  jars  are  used  in  shops 
to  contain  liquids,  powders,  etc. ;  in  gardens  to  keep  fish,  collect 
rain,  and  receive  manure  and  offal ;  and  in  boats  and  houses  for 
the  same  purposes  that  barrels,  ])ails,  and  pans  are  put  to  else- 
where. "Water  will  boil  sooner  and  a  dish  of  vegetables  be 
cooked  more  expeditiously  in  one  of  these  earthen  pots  than  in 
metal ;  the  caloric  seems  to  permeate  the  clay  almost  as  soon  as 


30  THE    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

it  is  over  the  fire.  Druni-shaped  stools  and  garden  seats,  vitru- 
vian  ornaments  for  balustrades,  fanciful  llower-pots  in  the  shape 
of  buffaloes,  representing  the  animal  feeding  under  the  shade  of 
a  tree  growing  out  of  its  body,  lishes,  dragons,  phoinixes,  and 
other  objects  for  decorating  the  ridges  and  for  gargoyles  are 
manufactured  of  this  ware.  Flat  ligures  of  the  human  form 
are  set  into  frames  to  represent  groups  of  persons,  or  elegantly 
shaped  characters  are  arranged  into  sentences,  both  of  them  to 
put  on  the  walls  of  rooms,  making  altogether  a  great  variety  of 
purposes  to  which  this  material  is  applied. 

The  lacquered-ware  peculiar  to  China  and  Japan  owes  its 
histre  to  the  prepared  sap  of  a  kind  of  sumach  {IlJius  verniei- 
fera)  cultivated  in  both  countries  for  this  purpose.  AVood  oils 
are  obtained  from  other  plants,  such  as  the  C'urcas,  Augia, 
J^Jleococcus,  and  lihus  semi-alatus^  and  the  different  qualities  of 
lacquered-ware  are  owing  to  the  use  of  these  inferior  ingredients. 
The  real  varnish-tree  is  described  bv  De  Guiiiiies  as  resemblini»; 
the  ash  in  its  foliage  and  bark  ;  it  is  about  tif teen  feet  in  height, 
and  when  seven  j-ears  old  furnishes  the  sap,  which  is  carefully 
collected  in  the  summer  nights  from  incisions  cut  in  the  truidv. 
It  comes  to  market  in  tubs  holding  the  cakes,  and  those  who 
collect  it  are  careful  to  cover  their  faces  and  hands  from  contact 
with  this  irritating  juice  as  they  prepare  it  for  market.  A  good 
yield  of  a  thousand  ti-ees  in  one  night  would  be  twenty  pounds 
avoirdupois  weight  of  sap.  The  best  sort  is  tawny  rather  than 
white  in  its  inspissated  state,  and  is  kept  well  protected  from  the 
air  by  tarred  paper.  The  body  of  lacquered- ware  is  usually  seasoned 
pine,  well  smoothed,  and  the  grooves  covered  with  hempen  lint 
or  paper.  A  sizing  of  pig's  gall,  often  mixed  with  very  fine 
sand,  makes  a  priming.  The  prepared  lacquer  is  composed  of  the 
sap  dissolved  in  spring-water,  adding  ground-nut  oil,  pig's  gall, 
and  rice  vinegar  in  the  sunshine  with  broad  flat  brushes  till  it 
is  thoroughly  mixed. 

The  principal  object  in  preparing  the  wood  is  to  cover  it  with 
a  priming  that  wall  receive  the  lac(]uer  and  remain  impervious 
to  changes  in  temperature.  This  preparation  varies  a  good 
deal  according  to  the  quality  of  tlie  ware  ;  it  is  laid  on  evenly, 
coat  after  coat,  allowing  each  to  dry  before  the  next  is  spread. 


UlANUFACTUKE   OF    LACQUEKED-WARE.  81 

The  last  coating  is  rubbed  with  puiuice  or  the  finest  sandstone, 
finishing  this  priming  with  ;i  .smooth  piece  of  slate.  When 
ready  the  piece  is  taken  into  a  close  room  having  paper  lattices 
and  shut  out  from  any  air,  where  it  receives  a  coating  of  clear 
lacquer.  It  is  then  put  into  a  dark  room  to  dry.  The  opera- 
tion is  repeated  ten  or  fifteen  times  for  the  best  kinds.  Some 
workmen  are  so  sensitive  to  the  liquid  lacquer  that  they  can- 
not safely  do  this  part  of  the  manufacture ;  others  go  through 
all  the  processes  without  annoyance.  Coloring  matter  to  give 
the  lacquer  a  brown  hue,  or  to  make  an  imitation  of  ven- 
turuia  (or  aventui'lne^  a  brownish  glass  spangled  throughout 
with  copper  filings)  by  mixing  gold  leaf,  is  added  during  these 
operations. 

The  gilding  is  performed  by  another  set  of  workmen  in  a 
large  workshop.  The  figures  of  the  design  are  drawn  on  thick 
paper,  which  is  then  pricked  all  over  to  allow  the  powdered 
chalk  to  fall  on  the  table  and  form  the  outline.  Anotlier 
workman  completes  the  picture  by  cutting  the  lines  with  a  burin 
or  needle,  and  filling  them  with  vermilion  mixed  in  lacquer,  as 
tliick  as  needed.  This  afterward  is  covered  by  means  of  a  hair- 
pencil  with  gold  in  leaf,  or  in  powder  laid  on  with  a  dossil  ;  the 
gold  is  often  mixed  with  fine  lampblack.  The  proper  lacquer 
is  seldom  used  otherwise  than  in  making  this  ware.  The  Chi- 
nese term  for  UiU  includes  this  and  all  kinds  of  oils  and  paints, 
so  that  some  confusion  arises  in  describing  their  materials.'  A 
beautiful  fabric  of  lacquered- ware  is  made  by  inlaying  the  nacre 
of  fresh  and  salt-water  shells  in  a  rough  mosaic  of  fiowers,  ani- 
mals, etc.,  into  the  composition,  and  then  varnishing  it.  Another 
highly  prized  kind  is  made  by  covering  the  wood  with  a  coat- 
ing of  fine  powdered  cinnabar  and  varnish  three  or  four  lines 
in  thickness,  and  then  carving  figures  upon  it  in  relief.  The 
great  labor  necessary  to  produce  this  ware  renders  it  expensive, 
and  it  is  not  now  produced. 

The  oils  obtained  from  the  nuts  of  other  trees  by  simple 
pressure  and  by  refining  them  afterward  are  quite  numerous. 


'  N.  Rondot,  Commerce  (le  la  Chine,  p.  120 ;  Journal  Asuttique,  IV.  Series, 
Tome  XI.,  184y,  pp.  34-05  ;  Clduene  Commercial  Cruidc,  5th  Ed.,  p.  134. 


32  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOSI. 

The  details  of  their  manufacture  and  application  may  yet  fur- 
nish  many  new  hints  and  processes  to  western  arts.  The  oil 
of  the  Eleococcus,  after  pressing  (according  to  De  Guignes),  is 
boiled  with  Spanish  white  in  the  proportion  of  one  ounce  to  half 
a  pound  of  oil ;  as  it  begins  to  thicken  it  is  taken  off  and  poured 
into  close  vessels.  It  dissolves  in  turpentine  and  is  used  as  a 
varnish,  either  clear  or  mixed  with  different  colors ;  it  defends 
woodwork  from  injury  for  a  long  time,  and  forms  a  good  paint- 
er's oil.  Boiled  with  iron  rust  it  forms  a  reddish  brown  var- 
nish. In  order  to  prevent  its  penetrating  into  the  wood  when 
used  clear,  and  to  increase  the  lustre,  a  priming  of  lime  and 
hog's  blood  simmered  together  into  a  paste  is  previously  laid  on. 

The  manufacture  of  silk  is  original  among  the  Chinese,  as 
well  as  those  of  porcelain  and  lacquered-ware,  and  in  none  of 
these  have  foreigners  yet  succeeded  in  fully  equalling  the  na- 
tive products.  The  notices  of  the  cultivation  of  the  nmlberry 
and  the  rearing  of  silk-worms  found  in  Chinese  works  have 
been  industriously  collected  and  published  by  M.  Julien  by 
order  of  the  French  government — another  instance  of  the 
intelligent  care  of  this  nation  to  aid  one  of  its  great  indus- 
tries. The  introduction  by  M.  Beauvais  indicates  certain  })oints 
worthy  of  the  notice  of  cultivators ;  it  has  been  remarked  that 
the  hints  thus  obtained  from  Julien's  translation  have  been  of 
more  value  to  the  peoj)le  employed  in  silk  culture  in  France 
than  all  that  has  been  paid  by  the  govei-nment  for  the  promo- 
tion of  Chinese  literature  from  their  first  outlay  in  tlie  last 
century. 

The  earliest  notice  in  the  SJuo  Kimj  of  silk  culture  occurs  in 
the  Yu  Kiing.  It  is  said  the  mulberry  grounds  were  made  fit 
for  silk-worms,  when  speaking  of  the  draining  of  Yen  Chau 
(parts  of  Shantung  and  Cliihli),  as  if  it  was  an  usual  culture  ; 
other  references  to  silk  in  the  same  book  show  it  to  have  been  a 
well-known  fabric  at  that  date  (n.c.  2204).  The  allusion,  there- 
fore, in  the  Book  of  Odes  to  silks  of  many  sorts  also  strengthen 
the  notice  in  the  Wei  li'i^  which  says  : 

Slling  shi,  the  Empress  of  Hwangtl,  began  to  rear  silk-worms : 
At  this  period  Hwangti  invented  the  art  of  making  clotliing. 


ORIGIN    AND    IMPOUTANCE   OP^   THE   SILK    INDUSTRY.      33 

This  legend  carries  tlie  art  back  to  u.r.  2600,  or  perhaps  five 
centuries  after  the  Deluge.  Siling  is  said  to  have  been  her 
birthplace,  and  Lui  Tsu  her  right  name  ;  she  was  deified  and  is 
still  worshipped  as  the  goddess  of  silk  under  the  name  of  Yuenf  i. 
In  this  act,  as  De  Guignes  observes,  the  Chinese  resemble  other 
ancient  nations  in  ascribing  the  invention  of  spinning  to  women, 
and  deifying  them ;  thus  the  Egj-ptian  Isis,  the  Ljdian  Arachne, 
and  the  Gi-ecian  Athene  also  handled  the  distaff.  A  temple 
called  the  Sten-tsaii  Tao  exists  in  the  palace  grounds  dedicated 
to  Yuenfi,  wherein  she  is  worshipped  annually  in  April  by  the 
Empress.  The  altar,  grounds,  sacrifices,  ritual,  and  buildings 
are  all  in  imitation  of  those  in  the  Temple  of  Agriculture,  of 
which  they  are  a  counterpart.  The  Book  of  Rites  contains  a 
notice  of  the  festival  held  in  honor  of  weaving,  which  corre- 
sponds to  that  of  ploughing  by  the  Emperor.  "  In  the  last  month 
of  spring  the  young  Empress  purified  herself  and  offered  a 
sacrifice  to  the  o:oddess  of  silk-worms.  She  went  into  the  east- 
ern  fields  and  collected  mulberry  leaves.  She  forbade  noble 
dames  and  the  ladies  of  statesmen  adorning  themselves,  and  ex- 
cused her  attendants  from  their  sewing  and  embroider}-,  in 
order  that  they  might  give  all  their  care  to  the  rearing  of  silk- 
worms." The  present  enclosure  was  put  up  by  Yungching  in 
17-12,  but  its  buildings  are  now  much  dilapidated. 

The  attention  of  the  Chinese  government  to  this  important 
branch  of  industry  has  been  unremitted,  and  at  this  day  it  sup- 
plies perhaps  one-half  of  all  the  gai'tnents  worn  by  the  people. 
In  the  paraphrase  to  the  fourth  maxim  of  the  Shing  Yu,  it  is 
remarked  :  "  In  ancient  times  emperors  ploughed  the  lands  and 
empresses  cultivated  the  mulberiy.  Though  the  most  honora- 
ble, they  did  not  disdain  to  toil  and  labor,  as  examples  to  the 
whole  Empire,  in  order  to  induce  all  the  people  to  seek  these 
essential  supports."  One-half  of  the  lllastrations  of  Agricul- 
ture and  Weaving  are  devoted  to  delineating  the  various  pro- 
cesses attending  this  manufacture ;  and  Julien  quotes  more 
than  twenty  works  and  authors  on  this  subject.  Among  other 
uses  to  which  this  material  is  put,  may  be  remembered,  in  the 
second  chapter  of  this  work,  the  burning  of  many  thousand 
pieces  of  plain,  coarse  silk  as  part  of  the  offerings  to  the  gods 
Vol.  II— 3 


34  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

at  Peking,  and  in  the  annual  sacrifices  before  the  tablets  of 
Confucius. ' 

AVhile  the  worms  are  growing,  care  is  taken  to  keep  them 
undisturbed  bj  either  noise  or  bright  light;  they  are  often 
changed  from  one  hurdle  to  another  that  they  may  have  roomy 
and  cleanly  places  ;  the  utmost  attention  is  paid  to  their  condition 
and  feeding,  and  noting  the  right  time  for  preparing  them  for 
spinning  cocoons.  Three  days  are  required  for  this,  and  in  six 
it  is  time  to  stifle  the  larvae  and  reel  the  silk  from  the  cocoons ; 
but  this  being  nsnally  done  by  other  workmen,  those  who  rear 
the  worms  enclose  the  cocoons  in  a  jar  buried  in  the  ground  and 
lined  with  mats  and  leaves,  interlaying  them  with  salt,  which 
kills  the  pnpfe  but  keeps  the  silk  supple,  strong,  and  lustrous ; 
preserved  in  this  manner,  they  can  be  transported  to  any  dis- 
tance, or  the  reeling  of  the  silk  can  be  delayed  until  convenient. 
Another  mode  of  destroying  the  cocoons  is  to  spread  them  on 
trays  and  expose  them  by  twos  to  the  steam  of  boiling  water, 
putting  the  upper  in  the  place  of  the  lower  one  according  to 
the  degree  of  heat  they  are  in,  taking  care  that  the  chrysalides 
are  killed  and  the  silk  not  injured.  After  exposure  to  steam  the 
silk  can  be  reeled  off  immediately,  but  if  placed  in  the  jars  they 
must  be  put  into  warm  water  to  dissolve  the  glue  before  the 
floss  can  be  unwound. 

The  commission  sent  from  France  to  China  in  1844  to  make 
inquiries  into  its  industries  consisted  of  skilled  men,  and  their 
reports  embody  a  great  amount  of  details  nowhere  else  to  be 
found.  The  digested  catalogue  of  the  exhibits  of  M.  Iledde  at 
St.  Etienne  in  1848  contains  four  hundred  and  flfty-three  ar- 
ticles relating  to  silk  and  mulberry  alone.  The  amount  of  silk 
goods  exported  has  never  regained  its  value  previous  to  1854,  in 
consequence  of  the  destruction  of  skilled  workmen  and  manufac- 
tories during  the  Tai-|)ing  rebellion,  and  raw  silk  still  forms  the 
bulk  of  the  export.  The  finest  silk  comes  from  Chehkiang 
province,  and  is  known  as  tsatli,,  tay-saam,  and  yuenhwa  in  com- 

'  Julien,  Culturer  des  Muriers,  1837  ;  Pauthier,  Chine  Moderne,  p.  21;  Hedde, 

Cat(tlo(pu'  (JcH  Prodvits  Serigenes,  1848,  pp.  100-287;  Chinese  Fepos/ton/,  Vol. 
XVIII,,  pp.  :K)8-;314  ;  Commercial  Guide,  5th  Ed.,  p.  136  ;  Mailla,  Ilistoire  de 
la  Chine,  Tome  I.,  p.  24  ;  Biot,  Tcheon-li,  passim,  1851. 


REARING    AND   TltKATMENT   OF   SILK- WORMS.  85 

merce ;  the  centre  of  the  culture  is  at  Ilii-chau,  a  pi-efecture  in 
the  northwest  of  that  province.  The  mulberry  grows  every- 
where, and  none  of  the  provinces  are  without  some  silk,  but 
Kwangtung,  Sz'chuen,  and  Chehkiang  furnish  the  best  and 
most. 

Great  attention  is  paid  in  Shantung,  Sz'chuen,  and  Kwei- 
chau  to  collecting  wild  silk  from  the  cocoons  of  worms  which 
feed  on  the  ailantus,  oak,  and  xanthoxylum.  The  insect  is  the 
Attacus  ei/nthia,  and  its  food  the  tender  leaves  of  the  ailantus 
and  Quercus  mongholica  in  Shantung,  where  great  quantities  of 
durable  silk  is  woven.  It  is  not  so  lustrous  as  that  produced  by 
the  bombyx-worm,  which  feeds  on  the  mulberry  leaf,  and  com- 
paratively little  is  exported.  The  proportion  of  manufactured 
silks  sent  abroad  is  less  now  than  it  was  fifty  years  ago,  but  the 
home  consumption  is  so  enormous  that  an  annual  export  to 
the  value  of  nearly  ninety  millions  of  dollars  has  little  effect 
on  the  prices.  In  1854  the  price  of  the  best  raw  silk  was 
about  $330  a  bale,  and  the  expoi-t  over  fifty-one  thousand  bales  ; 
in  1860,  the  sanie  sort  was  $550,  and  the  export  nearly  eighty 
thousand  bales  ;  this  increase  in  price  was  owing  chiefly  to  disease 
in  the  trees  in  Europe,  though  the  ravages  of  war  in  both 
Chehkiang  and  Kwangtung  had  destroyed  much  property  in 
this  branch. 

The  loom  in  China  is  worked  by  two  hands,  one  of  whom 
sits  on  the  top  of  the  frame,  where  he  pulls  the  treadles  and 
assists  in  changing  the  various  j^arts  of  the  machine.  The 
workmen  imitate  almost  any  pattern,  excelling  particularl}'  in 
crapes,  and  flowered  satins  and  damasks  for  oflficial  dresses. 
The  common  people  wear  pongee  and  senshaw,  which  they  fre- 
quently dye  in  gambler  to  a  dust  or  black  color ;  these  fabrics 
constitute  most  durable  garments.  Many  of  the  delicate  silk 
tissues  known  in  Europe  are  not  manufactured  by  the  Chinese, 
most  of  their  fabrics  being  heavy.  The  lo,  or  law,  is  a  beauti- 
ful article  like  grenadine  and  seldom  sent  abroad  ;  it  is  used 
for  summer  robes,  muscpiito  curtains,  festoons,  and  other  pur- 
poses. The  English  words  .satin,  .senshaw,  and  sill'  are  prob- 
ably derived  from  the  Chinese  terms  sz'-twan,  sien-sha,  and  sz\ 
intermediately  through  other  languages. 


36  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

The  skill  of  the  Chinese  in  embroidery  is  well  known,  and 
the  demand  for  such  work  to  adorn  the  dresses  of  officers 
and  ladies  of  every  rank,  for  ornamenting  purses,  shoes,  caps, 
fans,  and  other  appendages  of  the  dress  of  both  sexes,  and  in 
working  shawls,  table  covers,  etc.,  for  exportation,  furnishes 
employment  to  myriads  of  men  and  women.  The  fj'ame  is 
placed  on  pivots  and  the  pattern  marked  out  upon  the  plain 
surface.  There  are  many  styles,  with  thread,  braid,  or  floss, 
and  an  infinite  variety  in  the  quality,  pattern,  and  beauty  of  the 
work ;  it  is  the  art  of  Chinese  women,  and  every  young  lady  is 
expected  to  know  how  to  do  it.  (3n  fire  screens  the  design  ap- 
pears the  same  on  both  sides,  the  ends  of  the  threads  being 
neatly  concealed.  This  mode  of  embroidery  seems  also  to  have 
been  known  among  the  Hebrews,  from  the  expression  in  De- 
borah's song  (Judges  V.  30),  "Of  divers  colors  of  needle-work 
on  both  sides,"  which  Sisera's  mother  vainly  looked  for  him  to 
bring  home  as  spoil  for  her.  Books  are  prepared  for  emljroid- 
erers  containing  patterns  for  their  imitation  or  combination. 
The  silk  used  is  of  the  finest  kind  and  colqr,  gold  and  silver 
thread  being  introduced  to  impart  a  lusti'e  to  the  figures  on 
caps,  purses,  and  shoes.  Tassels  and  twisted  cords  for  sedans 
or  lanterns,  knobs  or  buttons  worn  on  the  winter  caps,  and  ele- 
gant fan  and  pipe-cases,  purses  or  fobs,  constitute  only  a  few 
of  the  products  of  their  needles.  Spangles  are  made  from 
brass  leaves  by  cutting  out  a  small  ring  by  means  of  a  double- 
edged  stamp,  which  at  one  drive  detaches  from  the  sheet  a 
wheel-shaped  circle ;  these  are  flattened  by  a  single  stroke  of 
the  hammer  upon  an  anvil,  leaving  a  minute  hole  in  the  centre. 
Another  way  of  making  them  is  to  bend  a  copper  wire  into  a 
circle  and  flatten  it.  Their  own  needles  are  very  slender,  and 
are  rapidl}'  giving  way  to  the  foreign  article ;  in  sewing  the 
tailor  holds  it  between  the  forefinger  and  thumb,  pressing 
against  the  thimble  on  the  thumb  as  he  pushes  it  into  the  cloth. 

Our  ascertaining  the  date  of  the  introdnctioii  of  cotton  as  a 
textile  plant  into  China  depends  very  nmch  on  the  meaning  of 
certain  words  rendered  eofton.  by  some  amiotators  in  the  Slia 
King.  The  weight  of  proof  is,  however,  strongly  adverse  to 
this  view ;  but  a  historical  notice  dated  about  a.d.  500  plainly 


COTTON-GROWING    AND    MANUFACTURE.  37 

refers  to  cotton  robes ;  in  a.d.  G70  it  was  called  by  a  foreign 
name  kih-pei,  a  contracted  foi"m  of  the  Sanscrit  name  harjya-n. 
The  present  name  of  nuen-hwa^  or  '  cotton  Hower,'  was  natu- 
rally given  to  it  from  the  resemblance  of  its  seed  envelope  to 
the  silky  covering  of  the  seeds  of  the  muh-iriien  shu^  or  tree 
cotton  {Boniba.i'),  common  in  Southern  China.  It  was,  how- 
ever, one  thing  to  admire  cotton  cloth  brought  as  tribute,  and 
quite  another  to  introduce  cotton-growing  into  China,  which 
does  not  seem  to  have  been  attempted  until  the  Sung  dynasty. 
Early  in  the  eleventh  century  the  plant  was  brought  over  and 
cultivated  in  the  northwestern  provinces  by  persons  from 
Khoten,  where  it  M'as  grown.  If  this  tardy  adoption  seems 
difficult  to  explain,  the  still  slower  introduction  of  silk-growing 
(in  A.D.  550)  into  Asia  Minor  from  Cliina,  twelve  centuries 
after  her  fabrics  had  been  seen  there,  is  more  surprising.  The 
opposition  to  cotton  cultivation  on  the  part  of  silk  and  hemp 
growers  was  so  persistent  that  the  plant  had  not  fairly  won  its 
way  into  favor  until  the  Yuen  dynasty  ;  and  this  was  owing  to 
a  public-spirited  woman,  Lady  Hwang,  who  distributed  seeds 
throughout  Kiangnan,  now  the  great  cotton  region. 

The  duvable  cotton  cloth  made  in  the  central  provinces, 
called  nankeen  by  foreigners,  because  Kanking  is  famous  for 
its  manufacture,  is  the  chief  produce  of  Chinese  looms.  It  is 
now  seldom  sent  out  of  the  country,  and  the  natives  are  even 
taking  to  the  foreign  fabric  in  its  stead.  Cotton  seed  in  that 
part  of  China  is  sown  early  in  June,  about  eighty  pounds  to  an 
acre ;  in  a  good  year  the  produce  is  about  two  tliousand  pounds, 
diminishing  to  one-half  in  poor  seasons.  It  is  manured  with 
liquid  bean-cake,  often  hoed,  and  the  bolls  gathered  in  October, 
usually  by  each  family  in  its  own  plot.  The  seeds  are  sepa- 
rated by  passing  the  pods  between  an  iron  and  wooden  roller 
on  a  frame,  which  presses  out  the  seeds  and  does  not  break 
them.  The  cleaned  cotton  is  then  bowed  ready  for  spinning, 
and  the  cloth  is  woven  in  sinq^le  looms  by  the  people  who  are 
to  wear  it  after  it  is  dyed  blue.  The  looms  used  in  weaving 
cotton  vary  from  twelve  to  sixteen  inches  in  M'idth  ;  they  are  sim- 
ple in  their  construction  ;  no  figures  are  woven  in  cotton  fabrics, 
nor  have  the  Chinese  learned  to  print  them  as  chintz  or  calico. 


38 


THE  MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 


Whether  the  varied  articles  from  the  west  now  brought  intc 
close  competition  with  this  primitive  Chinese  manufacture  will 
finally  captivate  the  consumer's  choice,  and  neutralize  its  pro- 
duction, depends  chiefly  on  what  can  be  substituted  therefor.  At 
present,  such  is  the  extent  of  the  native  crop  that  prices  would 
not  probably  advance  ten  per  cent,  if  the  whole  foreign  importa- 
tion of  raw  and  manufactured  cotton  should  suddenly  stop.  The 
only  attempt  to  estimate  the  product  has  been  in  Kiangnan,  at 


The  Cobbler  and  his  Movable  Workshop. 

twenty-eight  thousand  five  hundred  tons,  a  figure  below  rather 
than  above  the  truth." 

Leather  is  used  to  protect  the  felt  soles  of  shoes  and  make 
saddles,  bridles,  quivers,  harness,  etc.,  but  the  entire  consump- 
tion is  small,  and  the  leather  extremely  poor.  Buffalo  and 
horse-hides  are  tanned  for  sole  leather,  and  calf-skin  for  upper 
leather  to  supply  shoes  for  foreigners  at  the  ports.  Alum,  salt- 
petre, gandjicr,  and  urine  are  the  tanning  materials  employed, 
and  the  rapid  manner  in  which  the  process  is  completed  renders 
the  leather  both  porous  and  tender. 

Cobblers  go  about  the  streets  plying  their  trade,  provided 

'  Journal  N.  G.  Dr.  li.  A.  8.  (1859);  Ghinese  Repository,  XVIII.,  pp.  449- 
469;  N.  Rondot,  Counnnre  de  In  Oliiiie,  1849,  p.  72;  Fortune,  Wander iiKja, 
Chap.  XIV.  (18.47)  ;  Grosier,  Ilidolrc  dc  la  Chine,  Toiiiu  111.,  pp.  193-204. 


LKATIIEK   AND    WOOLLEN    FABRICS.  39 

M'itli  a  few  bits  of  nankeen,  silk,  and  yellowish  sole  leather  with 
which  to  patch  their  customers'  shoes.  It  is  no  small  conveni- 
ence to  a  man,  as  he  passes  along  the  street,  to  give  his  old  shoe 
to  a  cobbler  and  his  ragged  jacket  to  a  seamstress,  while  he 
calls  the  barber  to  shave  him  as  he  waits  for  them  ;  and  such  a 
trio  at  work  for  a  man  is  not  an  unconnnon  sight. 

The  chief  woollen  fabrics  produced  are  felts  of  different  qual- 
ities and  rngs  or  carpets  woven  from  coarse  camel's-hair  yarn. 
Tanned  sheep-skins  furnish  the  laboring  poor  in  the  northern 
provinces  with  clothing,  and  elsewhere  felt  supplies  them  with 
material  for  shoes,  hats,  and  carpets.  The  fulling  process  is 
not  very  thoroughly  done,  and  the  fabric  soon  disintegrates 
unless  protected  by  matting  or  cotton.  The  consumption  of  the 
good  qualities  for  hats  is  large  among  out-door  workmen,  who 
prefer  the  doubled  kind  made  in  the  shape  of  a  hollow  cycloid, 
so  that  it  can  be  turned  inside  out.  Camel's-hair  rugs  supply 
a  durable  and  cheap  covering  for  the  brick  divans  and  tiled 
floors  in  the  colder  districts,  but  the  thick  soles  of  Chinese  shoes 
obviate  the  need  of  additional  protection  to  the  feet.  Some  of 
these  rugs  are  fine  specimens  of  art  in  their  arrangement  of  pat- 
terns and  figures  in  colored  woollen  yarns,  though  far  inferior 
to  the  Persian.  Pretty  rugs  are  also  made  of  dog,  deer,  and  fox- 
skins  sewed  together  in  a  kind  of  mosaic.  Knitting  and  orna- 
mental works  in  wool  are  unknown,  since  the  far  more  elegant 
and  durable  embroidery  in  silk  takes  the  place  of  these  as  fancy 
work  amone;  dames  of  hio-h  and  low  deiiiee. 

o  C*  O 

The  subject  of  tea  culture  and  the  preparation  of  its  leaf 
have  engaged  the  attention  of  writers  among  the  Chinese  and 
Japanese ;  while  its  effects  on  the  human  system  as  a  beverage 
have  been  discussed  most  carefully  by  eminent  western  chem- 
ists and  pathologists.  Its  virtue  in  restoring  the  energies  of  the 
body  and  furnishing  a  drink  of  the  gentlest  and  most  salubrious 
nature  has  been  fully  tested  in  its  native  land  for  many  cen- 
turies, and  is  rapidly  becoming  known  the  world  over.  The 
following  are  some  of  the  leading  facts  relating  to  the  plant  and 
the  preparation  and  nature  of  the  leaf,  derived  from  pei'sonal 
observation  in  the  country  or  from  the  writings  of  competent 
observers. 


40  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

Tea  does  not  grow  in  the  northern  provinces  of  China  and 
Japan  ;  its  range  lies  between  the  twenty-third  and  thirty-fiftli 
degrees  of  latitude,  and  reaching  in  longitude  from  Yedo  to 
Assam.  Xo  accounts  have  come  to  us  of  the  tea  shrub  being 
cultivated  for  its  infusion  till  a.d.  350.  The  people  in  different 
parts  of  China  gave  different  names  to  the  successive  pickings 
of  the  leaves,  which  have  now  become  disused.  Our  word  tea 
is  derived  from  the  common  sound  of  the  character  for  the 
pla!it  at  the  city  of  Anioy,  where  it  is  tay  ;  at  Canton  and  Pe- 
king it  is  clta,  at  Shanghai  dzo,  at  Fuhchau  ta.  The  Russians  and 
Portuguese  have  retained  the  word  cha,  the  Spanish  is  te  or  tay, 
and  the  Italians  have  both  te  and  cha.  Tea  is  so  nearly  akin  to 
the  various  species  of  camellia  that  the  Chinese  have  only  one 
name  for  alL  The  principal  difference  to  the  common  observer 
is  in  the  thin  leaf  of  the  tea  and  the  leathery  glabrous  leaf  of 
the  beautiful  Camellia  Japonica.  When  allowed  to  grow  they 
both  become  high  trees.  The  tea  flower  is  small,  single,  and 
y  white,  has  no  smell,  and  soon  falls;  its  petals  are  less  erect  than 
the  camellia.  The  seeds  are  three  small  nuts,  like  filberts  in 
color,  enclosed  in  a  triangular  shell  which  splits  open  when  ripe, 
with  valves  between  the  seeds.  Its  taste  is  oily  and  bitter.  Two 
species  of  camellia  are  cultivated  for  their  oily  seeds,  the  oil 
being  known  as  tea-oil  among  the  natives  ;  it  is  used  for  lamps 
and  cooking.  There  is  probably  only  one  species  of  the  tea 
plant,  and  all  the  varieties  have  resulted  from  culture ;  but  the 
Thea  vh'idls  is  most  cultivated.  The  nuts  are  ripe  in  October. 
They  are  put  in  a  mixture  of  sand  and  earth,  dampened  to  keep 
them  fresh  till  spring ;  they  generate  heat  and  spoil  if  not  thus 
separated.  In  March  they  are  sown  in  a  nursery,  and  the 
thrifty  shoots  transplanted  the  next  year  in  rows  about  four  feet 
apart.  Leaves  are  collected  when  the  plant  is  three  years  old, 
and  this  process  is  continued  annually  to  a  greater  or  less  ex- 
tent, according  to  the  demand  and  strength,  until  the  whole 
bush  becomes  so  weak  and  diseased  that  it  is  j)ulled  up  for  fire- 
wood to  give  place  to  a  new  shoot.  On  the  average  this  is  about 
the  eighth  year.  The  plants  seldom  exceed  three  feet;  most 
of  them  ai'C  half  that  height,  straggling  and  full  of  twigs,  often 
covered  with  lichens,  but  well  hoed  and  clean  around  their  roots. 


TEA   CULTURE.  4J 

All  tea  plantations  are  mei-ely  patches  of  the  shrnbs  cared 
for  by  small  fanners,  who  cultivate  the  plants  and  sell  the 
leaves  to  middle-men,  or  more  often  pick  the  crop  themselves 
if  they  can  afford  to  do  so.  The  gi'eat  plantation  or  farm,  with 
its  landloi-d  and  the  needy  laborer,  each  class  trying  to  get  as 
nmch  as  possible  out  of  the  other,  are  unknown  in  China ;  the 
farmer  has  not  there  learned  to  employ  skill,  machinery,  and 
capital  all  for  his  own  advantage,  but  each  farmstead  is  worked 
by  the  family,  who  i-ather  emulate  each  other  in  the  reputation 
of  their  tea.  Tea  is  cultivated  on  the  slopes  or  bases  of  hills, 
where  the  drainage  is  quick  and  the  moisture  unfailing.  This 
is  of  more  consequence  than  the  ingredients  of  the  soil,  but 
plants  so  continually  depauperated  and  stripped  require  rich 
manure  to  supply  their  waste.  In  Japan  the  tea  shrubs  are 
sometimes  grown  as  a  hedge  around  a  garden  lot,  but  such 
plants  are  not  stripped  in  this  way.  In  gathering  the  earliest 
leaves,  the  pickers  are  careful  to  leave  enough  foliage  at  the  end 
of  the  twigs  ;  and  the  spring  rains  are  depended  on  to  stimulate 
the  second  and  full  crop  of  leaves.  When  these  are  scant  or 
fail  the  tea  harvest  diminishes,  and  the  regularity  of  the  rains 
is  so  essential  to  a  profitable  cultivation  that  it  will  be  one  of 
the  causes  of  failure  whei-e  everything  else  in  soil,  climate,  ma- 
nuring, and  manufacture  may  be  fav(;»i"able. 

The  first  gathering  is  the  most  carefully  done,  for  it  goes  to 
make  the  best  sorts  of  black  and  green  tea  ;  and  as  the  greatest 
part  of  the  leaves  are  still  undeveloped,  the  price  must  neces- 
sarilj'  be  very  nmch  higher.  Such  tea  has  a  whitish  down,  like 
that  on  young  birch  leaves,  and  is  called  ijecoe,  or  '  white  hair,' 
and  is  most  of  it  sent  to  England  and  Russia.  In  the  last  cen- 
tury, the  green  tea  known  as  Young  Ilyson  was  made  of  these 
half -opened  leaves  picked  in  April  and  named  from  two  words 
meaning  '  rains  before.'  The  second  gathering  varies  somewhat 
according  to  the  latitude — May  15th  to  June,  when  the  foliage 
is  fullest.  This  season  is  looked  forward  to  by  women  and 
children  in  the  tea  districts  as  their  working  time ;  they  run  in 
crowds  to  the  middle-men,  who  have  bargained  for  the  leaves  on 
the  plants,  or  apply  to  farmers  who  have  not  hands.  The  aver- 
age produce   is   from   sixteen  to   twenty-two  ounces  of  green 


42  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

leaves  for  the  healthiest  plants,  down  to  ten  and  eight  ounces. 
The  tea  when  cured  is  about  one-fifth  of  its  first  weight,  and  one 
thousand  square  yards  will  contain  about  three  hundred  and 
fifty  plants,  each  two  feet  across.  They  strip  the  twigs  in  the 
most  summary  manner,  and  fill  their  baskets  with  healthy  leaves 
as  they  pick  out  the  sticks  and  yellow  leaves,  for  they  are  paid 
in  this  manner.  Fifteen  pounds  is  a  good  day's  work,  and  six  to 
eight  cents  is  a  day's  wages.  The  time  for  picking  lasts  only 
ten  or  twelve  days.  There  are  curing  houses,  where  families 
who  grow  and  pick  their  own  leaves  bring  them  for  sale  at  the 
market  rate.  The  sorting  emploj'S  many  hands,  for  it  is  an  im- 
portant point  in  connection  with  the  purity  of  the  various  de- 
scriptions, and  much  care  is  taken  by  dealers,  in  maintaining  the 
quality  of  their  lots,  to  have  them  cured  carefully  as  well  as 
sorted  properly. 

The  management  of  this  great  branch  of  industry  exhibits 
some  of  the  best  features  of  Chinese  country  life.  It  is  only 
over  a  portion  of  each  farm  that  the  plant  is  grown,  and  its  cul- 
tivation requires  but  little  attention  compared  with  rice  and 
vegetables.  The  most  delicate  kinds  are  looked  after  and 
cnred  by  priests  in  their  secluded  temples  among  the  hills ; 
these  often  have  many  acolytes  who  aid  in  preparing  small  lots 
to  be  sold  at  a  high  price. 

When  tlie  leaves  are  brought  in  to  the  curers  they  are  thinly 
spread  on  shallow  trays  to  dry  off  all  moisture  by  two  or  three 
hours'  exposure.  Meanwhile  the  roasting  pans  are  heating,  and 
W'hen  properly  warmed  some  handfuls  of  leaves  are  thrown  on 
them,  and  rapidly  moved  and  shaken  up  for  four  or  five  min- 
utes. The  leaves  make  a  slight  crackling  noise,  become  moist 
and  flaccid  as  the  juice  is  expelled,  and  give  off  even  a  sensible 
vapor.  The  whole  is  then  poured  out  upon  the  rolling  table, 
where  each  workman  takes  up  a  handful  and  makes  it  into  a 
manageable  ball,  which  he  rolls  back  and  forth  on  the  rattan 
table  to  get  rid  of  the  sap  and  moisture  as  the  leaves  are 
twisted.  This  operation  chafes  the  hands  even  with  great  pre- 
caution. The  balls  are  opened  and  shaken  out  and  then  passed 
on  to  other  workmen,  who  go  through  the  same  operation  till 
they  reach  the  headnum,  who  examines  the  leaves  to  see  if  they 


THE   MANUFACTUKE   OF   TEA. 


43 


liave  become  curled.  When  i)roperly  done,  and  cooled,  they 
are  returned  to  tlie  iron  pans,  under  which  a  low  cliarcoal  fire  is 
burning  in  the  brickwork  which  supports  them,  and  there  kept  in 
motion  by  the  hand.  If  they  need  another  rolling  on  the  table 
it  is  now  given  them ;  an  hour  or  more  is  spent  in  this  manipu- 


ng  Tea. 


lation,  when  they  are  dried  to  a  dull  green  color,  and  can  be 
put  away  for  sifting  and  sorting.  This  color  becomes  brighter 
after  the  exposure  in  sifting  the  cured  leaves  through  sieves  of 
various  sizes ;  tliey  are  also  winnowed  to  separate  the  dust, 
and  afterward  sorted  into  the  various  descriptions  of  green  tea. 
Finally,  the  finer  kinds  are  again  fired  three  or  four  times,  and 


44  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

the  coarse  kinds,  as  Twankay,  Hyson,  and  Hj'son  Skin,  once.  The 
others  furnish  the  Young  Hyson,  Gunpowder,  Imperial,  etc.  Tea 
cured  in  this  way  is  called  luh  cha^  or  'green  tea,'  by  the 
Chinese,  while  the  other,  or  black  tea,  is  termed  hung  cha,  or 
'  red  tea,'  each  name  being  taken  from  the  tint  of  the  infu- 
sion. 

After  the  fresh  leaves  are  allowed  to  lie  exposed  to  the  air 
on  the  bamboo  trays  over  night  or  several  hours,  they  are 
thrown  into  the  air  and  tossed  about  and  patted  till  they  be- 
come soft ;  a  heap  is  made  of  these  wilted  leaves  and  left  to 
lie  for  an  hour  or  more,  when  they  have  become  moist  and 
dark  in  color.  They  are  then  thrown  on  the  hot  pans  for 
five  minutes  and  rolled  on  the  i-attan  table,  previous  to  expos- 
ure out-of-doors  for  three  or  four  hours  on  sieves,  during  which 
time  they  are  turned  over  and  opened  out.  After  this  they  get 
a  second  roasting  and  rolling  to  give  them  their  final  curl.  When 
the  charcoal  fire  is  ready,  a  basket  shaped  something  like  an 
hour-glass  is  placed  endwise  over  it,  having  a  sieve  in  the 
middle  on  which  the  leaves  are  thinly  spread.  AYlien  dried 
five  minutes  in  this  way  they  undergo  another  rolling,  and  are 
then  thrown  into  a  heap,  nntil  all  the  lot  has  passed  over  the 
fire.  When  this  firing  is  finished,  the  leaves  are  opened  out 
and  are  again  tliinly  spread  on  the  sieve  in  the  basket  for  a  few 
minutes,  which  finishes  the  drying  and  rolling  for  most  of  the 
heap,  and  nuxkes  the  leaves  a  uniform  black.  They  are  now 
replaced  in  the  basket  in  greater  mass,  and  pushed  against  its 
sides  by  the  hands  in  order  to  allow  the  heat  to  come  up 
through  the  sieve  and  the  vapor  to  escape ;  a  basket  over  all 
retains  the  heat,  but  the  contents  are  turned  over  until  perfectly 
dry  and  the  leaves  become  uniforml}-  dark. 

It  will  be  seen  frojn  this  that  green  tea  retains  far  more  of 
the  peculiar  oil  and  sap  in  tlie  leaves  than  the  black,  which 
undergo  a  partial  fermentation  and  emit  a  sensibly  warm  va- 
por as  they  lie  in  heaps  after  the  first  roasting.  They  thus 
become  oxidized  by  longer  contact  in  a  warm  moist  state  with 
the  atmosphere,  and  a  delicate  analysis  will  detect  a  greater 
amount  of  oxidized  insoluble  extract  in  an  infusion  of  black 
than   green  tea.     The    same  difference    has  been    observed  in 


GREEN  AND  BLACK  TEAS.  45 

diying  medicinal  plants,  as  hemlock,   belladonna,  etc.,  for  the 
apothecary's  shop. 

Green  teas  are  mostly  produced  in  the  region  south  of  the 
Yangtsz'  River  and  west  of  Kingpo  among  the  hills  as  one  goes 
toward  the  Poyang  Lake  in  Chehkiang  and  Xganhwui.  The 
black  tea  comes  from  Fuhkien  in  the  southeast  and  llupeh  and 
Hunan  in  the  central  region  ;  Kwangtung  and  Sz'chuen  provinces 
produce  black,  green,  and  brick  teas.  While  the  leaves  of  each 
species  of  the  shrub  can  be  cured  into  either  green  or  black  tea, 
the  workmen  in  one  district  are  able,  by  practice,  to  produce 
one  kind  in  a  superior  style  and  quality  ;  those  in  another  region 
will  do  better  with  another  kind.  Soil,  too,  has  a  great  influence, 
as  it  has  in  grape  culture,  in  modifying  the  produce.  Though 
the  natives  distinguish  onl}^  these  three  kinds,  their  varieties  are 
far  too  numerous  to  remember,  and  the  names  are  mostly  un- 
known in  commerce. 

Of  black  teas,  the  great  mass  is  called  Congou^  or  the  '  well- 
worked,'  a  name  which  took  the  place  of  the  Bohea  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  years  ago,  and  is  now  itself  giving  way  to  the  term 
English  Breakfast  tea.  The  finest  sorts  are  either  named  from 
the  place  of  their  growth,  or  jnore  frequently  have  fancy  appel- 
lations in  allusion  to  their  color  or  form.  Orange  Pekoe  is 
named  "  superior  perfume  ;"  pure  Pekoe  is  "  Lau-tsz'  eyebrows  ;" 
"carnation  hair,"  "red  plum  blossom,""  "lotus  kernel,"  "spar- 
row's tongue,"  "  dragon's  pellet,"  "  dragon's  whiskei-s,"  "  au- 
tumn dew,"  "  pearl  flower,"  or  Chilian,  are  other  names  ;  Sou- 
chong  and  Pouidiong  refer  to  the  modes  of  packing. 

In  the  trade,  teas  are  more  commonly  classified  by  their  locality 
than  their  names,  as  it  is  found  that  well-marked  differences  in 
the  style  of  the  produce  continue  year  after  year,  all  ecpially 
well-cured  tea.  These  arise  from  diversities  in  soil,  climate, 
age,  and  manufacturing,  and  furnish  materials  for  still  further 
nuiltiplying  the  sorts  by  skilfully  mixing  them.  Thus  in  black 
teas  we  have  Ilunan  and  llupeh  from  two  provinces,  just  as 
Georgia  uplands  and  Sea  Island  indicate  two  sorts  of  cotton  ; 
Ningyong,  Kai-sau,  Ho-hau,  Sing-chune-ki,  etc.,  and  many 
others,  which  are  unknown  out  of  Ohina,  are  all  names  of  places. 
One  gentleman  has  given  a  list  of  localities,  each  furnishing  its 


46  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

quota  and  peculiar  product,  amounting  in  all  to  forty-five  for 
l)lack  and  nine  for  green.  The  area  of  these  regions  is  about 
four  hundred  and  seventy  thousand  square  miles. 

It  will  have  been  seen  already  that  the  color  of  green  tea,  as 
well  as  its  quality,  depends  very  much  on  rapid  and  expert  dry- 
ing. When  this  kind  is  intended  for  home  consumption  soon 
after  it  is  made,  the  color  is  of  little  consequence ;  but  when  the 
hue  influences  the  sale,  then  it  is  not  to  be  overlooked  by  the 
manufactui'er  or  the  broker.  The  first  tea  brought  to  Europe 
was  from  Fuhkien  and  all  black  ;  but  as  the  trade  extended  prob- 
ably some  of  the  delicate  Hyson  sorts  were  now  and  then  seen 
at  Canton,  and  their  appearance  in  England  and  Holland  ap- 
preciated as  more  and  more  was  sent.  It  was  found,  however, 
to  be  very  difficult  to  maintain  a  uniform  tint.  If  cured  too 
slightly,  the  leaf  was  liable  to  fermentation  during  the  voyage  ; 
if  cured  too  much,  it  was  unmarketable,  which  for  the  manufac- 
turer was  worse  yet.  Chinese  ingenuity  was  equal  to  the  call. 
Though  no  patent  office  was  at  hand  to  register  the  date  when 
coloring  green  tea  commenced,  it  is  probably  more  than  one 
hundred  j-ears  since.  The  three  hundred  and  forty-two  chests  and 
half  chests  wdiich  were  so  summarily  opened  on  board  the  Dart- 
mouth, the  Eleanor,  and  the  Beavei",  when  their  contents  were 
thrown  overboard  in  Boston  harbor,  on  December  16,  1773, 
furnishes  probably  no  index  of  the  consumption  of  tea  in  New 
England  at  that  time.  It  was  all  called  Bohea  by  John  Adams, 
who  speaks  of  three  cargoes,  as  if  the  vessels  had  nothing 
else  of  note  in  their  holds. 

Dr.  Holmes,  in  his  ballad  on  the  Boston  Tea  Party  at  its 
centennial  celebration,  says  in  the  last  verse : 

The  waters  in  the  rebel  bay 

Have  kept  the  tea-leaf  savor — 
Our  old  North  Enders  in  their  spray 

Still  taste  a  Hyson  flavor  ; 
And  Freedom's  teacup  still  o'erflows 

With  ever  fresh  libations, 
To  cheat  of  slumber  all  her  foes 

And  clieer  the  wakening  nations. 

It  has  been  noticed  that  emigrants  to  Au^^ti-alia,  who  had  seldom 
tasted    green  tea  before   leaving    England,  usnally  prefer  it  in 


COLORING   GREEN    TEAS,  47 

tiieir  new  homes,  as  new  settlers  do  in  tins  country.  The  pre- 
vailing notion  that  green  tea  is  cured  on  copper  arose,  no  doubt, 
from  the  conclusion  that  real  verdigris  was  the  only  source  of  a 
verdigris  color,  and  the  astringent  taste  confirmed  the  wrong 
idea.  A  more  difiicult  question  to  answer  is  the  inquiry,  Why  is 
it  still  believed  ? 

The  operation  of  giving  green  tea  its  color  is  a  simple  one. 
A  quantity  of  Prussian  blue  is  pulverized  to  a  very  fine  pow- 
der, and  kept  ready  at  the  last  roasting.  Pure  gypsum  is 
burned  in  the  charcoal  fire  till  it  is  soft  and  fit  foi  easily  tritur- 
ating. Four  parts  are  then  thoroughly  mixed  with  three  parts 
of  Prussian  blue,  making  a  light  blue  powder.  About  five 
minutes  before  finally  taking  off  the  dried  leaves  this  powder 
is  sprinkled  on  them,  and  instantly  the  whole  panful  of  two  or 
three  pounds  is  turned  over  by  the  workman's  hands  till  a 
uniform  color  is  obtained,  llis  hands  come  out  quite  blue,  but 
the  compound  gives  the  green  leaves  a  brighter  green  hue.  The 
quantity  is  not  great,  say  about  half  a  pound  in  a  hundred  of 
tea ;  and  as  gypsum  is  not  a  dangerous  or  irritating  substance,, 
being  constantly. eaten  by  the  Chinese,  the  other  ingredient  re- 
mains in  an  almost  infinitesimal  degree.  If  foreigners  preferred 
yellow  teas  no  doubt  they  coiild  be  favored,  for  the  Chinese 
are  much  perplexed  to  account  for  this  strange  predilection,  as 
they  never  drink  this  colored  or  faced  tea.  Turmeric  root  has 
been  detected,  too,  in  a  very  few  analj'ses,  but  probably  these 
were  lots  that  needed  to  be  refined  at  Canton  to  cover  up  mil- 
dew or  supply  a  demand.  The  reasons  for  not  drinking  this 
tea  are,  however,  owing  more  to  the  nature  than  the  color  of 
the  leaf.  The  kinds  of  green  tea  are  fewer  than  the  black,  and 
the  regions  producing  it  are  less  in  area.  Gunpowder  and  Im- 
perial are  foreign-made  terms ;  the  teas  are  known  as  siau  elm 
and  ta  chu  by  native  dealers.  The  first  is  rolled  to  resemble  shot 
or  coarse  gunpowder;  the  other  is  named  "sore  crab's  eyes," 
"sesamura  seeds,"  and  "pearls."  Ilyson  is  a  corruption  of  yu- 
tsieny  '  before  the  rains,'  and  of  Ili-chun,  meaning  '  flourishing 
spring.'  The  last  is  alleged  to  be  the  name  of  a  maiden  who  sug- 
gested to  her  father  as  long  ago  as  1700,  or  thereabouts,  a  better 
mode  of  sorting  tea,  and  his  business  increased  so  much  as  his 


48  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

fine  Hyson  became  known  tliat  he  gave  it  her  name.  Members  of 
this  same  family  are  still  engaged  in  making  this  same  tea,  and 
the  chop,  known  as  the  Ut  Yih-hing,  or  '  Li's  Extra  Perfume,' 
is  now  in  market,  and  has  maintained  its  reputation  for  nearly 
two  hundred  years.  Oolong  is  obtained  in  Fuhkien — a  black  tea 
with  a  green  tea  flavor,  named  Black  Dragon  from  a  story 
tliat  Su  was  struck  with  the  fragrance  of  the  leaf  from  a  plant 
Mdiere  a  black  snake  was  found  coiled.  The  great  mart  for 
green  tea  is  Twankay,  in  Chehkiang  province. 

A  chop  is  a  well-known  term  in  the  tea  trade ;  it  is  derived 
from  the  Chinese  word  ehoj),  or  '  stamp',  such  as  an  ofiicial  uses, 
and  in  the  tea  trade  denotes  a  certain  number  of  packages  from 
the  same  place,  and  all  of  the  same  quality.  In  the  course  of  years 
the  uniform  excellence  of  a  certain  chop,  like  that  of  a  certain 
vineyard,  gives  it  a  marketable  value.  A  laAvsuit  arose  in  1873 
between  two  American  houses  at  Canton  in  regard  to  the  right  to 
a  certain  chop  of  tea,  among  two  brokers,  each  of  whom  claimed 
to  sell  the  genuine  lot.  Such  chops  range  from  fifty  to  one  thou- 
sand two  hundred  chests,  averaging  six  hundred.  English  tea- 
tasters  have  learned  that  an  admixture  of  scented  teas  in  com- 
mon sorts  of  Congou  adds  much  to  the  flavor  and  sale.  This  is 
not  often  done  for  native-drank  tea,  and  is  chiefly  practised  at 
Canton.  The  flowers  used  are  roses,  Olea  fragrans,  tuberose, 
orange,  jasmine,  gardenia,  and  azalea.  The  stems,  calyx,  and 
other  parts  are  carefully  sorted  out,  so  that  only  the  petals  re- 
main. When  the  tea  is  ready  for  packing,  dry  and  warm,  tlie 
fresh  flowers  are  mixed  with  it  (forty  pounds  to  one  liundred 
pounds  for  the  orange),  and  left  thus  in  a  mass  for  twenty -four 
hours  ;  it  is  then  sifted  and  winnowed  in  a  fanning  mill  till 
the  petals  are  separated.  If  the  odor  is  insuflicient,  the  opera- 
tion may  be  repeated  with  the  jasmine  or  orange.  The  pro- 
portion of  jasmine  is  a  little  more  than  orange ;  of  the  azalea, 
nearly  half  and  half.  The  length  of  time  required  to  obtain 
the  proper  smell  from  these  flowei-s  difi'ers,  and  among  them  all 
tea  scented  with  the  azalea  is  said  to  keep  its  perfume  the  longest. 

The  mode  of  scenting  tea  diifei-s  somewhat  according  to  the 
flower  itself,  for  the  small  blossom  of  the  Qloa  cannot  be 
separated   by  sifting  as  rose  or  jasmine  leaves  can.     Tea  thus 


SCENTED    AND    ADULTERATED   TEAS.  49 

perfumed  is  sent  to  England  as  Orange  Pekoe  and  Scented  Ca- 
per. It  is  mixed  witli  fiiu;  teas  ;  and  there  is  much  to  commend 
in  thus  increasing  tlie  aroma  and  taste  of  this  healthy  beverage. 
The  Scented  Caper  comes  in  the  form  of  round  pellets,  which 
are  made  of  black  tea  softened  by  sprinkling  water  on  it  until 
it  is  pliable ;  it  is  then  tied  in  canvas  bags  and  rolled  with  the 
feet  by  treading  on  it  for  a  good  while  till  most  of  the  quantity 
takes  this  form  ;  as  soon  as  perfumed  it  is  packed  for  shipment. 
When  rolled  and  dried,  such  tea  needs  only  a  facing  to  make  it 
into  Impei-ial  and  Gunpowder  among  the  green  teas. 

The  Chinese  have  been  charo;ed  with  adulteratino;  their  tea 
by  mixing  in  other  leaves  with  the  true  tea-leaf,  and  adding 
other  ingredients  far  vvoi-se  than  rose,  jujube,  and  fern  leaves, 
and  the  cases  which  have  been  proved  of  lie-tea  being  sent  off 
have  been  applied  to  the  entire  export.  The  stimulus  for  some 
of  this  adulteration  has  come  from  the  foreigner,  who  desires 
to  get  good  pure  tea  at  half  its  cost  of  manufacture.  The  fore- 
going details  will  plainly  show  that  an  article  which  has  to  go 
through  so  many  hands  before  its  infusion  is  poured  out  of  the 
teapot  on  the  other  side  of  the  world,  and  where  the  only  machin- 
ery used  is  a  fanning  mill  and  a  roasting  pan,  cannot  be  fur- 
nished at  much  under  twenty-five  cents  a  pound  for  the  common 
sorts.  The  villanous  mixture  known  at  Shanghai  as  ma-hi  cha^ 
or  '  race-course  tea,'  was  the  answer  on  the  part  of  the  native 
manufacturer  to  the  demand  for  cheap  tea,  mitil  the  consumers 
in  Great  Britain  protested  at  the  deception  put  on  them,  and 
its  importation  was  prohibited.  Which  of  the  parties  was  most 
blameworthy  may  be  left  for  them  to  settle,  but  in  our  own 
papers,  of  course,  most  of  the  blame  rested  on  the  tempted  party. 
It  is  not  to  be  inferred,  however,  that  all  cheap  tea  is  adulterated. 
The  process  of  manufacture  leaves  a  large  percentage  of  broken 
material,  which  can  be  worked  into  passable  tea ;  the  produce 
of  many  regions  has  not  the  flavor  of  the  finest  sorts,  and,  as  it 
is  with  wines,  will  not  bear  so  much  cost  in  curing.  The  tea 
brokers  know  this,  and  things  equalize  themselves.  The  dust, 
the  leaf  ribs,  and  the  siftings  are  all  consumed  by  the  poor  na- 
tives, who  mix  other  leaves,  too,  with  the  real  leaf.  Tea  can 
perhaps  bear  comparison  with  any  other  great  staple  of  food  in 
Vol.  II.— 4 


50  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

this  respect ;  and  when  we  can  fairly  estimate  the  consumption 
of  tea  sent  out  of  China  and  Japan  at  more  than  three  hundred 
millions  of  pounds,  it  must  be  conceded  that  it  is  a  very  pure 
article — not  as  much,  probably,  as  even  five  per  cent,  of  false 
leaf. 

One  mode  of  using  tea  known  among  Tibetans  and  Mongols 
remains  to  be  noticed.  The  rich  province  of  Sz'chuen,  in  the 
w-estern  part  of  China,  furnishes  an  abundance  of  good  tea';  much 
of  which  is  exported  to  Ilussia  by  way  of  Si-ngan  f  u  and  Kansuh, 
to  supply  the  inhabitants  of  Siberia.  This  brick  tea  is  cured 
by  pressing  the  damp  leaves  into  the  form  of  a  brick  or  tile, 
varj'ing  in  size  and  weight,  eight  to  twelve  inches  long  and  one 
thick  ;  in  this  form  it  is  far  more  easily  carried  than  in  the  leaf. 
In  Tibet,  as  we  have  seen,  it  appears  more  as  a  soup  than  an  infu- 
sion. The  brick  tea  is  composed  of  coarse  leaves,  or  of  stalks  mois- 
tened by  steaming  over  boiling  water,  and  then  pressed  till  dry 
and  hard.  When  used,  a  piece  is  broken  off  and  simmered  with 
milk  and  butter  and  water,  with  a  touch  of  vinegar  or  pepper. 
The  dish  is  not  inviting  at  first,  but  Abbe  Hue  endorses  its 
refreshing  qualities  in  restoring  the  failing  energies.  The  press- 
ing and  drying  is  assisted  by  sprinkling  the  mass  with  rice- 
water  as  it  is  forced  into  the  moulds.  The  Chinese  mix  other 
leaves  with  real  tea  to  eke  it  out,  in  districts  where  it  is  not 
commonly  grown,  but  they  do  not  regard  this  as  adulteration. 
Willow  leaves  are  common  in  such  mixtures.  Large  caravans 
cross  the  plateau  laden  with  brick  tea. 

Packing  tea  is  mostly  done  in  the  interior,  where  it  is  cured. 
The  large  dry  leaves  frequently  found  inside  are  usually  fur- 
nished by  a  peculiar  species  of  bamboo  ;  the  lead  is  made  into 
thin  sheets  by  pouring  the  melted  metal  on  to  a  large  square 
brick,  covered  with  several  thicknesses  of  paper,  and  letting 
another  brick  drop  down  instantly  on  it.  In  order  to  test  the 
honesty  of  the  packing,  the  foreign  merchant  often  walks  over 
the  three  hundred  to  six  hundred  chests  which  make  a  chop, 
and  selects  any  foui*  or  five  he  may  choose  for  examination.  If 
they  stand  the  inspection  the  whole  is  taken  on  their  guaranty, 
and  are  then  -weighed,  papered,  labelled,  and  mottoed  ready  for 
shipping.     In  all  these  matters  the  Chinese  are  very  expert.     It 


INTRODUCTION    OF   TEA    INTO   EUROPE.  61 

is  impossible  to  calculate  the  number  of  persons  to  whom  the 
tea  trade  furnishes  employment ;  nor  could  machinery  well 
come  into  use  to  displace  human  labor. 

The  introduction  of  tea  among  western  nations  was  slow  at 
first.  Marco  Polo  has  no  notice  of  its  use.  The  Dutch  brought 
it  to  Europe  in  1591  according  to  some  accounts ;  but  a  sample 
or  two  did  not  make  a  trade,  and  there  would  have  been  refer- 
ence to  it  if  it  had  been  used.  In  1G60  Samuel  Pepys  writes, 
September  28th :  "I  did  send  for  a  cup  of  tea  (a  China  drink), 
of  which  I  had  never  drank  before."  Nearly  seven  ^-ears  after 
he  says  :  "  Home,  and  thei-e  find  my  wife  making  of  tea,  a  drink 
which  Mr.  Pellin,  the  pothicai-y,  tells  her  is  good  for  her  cold 
and  defluxions."  In  1670  the  importation  into  England  was  79 
pounds  ;  in  1685  it  was  12,070  pounds ;  most  of  it  came  from 
Batavia  and  sold  for  a  long  time  between  £10  and  £5  a  pound 
weight.  In  1657  Mr.  Garney  opened  a  shop  in  London  to  sell 
the  infusion,  and  paid  an  excise  of  8d.  per  gallon ;  the  present 
duty  is  2s.  Id.  per  pound,  or  4^  pounds  to  each  person  in  a  year, 
nearly  all  of  which,  as  it  is  in  Europe  and  elsewhere,  is  black 
tea.  In  1725  only  375,000  pounds  were  consumed  in  Great 
Britain.  The  actual  quantity  now  in  the  United  Kingdom  is 
126,000,000  pounds,  besides  much  on  the  way.  The  importa- 
tion into  the  United  States  is  worth  $18,000,000  to  $19,000,000, 
say  60,000,000  pounds.  Russia  takes  more  good  tea  than  any 
other  nation  and  pays  more  for  it,  because  the  former  overland 
trade  to  Siberia  could  not  afford  to  transport  pooi-  tea.  The  ex- 
port from  Assam  is  now  20,000,000  pounds,  but  those  sorts  are 
too  strong  for  the  public  taste  when  used  alone,  and  are  con- 
sumed in  mixtures.  Tea  is  a  native  of  Assam,  but  its  discovery 
only  dates  from  1836  or  thereabouts.  It  is  cultivated  in  Java 
and  Brazil,  but  there  is  not  much  to  encoui'age  the  manufac- 
turer in  any  country  where  coffee  supplies  a  similar  beverage, 
and  the  price  of  labor  makes  it  equal  to  the  imported  article. 

The  remarkable  work  on  agriculture  of  Paul  Sii,  a  convert  to 
Christianity  in  1620,  contains  a  brief  account  and  directions  for 
cultivating  tea.  In  concluding  the  chapter  he  urges  the  greater 
use  of  tea  as  against  spirits.  "  Tea  is  of  a  cooling  nature,  and  if 
drunk  too  freely  will  produce  exhaustion  and  lassitude.  Country 


62  THE    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

people  before  drinlciiig  it  add  ginger  and  salt  to  eoiniteract  this 
cooling  property.  It  is  an  exceedingly  usefnl  plant ;  cnltivate 
it  and  the  benefit  will  be  widely  spread ;  drink  it  and  the  ani- 
mal spirits  will  be  lively  and  cleai".  The  chief  rulers,  lords,  and 
great  men  esteem  it ;  the  lower  people,  the  poor  and  beggarly, 
will  not  be  destitute  of  it ;  all  use  it  daily  and  like  it." 

The  chemical  analyses  which  have  made  known  to  us  the 
components  of  the  four  or  five  substances  used  as  warm  bever- 
ages, viz.,  tea,  coffee,  mate,  cocoa,  guarana,  and  kola,  indicate 
three  constituents  found  in  them,  to  which,  no  doubt,  their  vir- 
tues are  owing. 

A  volatile  oil  is  observed  when  tea  is  distilled  with  water ; 
about  one  pound  conies  from  one  hundred  pounds  of  dried  tea, 
possessing  its  peculiar  aroma  and  flavor  to  a  high  degree.  Much 
of  it  is  pressed  from  the  leaves  when  rolled  and  cured,  but  little 
as  still  remains,  its  effects  upon  the  human  system  are  noticeable 
and  sometimes  powerful.  Tea-tasters  who  continually  taste  the 
rpiality  of  the  various  lots  submitted  by  sample  for  their  ap- 
proval, do  so  by  breathing  upon  a  handful  of  leaves  and  instantly 
covering  the  nose,  so  as  to  get  this  volatile  aroma  as  one  impor- 
tant test.  They  also  examine  the  infusion  in  several  diffei'ent 
ways,  by  its  taste,  color,  and  strength.  Long  practice  in  this 
business  is  alleged  to  have  deleterious  influence  upon  their  ner- 
vous systems.  The  other  beverages  we  drink,  as  well  as  tea, 
derive  their  peculiar  and  esteemed  flavor  and  aroma  from 
chemical  substances  produced  in  them  during  the  process  of 
drying  and  roasting;  at  least  nothing  of  them  can  be  perceived 
in  their  natural  state.  Another  substance  in  tea  regarded  as 
the  chief  inducement  and  reward  in  its  effect  on  the  system  is 
the  peculiar  pi'inciple  called  theine.  If  a  few  finely  powdered 
leaves  are  placed  on  a  watch-glass,  covered  with  a  paper  cap 
and  placed  on  a  hot  plate,  a  white  vapor  slowly  rises  and 
condenses  in  the  cap  in  the  form  of  colorless  crystals.  They 
exist  in  different  proportions  in  the  different  kinds  of  tea,  from 
one  and  one-half  to  five  or  six  per  cent,  in  green  tea.  Theine 
lias  no  smell  and  a  slightly  bitter  taste,  and  does  not  therefore 
attract  us  to  drink  the  infusion  ;  but  the  chemists  tell  us  that 
it  contains  nearly  thirty  per  cent,  of  nitrogen.     The  salts  in 


CONSTITUENTS    AM)    EFFECTS    OF    TEA.  53 

other  beverages,  as  coffee  and  cocoa,  likewise  contain  nnicli  ni- 
trogen, and  all  tend  to  repair  the  waste  going  on  in  the  human 
system,  reduce  the  amount  of  solid  food  necessary,  diminish  too 
the  wear  and  tear  of  the  body  and  consequent  lassitude  of  the 
mind,  and  maintain  the  vigor  of  both  upon  a  smaller  amount 
of  food.  Tea  does  this  more  pleasantly,  perhaps,  than  any  of 
the  others ;  but  it  does  more  than  they  do  for  old  people  in 
supplementing  the  impaired  powers  of  digestion,  and  helping 
them  to  maintain  their  flesh  and  uphold  the  system  in  health 
longer  than  they  otherwise  would.  It  is  no  wonder,  therefore, 
that  tea  has  become  one  of  the  necessaries  of  life ;  and  the 
sexagenarian  invalid,  too  poor  to  buy  a  bit  of  meat  for  her 
meal,  takes  her  pot  of  tea  with  M'liat  she  has,  and  knows  that 
she  feels  lighter,  happier,  and  better  fitted  for  her  toil,  and  en- 
joys life  more  than  if  she  had  no  tea.  Unconsciously  she 
echoes  what  the  Chinese  said  centuries  ago,  "  Drink  it,  and  the 
animal  spirits  will  be  lively  and  clear." 

The  third  sul)stance  (which  is  contained  in  tea  more  than  in  the 
other  beverages  mentioned)  forms  also  an  important  ingredient 
in  l)etel-nut  and  gaml)ier,  so  extensively  chewed  in  Southern 
Asia,  viz.,  tannin  or  tannic  acid.  This  gives  the  astringent 
taste  to  tea-leaves  and  their  infusion,  and  is  found  to  amount 
to  seventeen  per  cent,  in  well-dried  l)lack  tea,  and  much  more 
than  that  in  green  tea,  especially  the  Japan  leaf.  The  effects 
of  taimin  are  not  clearly  ascertained  as  apart  from  the  oil 
and  the  tlieine,  but  Johnston  considei-s  them  as  conducing 
to  the  exhilarating,  satisfying,  and  narcotic  action  of  the  bev- 
erage. 

A  remaining  ingredient  worthy  of  notice  in  tea,  in  common 
with  other  food-plants,  is  gluten.  This  fornjs  one-fourth  of  the 
weight  of  the  leaves,  but  in  oi'der  to  derive  the  greatest  good 
from  it  which  proper  methods  of  cooking  might  bring  out,  we 
must  contrive  a  mode  (»f  eating  the  leaves.  The  nutritious 
property  of  the  gluten  accounts  for  the  general  use  of  brick  tea 
throughout  the  Asiatic  plateau.  Hue  says  he  drank  the  dish 
in  default  of  something  better,  for  he  was  unaccustomed  to 
it,  but  his  cameleers  would  often  take  twenty  to  forty  cups 
a  day. 


54  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

If  the  sanitary  effects  of  tea  upon  the  system  are  so  great  and 
wholesome,  its  inliuence  since  its  general  introduction  among 
occidentals  cannot  be  overlooked.  The  domestic,  quiet  life  and 
habits  of  the  Chinese  owe  much  of  their  strength  to  the  con- 
stant use  of  this  beverage,  for  the  weak  infusion  which  they  sip 
allows  them  to  spend  all  the  time  they  choose  at  the  tea-table. 
If  they  were  in  the  habit  of  sipping  even  their  weak  whiskey 
in  the  same  way,  misery,  poverty,  quarrels,  and  sickness  would 
take  the  place  of  thrift,  quiet,  and  industry.  The  general  tem- 
perance seen  among  them  is  owing  to  the  tea  nmch  more  than  any 
other  cause.  It  has,  moreover,  won  its  way  with  us,  till  in  the 
present  generation  the  associations  that  cluster  around  the  tea- 
table  form  an  integral  part  of  the  social  life  among  English- 
speaking  peoples.  One  of  the  most  likely  means  to  restrict  the 
use  of  spirits  among  them  is  to  substitute  the  use  of  warm 
beverages  of  all  kinds  by  those  whose  s^-stem  has  not  become 
vitiated.  Tea  is  one  of  the  greatest  benefits  to  the  Chinese, 
Japanese,  and  Mongols,  and  its  universal  use,  for  at  least  fifteen 
centuries,  throughout  their  territories  has  proven  its  satisfaction 
as  a  nervine,  a  stimulant,  and  a  beverage.  If  one  passing 
through  the  streets  of  Peking,  Canton,  or  Ohosaka,  and  seeing 
the  good-natured  hilarity  of  the  groups  of  laborers  and  loiterers 
around  the  cha-hwan  and  the  cha-ya  of  those  cities,  doubts 
the  value  of  tea  as  a  harmonizer  and  satisfier  of  hmnan  wants 
and  passions,  it  must  be  taken  as  a  proof  of  his  own  unsatisfied 
cravings. 

It  is  a  necessary  of  life  to  all  classes  of  natives,  and  that  its 
use  is  not  injurious  is  abundant!}^  evident  from  its  general  ac- 
ceptance and  increasing  adoption  ;  the  pi-ejudice  against  the 
beverage  out  of  China  may  be  attributed  chiefly  to  the  use  of 
strong  green  tea,  which  is  no  doubt  prejudicial.  If  those  who 
have  given  it  up  on  this  account  will  adopt  a  weaker  infusion 
of  black  tea,  general  experience  is  proof  that  it  will  do  them  no 
harm,  and  they  may  be  sure  that  they  will  not  be  so  likely  to 
be  deceived  by  a  colored  article.  iS'either  the  Chinese  nor 
Japanese  use  milk  or  sugar  in  their  tea,  and  the  peculiar  taste 
and  aroma  of  the  infusion  is  much  better  perceived  without 
those  additions.     Tea,  when  clear,  cannot  be  drunk  so  strong 


PREPARATION    OF    CASSIA    AND    CAMPHOR.  55 

without  tasting  an  unpleasant  bitterness,  which  tliese  diluents 
partly  hide.' 

Among  other  vegetable  productions  whose  preparation  af- 
fords employment  are  cassia  and  camphor.  The  cassia  ti-ee 
{Cinnamomuvi  cassia)  grows  connnonly  in  Ivwangsi,  Yunnan, 
and  further  south  ;  the  leading  mart  for  all  the  varieties  of  this 
spice  in  China  is  Ping-nan,  in  the  former  of  tliese  provinces. 
The  kind  known  as  l"wei-jA,  or  '  skhiny  cassia,'  affords  the  prin- 
cipal part  of  that  spice  nsed  at  the  west.  The  bark  is  stripped 
from  the  twigs  by  running  a  knife  along  the  branch  and  gradu- 
ally loosening  it ;  after  it  is  taken  off  it  lies  a  day  in  the  sun, 
when  the  epidermis  is  easily  scraped  off,  and  it  is  dried  into  the 
quilled  shape  in  which  it  comes  to  market.  The  immatm-e 
flowers  of  this  and  two  other  species  of  Cinnamonnnn  are 
also  collected  and  dried  nnder  the  name  of  cassia  IjiuIk^  and  of- 
ten packed  with  the  bark ;  they  re<|uire  little  or  no  other  prepa- 
ration than  simple  drying.  The  leaves  and  bark  of  the  tree 
are  also  distilled,  and  furnish  oil  of  cassia,  a  powerful  and 
pleasant  oil  employed  by  perfumers  and  cooks.  •  Few  genera  of 
plants  are  more  useful  to  man  than  those  included  under  the 
old  name  of  Laurus,  to  which  these  fragrant  spices  of  cassia 
and  cinnamon  belong;  their  wood,  bark,  buds,  seeds,  flowers, 
leaves,  and  oil  are  all  used  by  the  Chinese  in  carpentry,  medi- 
cine, perfumery,  and  cookery.  The  confusion  arising  from 
using  the  term  cassia  for  the  spice  instead  of  confining  it  to  the 
medicine  {Cassia  senna)  has  been  a  constant  source  of  error. 

The  camphor  tree  {Cam])1ioi'a  ojjicinarum)  is  another  species 
of  Laurus,  found  along  the  southern  maritime  regions  and  For- 
mosa, and  affords  both  timber  and  gum  for  exportation  and  do- 
mestic use.  The  tree  itself  is  large,  and  furnishes  excellent 
planks,  beams,  and  boards.  The  gum  is  procui'ed  from  the 
branches,  roots,  leaves,  and  chips  by  soaking  them  in  water  un- 
til the  liquid  becomes  saturated ;  a  gentle  heat  is  then  applied 
to  this  solution,  and  the  sublimed  camphor  received  in  inverted 
cones  made  of  rice-straw,  from  which  it  is  detached  in  impure 

'Fortune's  Tea  DistricU  (1852);  Chinme  Ticpositwy,  Vol.  VIII.,  pp.  182- 
164,  Vol.  XVIII.,  pp.  13-18;  Davis'  ChiiicHC,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  336-449;  Chineim 
Cominercial  Guide  (1863),  pp.  141-148  ;  Ball's  Tea  Vulture  and  Manufacture. 


56  THE    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

grains,  resembling  unrefined  sugar  in  colore  Grosier  describes 
another  mode  of  getting  it  by  Taking  out  the  coagulum  in- 
spissated from  the  solution  into  an  iron  dish  and  covering  M'ith 
powdered  earth  ;  two  or  three  layers  are  thus  placed  in  the  dish, 
when  a  cover  is  luted  on,  and  by  a  slow  heat  the  camphor  sub- 
limes into  it  in  a  cake.  It  comes  to  market  in  a  crude  state, 
and  is  refined  after  reaching  Europe.  The  preparation  of  the 
gum,  sawing  the  timber  for  trunks,  articles  of  furniture,  and 
vessels  in  whole  or  in  part,  occupies  great  numbers  of  carpenters, 
Bhipwrights,  and  boat-buildci*s.  The  increasing  demand  for 
the  gum  and  boards  has  caused  the  rapid  destruction  of  so 
many  trees  in  Formosa  that  there  is  some  ground  for  fear  lest 
they  ere  long  be  all  cut  off. 

Many  of  the  common  ni;uii])ulations  of  Chinese  ^vorkmen  af- 
ford good  examples  of  their  ingenious  modes  of  attaining  th© 
same  end  which  is  elsewhere  reached  by  complex  machinery. 
For  instance,  the  l)aker  places  his  fire  on'  a  large  iron  plate 
worked  by  a  crane,  and  swings  it  over  a  shallow  pan  embedded 
in  masonry,  in*  which  the  cakes  and  pastry  are  laid  and 
soon  baked.  The  price  of  fuel  compels  its  economical  use 
wherever  it  is  em}>loyed  ;  in  the  forge,  the  kitchen,  the  kiln,  or 
the  dwelling,  no  waste  of  wood  or  coal  is  seen.  As  an  instance 
in  point,  the  mode  of  burning  shells  to  lime  affords  a  good  ex- 
ample. A  low  wall  encloses  a  space  ten  or  twelve  feet  across, 
in  the  middle  of  which  a  hole  connnunicates  underneath  the 
wall  through  a  passage  to  the  pit,  where  the  fire  is  urged  by  a  fan 
turned  by  the  feet.  The  wood  is  loosely  laid  over  tlie  bottom 
of  the  area,  and  the  fire  kindled  at  the  orifice  in  the  centre  and 
fanned  into  a  blaze  as  the  shells  are  rapidly  thrown  in  until  the 
wall  is  filled  up ;  in  twelve  hours  the  shells  are  calcined. 
Toward  evening  scores  of  villagers  collect  around  the  burning 
pile,  bringing  their  kettles  of  rice  or  vegetables  to  cook.  The 
good-humor  manifested  by  these  gi'oups  of  old  and  young  is  a 
pleasing  instance  of  the  sociability  and  equality  witnessed 
among  the  lower  classes  of  Chinese.  The  lime  is  taken  out 
next  morning  and  sifted  for  the  mason. 

Handicraftsmen  of  every  name  are  content  with  coarse-look- 
ing tools  compared  with  those  turned  out  at  Sheflield,  but  the 


APPLIANCES   OF   CHINESK   WORKMEN. 


67 


work  prodnced  by  some  of  tliem  is  far  from  conteiriptible. 
The  bench  of  a  carpenter  is  a  low,  narrow,  inclined  form,  like  a 
urawing-knife  fi'ame,  upon  which  he  sits  to  plane,  groove,  and 
work  his  boards,  using  his  feet  and  toes  to  steady  them.  His 
augurs,  bits,  and  gimlets  are  worked  with  a  bow,  but  most  of 
the  edge-tools  employed  by  him  and  the  blacksmith,  though 
similar  in  shape,  are  less  convenient  than  our  own.  They  are 
sharpened  with  hones  or  grindstones,  and  also  with  a  cold  steel 
like  a  spoke-shave,  with  which  the  edge  is  scraped  thin.  The 
aptitude   of   Chinese  workmen    has   often   been    noticed,   and 


Travelling  Blacksmith  and   Equipment. 

among  tliem  all  the  travelling  blacksmith  takes  the  palm  for  his 
compendious  establishment.  "  T  saw-  a  blacksmith  a  few  days 
since,"  writes  one  observer,  "  mending  a  pan,  the  arrangement 
of  w'hose  tools  was  singularly  compact.  His  fire  was  held  in  an 
iron  basin  not  unlike  a  coal-scuttle  in  shape,  in  the  back  corner 
of  which  the  mouthpiece  of  the  bellows  entered.  The  anvil 
was  a  small  scpiare  mass  of  iron,  not  very  unlike  our  own,  placed 
on  a  block,  and  a  partition  basket  close  by  held  the  charcoal 
and  tools,  with  the  old  iron  and  other  rubbish  he  carried.  The 
water  to  temper  his  iron  was  in  an  earthen  pot,  which  just  at 
this  time  was  most  usefully  employed  iii  boiling  his  dinner 
over  the  forge  fire     After  he  had  done  the  job  he  took  off  his 


58 


THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 


dinner,  threw  the  water  on  the  fire,  picked  out  the  coals  and  put 
them  back  into  the  basket,  threw  away  the  ashes,  set  the  anvil 
astride  of  the  bellows,  and  laying  the  tire-pan  on  the  basket, 
slung  tlie  bellows  on  one  end  of  his  pole  and  the  basket  on  the 
other,  and  walked  off." '  The  mode  of  mending  holes  in  cast- 
iron  pans  here  noticed  is  a  peculiar  operation.  The  smith  first 
files  the  lips  of  the  hole  clean,  and  after  heating  the  dish  firmly 


*      C, 


I       11  111 


Itinerant   Dish-nnender 


places  it  on  a  tile  covered  with  wet  felt.  He  then  pours  the 
liquid  iron,  fused  in  a  crucible  by  the  assistance  of  a  flux,  upon 
the  hole,  and  immediately  patters  it  down  with  a  dossil  of  felt 
until  it  covers  the  edges  of  the  pan  above  and  below,  and  is 
then,  while  cooling,  hannnered  until  firndy  fixed  in  its  ]>lace. 

Another  ingenious  and  effectual  method  of  mending  porcelain 
and  all  manner  of  crockery  ware  is  performed  by  itinerant 
workmen,  who   travel    about   with    their   workshop   on   their 

*  Chinese  Repository,  Vol.  X.,  j).  473. 


WOOD    AND    IVORY    CARVING.  59 

shoulders,  as  seen  in  tlio  cut.  By  means  of  minute  copper 
clamps,  even  the  most  delicate  article  of  China-ware  may  be  re- 
paired and  made  to  answer  the  purpose  of  a  new  piece ;  since 
no  cement  is  used  in  this  style  of  mending,  it  has  the  additional 
advantage  of  standing  innnei'sioiv  in  water. 

The  great  number  of  craftsmen  who  ply  their  vocations  in 
the  street,  as  well  as  the  more  mmierous  class  of  hucksters 
who  supply  food  as  they  go  from  house  to  house,  furnish  mucli 
to  annise  and  interest.  Each  of  them  has  a  peculiar  call.  The 
barber  twangs  a  sort  of  tweezers  like  a  long  tuning-fork,  the 
peddler  twirls  a  hand-drum  with  clappers  strung  on  each  side, 
the  refuse-buyer  strikes  a  little  gong,  the  fruiterer  claps  two  bam- 
boo sticks,  and  the  fortune-teller  tinkles  a  gong-bell ;  these,  with 
the  varied  calls  and  cries  of  beggars,  cadgers,  chapmen,  etc.,  fill 
the  streets  with  a  concert  of  strange  sounds. 

The  delicate  carving  of  Chinese  workmen  has  often  been  de- 
scribed ;  many  specimens  of  it  are  annually  sent  abroad.  Few 
products  of  their  skill  are  more  rcnuxrkable  than  the  balls  con- 
taining ten  or  twelve  separate  spheres  one  within  another. 
The  manner  of  cutting  them  is  ingenious.  A  piece  of  ivory  or 
wood  is  first  made  perfectly  globular,  and  then  several  conical 
holes  are  bored  into  it  in  such  a  manner  that  their  apices  all 
meet  at  the  centre,  which  becomes  hollow  as  the  holes  are 
bored  into  it.  The  sides  of  each  having  been  marked  with 
lines  to  indicate  the  number  of  globes  to  be  cut  out,  the  w^ork- 
man  inserts  a  chisel  or  burin  with  a  semicircular  blade,  bent  so 
that  the  edge  cuts  the  ivory,  as  the  shaft  is  worked  on  the 
pivot,  at  the  same  depth  in  each  hole.  By  successively  cutting 
a  little  on  the  inside  of  each  conical  hole,  the  incisures  meet, 
and  a  sphericle  is  at  last  detached,  which  is  now  turned  over 
and  its  faces  one  after  another  brought  opposite  the  largest 
hole,  and  firmly  secured  by  wedges  in  the  other  a})ertures,  while 
its  surfaces  are  smoothed  and  carved.  When  the  central  sphere 
is  done,  a  similar  tool,  somewhat  larger,  is  again  introduced 
into  the  holes,  and  another  sphere  detached  and  smoothed  in 
the  same  way,  and  then  another,  until  the  whole  is  completed, 
each  being  polished  and  carved  before  the  next  outer  one  is 
connnenced.     It  takes  three  or  four  months  to  complete  a  ball 


60  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

with  fifteen  inner  globes,  the  price  of  which  ranges  from  tvventji 
to  thirty  dollars,  according  to  the  delicacy  of  the  carving.  Some 
writers  have  asserted  that  these  curious  toys  were  made  of 
semispheres  nicely  luted  together,  and  they  have  been  boiled 
in  oil  for  hours  in  order  to  separate  them  and  solve  the  mystery 
of  their  consti-uction. 

Fans  and  card-cases  are  carved  of  wood,  ivory,  and  mother- 
of-pearl  in  alto-relievo,  with  an  elaborateness  which  shows  the 
great  skill  and  patience  of  the  workman,  and  at  the  same  time 
his  crude  conception  of  drawing,  the  figures,  houses,  trees,  and 
other  objects  being  grouped  in  violation  of  all  propriety  and 
perspective.  Beautiful  ornaments  are  made  by  carving  roots  of 
plants,  branches,  gnarled  knots,  etc.,  into  fantastic  groups  of 
birds  or  animals,  the  artist  taking  advantage  of  the  natural  form 
of  his  material  in  the  arrano-ement  of  his  figures.  Models  of 
pagodas,  boats,  and  houses  are  entirely  constructed  of  ivory, 
even  to  representing  the  ornamental  roofs,  the  men  working  at 
the  oar,  and  women  looking  from  the  balconies.  Baskets  of 
elegant  shape  are  woven  from  ivoiy  splinths;  and  the  shopmen 
at  Canton  exhibit  a  variety  of  seals,  paper-knives,  chessmen, 
counters,  combs,  etc.,  exceeding  in  finish  and  delicacy  the  same 
kind  of  work  found  anywhere  else  in  the  world.  The  most 
elaborate  coat  of  arms,  or  complicated  cypher,  will  also  be  imi- 
tated by  these  skilful  carvers.  The  national  taste  prefers  this 
style  of  carving  on  plane  surfaces ;  it  is  seen  on  the  walls  of 
houses  and  granite  slabs  of  fences,  the  woodwork  of  boats  and 
shops,  and  on  articles  of  furniture.  Most  of  it  is  pretty,  but  the 
disproportion  and  cramped  position  of  the  figures  detract  from 
its  beauty  when  judged  by  strict  rules  of  western  art. 

The  manufacture  of  enamels  and  cloisonne  wares  has  lately 
received  a  great  stimulus  from  their  foi'eign  demand.  A  copper 
vase  is  formed  of  the  desired  shape  by  hammering  and  solder- 
ing, on  whose  clean  surface  the  figures  to  be  enamelled  are 
etched  to  show  where  the  strips  of  copper  are  to  be  soldered 
before  their  interspaces  are  enamelled.  This  solder  is  made  of 
borax  and  silver,  and  melts  at  a  higher  temperature  than  the 
enamel,  which  is  reduced  to  a  paste  and  filled  into  each  cell  of 
the  pattern  by  brushes  and   styles,  until  the   whole  design  is 


MANUFACTURE   OF   CLOlSONNfi,  MATS,  ETC. 


61 


gone  over.  Tlie  various  colored  liao,  or  ingredients,  are  pre- 
pared in  cakes  by  artists  who  keep  their  composition  secret,  but 
all  the  substances  occur  in  China.  The  (piality  of  the  ware 
depends  on  the  skill  in  mixing  these  cakes  and  fusing  the  colors 
in  a  charcoal  fire,  into  which  the  piece  is  placed  ;  imperfection^ 
and  holes  are  covered  and  tilled  up  when  it  is  cooled,  and  the 
piece  is  again  and  again  exposed  to  the  fire.  After  the  thii-d 
ordeal  it  is  ground  smooth  and  pol- 
ished on  a  lathe,  and  the  brass  work 
gilt.  The  specimens  now  made  show 
very  fine  work,  but  their  coloring 
hardly  equals  those  of  Kienlungs 
reign  or  still  earlier  in  the  Ming  dy- 
nasty. Much  inferior  work  has  also 
been  palmed  off  for  that  of  the  golden 
period  of  this  art. 

The  manufacture  of  mats  for  sails 
of  junks  and  boats,  floors,  bedding, 
etc-.,  employs  thousands.  A  sail  con- 
taining nearly  four  hundred  square 
feet  can  be  obtained  for  ten  dollars. 
The  rolls  are  largely  exported,  and 
still  more  extensively  used  in  the 
countiy  for  covering  packages  for 
shipment.  A  stouter  kind  made  of 
bamboo  splinths  serves  as  a  niatei'ial 
for  huts,  and  fulfils  many  other  pur- 
poses that  are  elsewhere  attained  by 
boards  or  canvas.  Rattans  are  largely 
worked  into  mats,  chairs,  baskets,  and 
other  articles  of  domestic  service.  Several  branches  of  manufac- 
ture have  entirely  grown  up,  or  been  much  encouraged  by  the 
foreign  trade,  among  which  the  preparation  of  vermilion,  beating 
gold-leaf,  cutting  pearl  buttons,  dyeing  and  trimming  pith-{)a])er 
for  artificial  flowers,  weaving  and  painting  fancy  window-blinds, 
and  the  preparation  of  sweetmeats  are  the  principal. 

The  beautiful    vermilion   exported  from  Canton   is  prepared 
by  triturating  one  part  of  quicksilver  with  two  of  sulphur  until 


Fancy  Carved  Work. 


62  THE  MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

they  form  a  blackish  powder,  wliich  is  put  into  a  crucible  having 
an  iron  lid  closely  luted  down.  When  the  fire  acts  on  the  mix- 
ture the  lid  is  cooled  to  effect  the  sublimation  ;  the  deposit  on 
the  top  is  cinnabar  and  that  on  the  sides  is  vermilion,  according 
to  the  Chinese  ;  all  of  them  are  powdered,  levigated,  decanted, 
and  dried  on  tiles  for  use  in  painting  and  pharmacy,  coloring 
candles  and  paper,  and  making  red  ink.  The  excellence  of 
Cliinese  vermilion  depends  on  the  thoroughness  of  the  grind- 
ing.' 

It  has  often  been  said  that  the  Chinese  are  so  averse  to  change 
and  improvement  that  they  will  obstinately  adhere  to  their 
own  modes,  but,  though  slow  to  alter  well-tried  methods,  sucii  i.s 
not  the  case.  Three  new  manufactures  have  been  introduced 
during  the  present  century,  viz.,  that  of  glass,  bronze-work,  and 
Prussian  blue.  A  Chinese  sailor  brought  home  the  manufactnie 
of  the  latter,  which  he  had  learned  thoroughly  in  London,  and 
the  people  now  supply  themselves.  Works  in  bronze  and  bi'ass 
have  of  late  been  set  up,  and  watches  and  clocks  are  both  exten- 
sively manufactured,  with  the  exception  of  the  springs.  Fire- 
engines  in  imitation  of  foreign  hand-engines  are  gradually 
eomino;  into  use.  Brass  cannon  were  made  durins;  the  war  M'ith 
England  in  imitation  of  pieces  taken  from  a  wreck,  and  the 
frames  of  one  or  two  vessels  to  be  worked  with  wlieels  by  men 
at  a  crank,  in  imitation  of  steamers,  M'ere  found  on  the  stocks 
at  Ningpo  Mdien  the  English  took  the  place.  Since  then  the 
establishment  of  government  arsenals  at  Fuhchau,  Shanghai, 
Xanking,  and  Tientsin  has  stimulated  and  suggested  as  well  as 
taught  the  people  many  applications  of  machinery.  Yet  until 
they  can  see  their  Avay  clear  to  be  remunerated  for  their  outlay, 
it  is  unwise  to  urge  or  start  doubtful  experiments.  This  was 
shown  at  Canton  ten  years  ago  when  a  native  company  was 
formed  to  spin  cotton  yarn  by  steam  machinery,  and  when  the 
apparatus  was  all  ready  for  work  the  cotton  gi-owei-s  were  quite 
unwilling  to  trust  their  raw  cotton  out  of  their  hands.  More- 
over, it  should  be  observed   that  few  have  taken  the  trouble  to 


'  Compare  an  article  by  Julien  in  the  Nouv.  Journ.  Asiatique,  Tome  V.,  1830, 
pp.  208  ff. 


PHASES   OF   CHINESE   INDUSTRIAL    LIFE.  63 

explain  or  show  them  tlie  improvements  thej  are  supposed  to 
be  so  disinclined  to  adopt.  Ploughs  have  been  given  the  farm- 
ers near  Shangliai,  but  they  would  not  use  them,  which,  how- 
ever, may  have  been  as  mucli  owing  to  the  want  of  a  proper 
harness,  or  a  little  instruction  regarding  their  use,  as  to  a  dislike 
to  take  a  new  article. 

The  general  aspect  of  Chinese  society,  in  an  industrial  point 
of  view,  is  one  of  its  most  pleasing  features.  The  great  body  of 
the  people  are  obliged  to  engage  in  manual  labor  in  order  to 
subsist,  yet  only  a  trifling  proportion  of  them  can  be  called 
beggars,  while  still  fewer  possess  such  a  degree  of  wealth  that 
they  can  live  on  its  income.  Property  is  safe  enough  to  afford 
assurance  to  honest  toil  that  it  shall  generally  reap  the  reward 
of  its  labors,  but  if  that  toil  prosper  beyond  the  usual  limits, 
the  avarice  of  officials  and  the  envy  of  neighbors  easily  find  a 
multitude  of  contrivances  to  harass  and  impoverish  the  fortunate 
man,  and  the  laws  are  not  executed  with  such  strictness  as  to 
deter  them.  The  mechanical  arts  supply  their  wants,  but  having 
no  better  models  before  them,  nor  any  scientific  acquaintance 
with  elementary  principles  and  powers  applicable  to  a  great 
number  of  purposes,  these  arts  have  remained  stationary.  The 
abundance  of  labor  must  be  employed,  and  its  cheapness  obviates 
the  necessity  of  finding  substitutes  in  machinery.  The  adoption 
of  even  a  few  things  from  abroad  might  involve  so  many 
changes,  that  even  those  intelligent  natives  who  saw  their 
advantages  would  hesitate  in  view  of  the  momentous  contin- 
gencies of  a  failure.  The  conflict  between  capital  and  labor  in 
its  various  phases  and  struggles  is  becoming  more  and  more 
marked  the  world  over  as  civilization  advances,  and  the  Chinese 
polity  is  destined  to  endure  its  greatest  strain  in  adjusting  their 
forces  among  its  industrious  millions. 

Imitation  is  a  remarkal)le  trait  in  the  Chinese  mind,  though  in- 
vention is  not  altogether  wanting ;  the  former  leads  the  people 
to  rest  content  with  what  they  can  get  along  with,  even  at  some 
expense  of  time  and  waste  of  labor,  where,  too,  an  exhibition  of 
ingenuity  and  science  would  perhaps  be  accompanied  with  sus- 
picion, expense,  or  hindrances  from  both  neighbors  and  rulers. 
The  existence  of  the  germ  of  arts  and  discoveries,  whose  devel- 


64  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

opnient  would  liave  brought  witli  them  so  many  advantages 
and  pointed  to  still  further  discoveries,  leads  one  to  inquire  the 
reason  why  they  were  not  carried  out.  Setting  aside  the  view, 
which  may  properly  be  taken,  that  the  wonderful  discoveries 
now  made  in  the  arts  by  Europeans  form  part  of  God's  great 
plan  for  the  redemption  of  the  race,  the  want  of  mutual  con- 
fidence, insecurity  of  property,  and  debasing  effects  of  heathenism 
upon  the  intellect  will  explain  much  of  the  apathy  shown 
toward  improvement.  Invention  among  them  has  rather  lacked 
encouragement  than  ceased  to  exist : — more  than  that,  it  has 
been  checked  by  a  suspicious,  despotic  sway,  while  no  stimulus 
of  necessity  has  existed  to  counterbalance  and  urge  it  forward, 
and  has  been  stunted  by  the  mode  and  materials  of  education. 
It  was  not  till  religious  liberty  and  discussion  arose  in  Europe 
that  the  inhabitants  began  to  improve  in  science  and  arts  as  well 
as  morals  and  good  government ;  and  when  the  ennobling  and 
expanding  principles  of  an  enlarged  civilization  find  their  way 
into  Chinese  society  and  mind,  it  may  reasonably  be  expected 
that  rapid  advances  will  be  made  in  the  comforts  of  this  life,  as 
well  as  in  adopting  the  principles  and  exhibiting  the  conduct 
which  prove  a  fitness  for  the  enjoyments  of  the  next. 


CHAPTER  XVL 

SCIENCE  AMONG  THE  CHINESE. 

That  enlargement  of  the  mind  whicli  results  from  the  collec- 
tion and  investigation  of  facts,  or  from  extensive  reading  of 
books  on  whose  statements  reliance  can  be  placed,  and  which 
leads  to  the  cultivation  of  knowledge  for  its  own  sake,  has  no 
existence  in  China.  Sir  John  Davis  justly  observes  that  the 
Chiniese  "  set  no  value  on  abstract  science,  apart  from  some  ob- 
vious and  immediate  end  of  utility;''  and  he  properly  com 
pares  the  actual  state  of  the  sciences  among  them  with  their 
condition  in  Europe  previous  to  the  adoption  of  the  inductive 
mode  of  investigation.  Even  their  few  theories  in  explanation 
of  the  mysteries  of  nature  are  devoid  of  all  fancy  to  make 
amends  for  want  of  fact  and  experiment,  so  that  in  reading 
them  we  are  neither  amused  by  their  imagination  nor  instructed 
by  their  research.  Perhaps  the  rapid  advances  made  by  Euro- 
peans, during  the  two  past  centuries,  in  the  investigation  of  na- 
ture in  all  her  departments  and  powers,  has  made  us  somewhat 
impatient  of  such  a  parade  of  nonsense  as  Chinese  books  ex- 
hibit. In  addition  to  the  general  inferiority  of  Chinese  mind 
to  European  in  genius  and  imagination,  it  has  moreover  been 
hampered  by  a  language  the  most  tedious  and  meagre  of  all 
tongues,  and  wearied  with  a  literature  abounding  in  tiresome 
repetitions  and  unsatisfactory  theories.  Under  these  conditions, 
science,  whether  mathematical,  physical,  or  natural,  has  made 
few  advances  during  the  last  few  centuries,  and  is  now  awaiting 
a  new  impulse  from  abroad  in  all  its  departments. 

Murray's  China  (Vol.  III.,  Chap.  IV.)  contains  a  fair  account 
of  the  attainments  of  the  Chinese  in  mathematics  and  astronomy. 
The  notation  of  the  Chinese  is  based  on  the  decimal  principle, 
Vol.  II.— 5 


66  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

but  as  their  figures  are  not  changed  in  vahie  by  position,  it  is 
difficult  to  write  out  clearly  the  several  steps  in  solving  a  prob- 
lem. Experiments  have  shown  that  it  is  easy  encmgh  to  per- 
form them  with  Chinese  figures  used  in  our  way,  omitting  the 
characters  for  100,  1,000,  and  10,000  {2)ch,  tslcn,  and  wan) ; 
but  it  will  be  long  before  tlie  change  will  become  gcnei-al,  even 
if  it  be  desirable.  Arithmetical  calculations  are  pei-formed  with 
the  assistance  of  an  abacus,  called  a  stranjxin,  or  '  counting 
board,'  which  is  simply  a  shallow  case  divided  longitudinally  by 
a  bar  and  crossed  by  several  wires ;  on  one  side  of  this  bar  the 
wires  bear  five  balls,  on  the  other  two.  The  five  balls  stand  for 
nnits,  the  two  balls  behig  each  worth  five  units.  When  the 
balls  on  any  wire  are  taken  for  nnits,  those  next  to  the  right 
stand  for  tens,  the  thii'd  for  hundreds,  and  so  on  ;  while  those 
on  the  left  denote  tenths,  hundredths,  etc.  Simple  calculations 
are  done  on  this  machine  with  accuracy  and  rapidity,  but  as  it 
is  only  a  convenient  index  for  the  progress  and  result  of  a  cal- 
culation performed  in  the  head,  if  an  error  be  made  the  whole 
must  be  performed  again,  since  the  result  only  appears  when 
the  sura  is  finished.  There  are  three  sorts  of  figures,  partly  an- 
swering to  the  English,  Itoman,  and  Arabic  forms — as  Seven, 
VII.,  and  T — the  most  connnon  of  which  are  given  on  page  619 
of  Yol.  I. ;  the  complicated  form  is  used  for  securit}-  in  drafts 
and  bills,  and  the  abbreviated  in  common  operations,  accounts, 
etc.,  and  in  setting  down  large  amounts  in  a  more  compact  form 
than  can  be  done  by  the  other  characters.  This  mode  of  nota- 
tion is  employed  by  the  Japanese  and  Cochinchinese,  and  pos- 
sesses some  advantages  over  the  method  of  using  letters  prac- 
tised by  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  as  well  as  over  the  counters 
once  employed  in  England,  but  falls  far  behind  the  Arabic  sys- 
tem now  in  general  use  in  the  west. 

Treatises  on  arithmetic  are  connnon,  in  which  the  simple  rules 
are  explained  and  illustrated  by  examples  and  questions.  One 
of  the  best  is  the  Sinan-fdh  Tung  T,Httng,  or  '  General  Gompre- 
hensive  Arithmetic,'  in  five  volumes,  octavo,  the  author  of  which, 
Cliing  Yu-sz',  lived  in  the  Ming  dynasty.  The  Tsu-wei-shan 
Fang  Sho  ITioh,  or  'Mathematics  of  the  Lagerstra'mia  Hill 
Institution,'  in  thirty-eight  books,  octavo,  182S,  contains  a  com- 


CHINESE    MATHEMATICS.  G7 

plete  course  of  mathematical  instruction  in  geometry,  trigonom- 
etry, mensuration,  etc.,  together  with  a  table  of  natural  sines 
and  tangents,  and  one  of  logarithmic  sines,  tangents,  secants, 
etc.,  for  every  degree  and  minute.  Both  these  compilations 
derive  most  of  their  value  from  the  mathematical  writings  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  missionaries ;  it  is  stated  in  the  latter  work 
that  "•  the  western  scholar,  John  Kapier,  made  logarithms." 

The  study  of  arithmetic  has  attracted  attention  among  the 
Chinese  from  very  early  times,  and  the  notices  found  in  his- 
torical works  indicate  some  ti'eatises  even  extant  in  the  Ilan 
dynasty,  followed  by  a  great  number  of  general  and  particular 
works  down  to  the  Sung  dynasty.  One  author  of  the  Tang 
dynast}',  in  his  problems  on  solid  mensuration,  offered  one 
thousand  taels  of  silver  to  whoever  found  a  single  word  of  error 
in  the  book.  The  Hindu  processes  in  algebra  were  known  to 
Chinese  mathematicians,  and  are  still  studied,  though  all  intel- 
lectual intercourse  between  the  countries  has  long  ceased.  Down 
to  the  end  of  the  Ming  dynasty,  these  branches  made  slow  prog- 
ress. Since  foreigners  have  begun  to  apply  western  science, 
the  development  has  been  rapid.  Mr.  Wylie  has  given,  in  his 
Notes  0)1  Chinese  Literature  (pp.  86-104),  a  digested  account 
of  the  most  valuable  native  works  on  astronomy  and  mathe- 
matics. One  very  comprehensive  work  on  them  is  the  Thesau- 
rus of  Mathematics  and  Chronology,  published  b}'  imperial  or- 
der about  1750. 

The  knowledge  of  mathematics,  even  among  learned  men,  is 
very  small,  and  the  common  people  study  it  only  as  far  as  their 
business  requires  ;  the  cumbersome  notation  and  the  little  aid 
such  studies  giv^e  in  the  examinations  doubtless  discourage  men 
from  pursuing  what  they  seem  to  have  no  taste  for  as  a  people.' 
A  curious  fact  regarding  the  existence  of  six  errors  in  these 
tables,  discovered  by  Bal)bage  to  have  been  perpetuated  in  most 
of  the  European  logarithmic  tables  since  the  publication  of  the 
Trigonometria  Artijicialis  of  Vlacq  in  1633,  proves  the  source 
whence  the  Chinese  derived  them,  and  their  imitative  fidelity 
in  copying  them.     Chinese  authors  readily   acknowledge   the 

'  See  Notes  and  Queries  on  C.  and  /.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  166,  and  Vol.  III.,  p.  153. 


CS  THE   MIDDLE   KINGD03I. 

superiority  of  western  inatlieinaticians,  and  generally  ascribe 
their  advances  in  the  exact  sciences  to  them. 

The  attaiinnents  made  by  the  ancient  Chinese  in  astronomy 
are  not  easily  understood  from  their  scanty  records,  for  the 
mere  notice  of  an  eclipse  is  a  very  different  thing  from  its  cal- 
culation or  description.  They  have  been  examined  recently 
with  renewed  interest  and  care  in  view  of  the  discoveries  at 
]S"ineveh,  which  have  furnished  so  many  reliable  notices  in 
"Western  Asia  of  early  days,  and  may  lend  some  rays  of  light 
to  illustrate  the  history  and  condition  of  Eastern  Asia  when 
more  fully  studied.  The  Booh  of  liecords  contains  some  notices 
of  instructions  given  by  Yao  to  his  astronomers  Hi  and  IIo  to 
ascertain  the  solstices  and  e(|uinoxcs,  to  employ  intercalary 
months,  and  to  tix  the  four  seasons,  in  order  that  the  husband- 
man miglit  know  when  to  connnit  his  seed  to  the  ground.  If 
the  time  of  the  deluge  be  reckoned,  according  to  Hales,  at  b.c. 
3155,  there  will  be  an  interval  of  about  eight  centuries  to  the 
days  of  Yao,  ];.<•.  2357  ;  this  would  be  ample  time  for  the  ob- 
servation that  the  primitive  sacred  year  of  three  hundred  and 
sixty  days  in  Noah's  time  was  wrong;  also  that  the  lunar  year 
of  about  three  hundred  and  fifty-four  days  was  (piite  as  incor- 
rect, and  required  additional  correction,  which  this  ancient 
monarch  is  said  to  have  made  by  an  intercalation  of  seven  lunar 
months  in  nineteen  years.  It  is  remarkable,  too,  that  the  time 
given  as  the  date  of  the  conunencement  of  the  astronomical  ob- 
servations sent  to  Aristotle  from  Babylon  by  command  of  Alex- 
ander should  be  b.c.  2233,  or  only  a  few  years  after  the  death 
of  Yao  ;  at  that  time  the  five  additional  days  to  complete  the 
solar  year  were  intercalated  by  the  Chaldeans,  and  celebrated  as 
days  of  festivity.  Dr.  Hales,  who  mentions  this,  says  that  many 
ancient  nations,  and  also  the  Mexicans,  had  the  same  custom, 
but  there  are  no  traces  of  any  particular  observance  of  them  by 
the  Chinese,  who,  indeed,  could  not  notice  them  in  a  lunar 
year. 

The  intercalation  made  by  Yao  has  continued  with  little  vari« 
ation  to  this  day.  The  Romish  missionaries  rectified  the 
calendar  durinf>;  the  i-eio;n  of  Kan2;hi,  and  have  contimied  its 
preparation  since  that  time.     The  adoption  of   the  Julian  solar 


DIVISIONS    OF   THE   YEAR.  60 

year  of  tlircc  Inmdred  and  sixty-five  and  one-fonrth  days  at  this 
remote  period  is  far  fioni  certain,  tliougli  tlic  fact  of  its  exist- 
ence among  nations  in  the  west  is' mentioned  hy  the  commenta- 
tor upon  the  Iloolx  of  liecordH,  who  tlonrislied  a.d.  1200.  The 
attention  tlie  ('liinese  paid  to  the  hniar  year,  and  tlie  veiy  small 
difference  tlieir  seven  intercahitions  left  hetween  the  true  hai- 
monizing  of  the  lunar  and  solar  years  (only  Ih.  27m.  32s.), 
would  not  derange  the  calculations  to  a  degree  to  attract  their 
notice.  The  period  of  the  adoption  of  the  cycle  of  sixty  years, 
called  In/i-sJiiJt  hwa  hiah-tsz\  cannot  be  ascertained  even  with 
any  close  approach  to  pi-obahility.  Though  negative  evidence 
is  always  the  poorest  basis  on  which  to  found  a  theory  in  any 
branch  of  knowledge,  it  still  bears  great  influence  in  early 
Chinese  history  and  science,  and  in  no  department  more  than 
astronomy.  This  sexagenary  cycle,  the  Chinese  assert,  was  con- 
trived nearly  three  centuries  before  the  time  of  Yao  (b.c.  2637), 
and  seems  to  have  been  perfectly  arbiti-ar^',  for  no  explanation 
now  exists  of  the  reasons  wliicli  induced  its  inventor,  llwangti, 
or  his  minister,  Kao  the  Great,  to  select  this  number.  The 
years  liave  each  of  them  a  separate  name,  formed  by  taking  ten 
characters,  called  shih  Jicuu  or  '  ten  stems,'  and  joining  to  them 
twelve  other  characters,  called  the  shih-'ih  c7ii,  or  'twelve 
branches,'  five  times  repeated. 

These  two  sets  of  horary  characters  are  also  applied  to 
minutes  and  seconds,  honrs,  days,  and  months,  signs  of  the 
zodiac,  points  of  the  compass,  etc.  By  giving  the  twelve 
branches  the  names  of  as  many  animals  and  apportioning  the 
ten  stems  in  couplets  among  the  five  elements,  they  are  also 
made  to  play  an  important  part  in  divination  and  astrology. 
The  present  year  (1882)  is  the  eighteenth  year  of  the  seventy- 
sixth  cycle,  or  the  four  thousand  five  hundred  and  eighteenth 
since  its  institution  ;  but  no  trace  of  a  serial  nnmbering  of  the 
sexagenary  periods  has  yet  been  found  in  Chinese  writings.  The 
application  of  the  characters  to  hours  and  days  dates  from  about 
B.C.  1752,  according  to  the  Shu  Klmj,  pei'haps  even  before  they 
were  combined  in  a  cyclic  arrangement.  This  sexagenary  divi- 
sion existed  in  India  in  early  times,  too,  and  is  still  followed 
there,  where  it  is  named  the  Cycle  of  Jnpiter,  "  because  the 


70  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

length  of  its  years  is  measured  by  the  passage  of  that  phiiict, 
bv  its  mean  motion,  through  one  sign  of  the  zodiac."  liev.  E. 
Ihirgess,  in  his  translation  of  "the  Surija  jSuld/ianta,  says  that 
tlie  length  of  Jupiter's  years  is  reckoned  in  that  book  at  361d. 
Oh.  38m.,  and  adds :  "  It  was  doubtless  on  account  of  the  near 
coincidence  of  this  period  with  the  true  solar  year  that  it  was 
adopted  as  a  measure  of  time  ;  but  it  has  not  been  satisfac- 
torily ascertained,  as  far  as  we  are  aware,  "where  the  cycle  origin- 
ated, or  what  is  its  age,  or  why  it  was  made  to  consist  of  sixty 
years,  including  five  whole  revolutions  of  the  planet."  It  is 
not  improbable,  therefore,  that  the  cycle,  the  two  sets  of  char- 
acters, the  twenty-four  solar  terms,  witli  the  twelve  and  twenty- 
eight  lunar  mansions  or  zodiacal  asterisms,  all  of  which  play 
such  an  important  part  in  Chinese  astrology  and  astronomy, 
will  be  found  to  have  been  derived  from  the  Chaldeans,  and  not 
from  the  Hindus,  as  has  been  confidently  asserted.  Though 
confessedly  ancient  in  both  India  and  China,  their  adoption  was 
slow  in  its  growth,  while  some  striking  similarities  indicate  a 
common  origin,  and  so  remote  that  its  genesis  is  all  a  mystery. 

The  year  is  lunar,  but  its  commencement  is  regulated  by  the 
sun.  Kew"  Year  falls  on  the  first  new  moon  after  the  sun  enters 
Aquarius,  which  makes  it  come  not  before  January  21st  nor 
after  February  lOtli.  Besides  the  division  into  lunar  months, 
the  year  is  apportioned  into  twenty-four  tsie/i,  or  '  terms,'  of 
about  fifteen  days  each,  depending  upon  the  position  of  the  sun  ; 
these  are  continued  on  from  year  to  year,  irrespective  of  the  in- 
tercalations, the  first  one  commencing  about  February  6th, 
when  the  sun  is  15°  in  Aquarius.  Tlieir  names  have  i-eference 
to  the  season  of  the  year  and  obvious  clianges  in  nature  at  the 
time  they  come  round,  as  rain-vxtter,  vernal-eqitifiox,  spiked- 
grain,  little-heat,  etc. 

The  Chinese  divide  the  zodiac  {hviang  tao,  or  'yellow  road') 
into  twenty-eight  siu  or  I'ung,  '  constellations '  or  '  lunar  man- 
sions,' but  instead  of  an  equable  allotment,  the  signs  occupy 
from  1°  up  to  31°;  the  Hindus  arrange  tliem  nearly  in  spaces 
of  13°  each.  Their  names  and  corres])onding  animals,  with 
the  prmcipal  stars  answering  to  each  asterism,  are  given  in  the 
table. 


DIVISIONS   OF   THE   ZODIAC. 


71 


Chin 
siu. 

Corresponding 
Animal. 

Constellation. 

15 

Chin 
siu. 

Corresponding 
Animal. 

Constellation. 

1 

Kioh. 

Earth  Dragon. 

Spica,  C  Virgo. 

Kioei. 

Wolf. 

Mirac. 

2 

Kami. 

Sky  Dragon. 

ikKh  Virgo. 

16 

Leu. 

Dog. 

a)3  Aries. 

3 

Ti.  ' 

Badger. 

afiyS  Libra. 

17 

Wei. 

Pheasant. 

Musca. 

4 

Fang. 

Hare. 

0  S  Scorpio. 

18 

Mao. 

Cock. 

Pleiades. 

5 

Sm. 

Fox. 

Antares. 

19 

Pih. 

Raven. 

Hyades. 

6 

Wei. 

Tiger. 

€  lu.  Scorpio. 

30 

Tsui. 

Monkey. 

A  Orion. 

7 

Ki. 

Leopard. 

78  Sagittarius. 

21 

Tmn. 

Ape. 

Rigel,  Orion. 

8 

Teu. 

Griffon. 

i  A.  Sagittarius.  ! 

22 

I'sinq. 

Tapir. 

Gemini. 

9 

Niu. 

Ox. 

0/3  Sagittarius. 

23 

Kwei. 

Sheep. 

ylB  Cancer. 

10 

mi. 

Bat. 

6^*7  A(|uarius. 

24 

Liu. 

Muntjak. 

5  6  C  Hydra. 

11 

mi. 

Rat. 

P  Aquarius. 

25 

Sing. 

Horse. 

Alphard. 

12 

Wei. 

Swallow. 

a  Aquarius  & 

26 

Chang. 

Deer. 

kKjx  Hydra. 

e  Pegasus. 

27 

Yih. 

Snake. 

a  Crater. 

13 

8hih. 

Boar. 

Markab. 

28 

Chan. 

Worm. 

7  e  Corvus. 

" 

PJi. 

Porcupine. 

Algenib. 

Instead  of  being  equally  divided  in  the  four  seasons,  they  are 
apportioned  very  empirically.  Those  numbered  7  to  14  belong 
to  Aquarius  and  the  north,  and  measure  98^° ;  those  from  1  to 
7  belong  to  Scorpio  and  the  east,  and  measure  75°  ;  those  from 
15  to  21  belong  to  Taurus  and  the  west,  and  measure  80°  ;  and 
the  last  7  belong  to  Leo  and  the  south,  and  measure  112°.  All 
these  things  show  very  crude  knowledge  of  the  heavenly  bodies. 

The  zodiac  is  further  divided  into  twelve  signs  or  palaces, 
varying  from  25"  to  38°  in  length,  named  after  the  twelve 
branches  or  animals  representing  them,  commencing  with  Aqua- 
rius or  the  rat,  followed  by  the  o.\,  tiger,  hare,  dragon,  snake, 
horse,  sheep,  monkey,  cock,  dog,  and  bear.  These  animals  also 
occur  among  the  twenty-eight  asterisms,  but  they  are  used  to 
denote  the  twelve  branches  in  all  astrological  calculations,  and 
not  often  referred  to  the  zodiac.  They  are  in  constant  use 
among  the  nations  of  Eastern  Asia,  so  that  the  common  people 
of  Mongolia,  Siam,  and  Japan  are  really  more  conversant  with 
them,  through  their  application  to  times  of  various  length,  than 
they  ai-e  M'ith  the  technical  characters.  The  Hindus  and  Arab- 
ians, on  the  other  hand,  do  not  associate  these  or  any  othei 
animals  with  the  twelve  signs,  hours,  and  months,  nor  with  the 
twenty-eight  mansions ;  and  this  fact  tends  to  show  that  the 
Chinese  obtained  them  from  a  more  ancient  source.     The  name 


72  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

•of  one  of  tlie  twentj-eiglit  liiiiar  mansions  is  given  to  every  day 
in  tlie  year  in  perpetual  rotation,  consequently  the  same  day  of 
our  week  in  every  fourth  week  has  the  same  character  applied 
ro  it.  The  days  are  numbered  from  the  first  to  the  last  day  of 
the  month,  and  the  months  from  one  to  twelve  through  the 
year,  except  the  intercalaiy  month,  called  jun  yueJi  y  and  there 
is  also  a  trine  division  of  tlie  month  into  decades.' 

The  astronomical  ideas  of  the  common  Chinese  are  vague  and 
inaccurate.  Tlie  knowledge  contained  in  their  own  scientific 
hooks  has  not  been  taught,  and  they  still  believe  the  earth  to  be 
a  plain  surface,  measuring  each  way  about  one  tliousand  five 
hundred  miles;  around  it  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars  revolve,  the 
first  at  a  distance  of  four  tliousand  miles.  This  figure  comes  so 
near  the  earth's  radius  that  it  is  reasonable  to  infer,  with  Chal- 
mers, that  it  was  calculated  from  the  different  elevation  of  the  sun 
in  dift'erent  latitudes.  The  distance  of  the  heavens  from  the  earth 
was  ascertained  by  one  observer  to  be  81,304  //',  and  by  another 
subsequent  to  him  to  be  216,781^  li,  or  about  73,000  miles ; 
all  of  which  indicates  the  lack  of  careful  observation.  The  con- 
stellation of  the  Peh  Tao,  or  Dipper,  plays  an  important  part  in 
popular  astronomy  ;  the  common  saying  is  :  '  When  the  handle 
of  the  Northern  Peck  points  east  at  nightfall,  it  is  spring  over 
the  land ;  when  it  points  south,  it  is  summer ;  and  when  west 
or  north,  it  is  respectively  autumn  and  winter.'  The  Dipper 
has  become  a  kind  of  natm-al  clock  from  this  circumstance,  and 
as  its  handle  always  points  to  the  bright  stars  in  Scorpio,  these 
two  constellations  are  among  the  most  familiar.  These  popular 
notions  must  not,  however,  be  taken  as  a  test  of  what  was  known 
in  early  times;  it  is  quite  as  just  to  their  scientific  attainments 
in  this  branch  to  give  them  credit  (as  Wjdie  does)  for  having 
known  more  than  has  come  down  to  our  days;  as  to  deny  belief 
in  the  little  that  remains,  because  it  presents  some  insoluble 
difificulties,  as  Chalmers  is  disposed  to  do. 

'  Chinese  Eepositorii,  Vol.  IX.,  pp.  573-584.  De  Giiignes'  V»i/iif/rs,  Vol.  II., 
p.  414.  Chinesf!  ChrcHtoriutthy.  Legge's  Shoo  Kinn,  passim.  Chalmers,  On  the 
Astronomy  of  the  Ancient  GJdnese.  Journal  of  the  Am.  Oriental  Society,  Vol. 
VI.,  Art.  III.,  and  Vol.  VIII.,  Arts.  I.  and  VII.  Whitney's  Orientaland  Linfjuisiie 
Studies,  Art.  XII.    North  China  Br.  R.  A.  S.  Journal,  Nos.  III.  and  IV. 


CHINESE    NOTIONS    OF    ASTRONOMY.  73 

Astronomy  has  been  studied  by  the  Chinese  for  astrological 
and  state  pur{)oses,  and  their  recordetl  oI)servatioMS  of  eclipses, 
comets,  etc.,  have  no  small  value  to  European  astronomers  and 
chronologists.     Mailla  has  collected  the  notices  of  460  solar 
eclipses,  extending  from  n.c.  2151)  to  a.d.  1699,  and  Wylie  fur- 
nishes a  careful  list  of  925  solar  and  574  lunar  eclipses,  extracted 
from  Chinese  works,  observed  between  2150   and  a.d.   1785. 
Comets  have  been  carefully  noted  whenever  their  brilliancy  has 
enabled  them  to  be  seen,  for  they  are  regarded  as  portents  by 
the  people,  and  their  course  among  the  stars  somewhat  deter- 
mines their  influence.     A  list  of  373  comets  mentioned  in  Chi- 
nese records  has  been  published   by  John  Williams,'  mostly 
extracted  from  Ma  Twan-lin's  Antiquarian  Researches,  and  the 
Shi  K'i.     They  extend  from  n.c.  611  to  a.d.  1621 ;  the  general 
value  of  these  records  is  estimated  by  the  learned  author  as 
entitling  them  to  credence.     The  curious  and    intimate  con- 
nection between  geomancy,  horoscopy,  and  astrology,  which  the 
Chinese  suppose  exists,  has  a  powerful  influence  in  maintaining 
their  errors,  because  of  its  bearing  on  every  man's  luck.     Even 
with  all  the  aid  they  have  derived  from  Europeans,  the  Chinese 
seem  to  be  unable  to  advance  in  the  science  of  astronomy,  when 
left  to  themselves,  and  to  cling  to  their  superstitions  against 
every  evidence.     Some  clouds  having  on  one  occasion  covered 
the  sky,  so  that  an  eclipse  could  not  be  seen,  the  courtiers  joy- 
fully repaired  to  the  Emperor  to  felicitate  him,  that  Heaven, 
touched  by  his  virtues,  had  spared  him  the  pain  of  witnessing 
the  "eating  of  the  sun."     A  native  writer  on  astronomy,  called 
Tsinglai,  who  published  several  works  under  the  patronage  of 
Yuen  Yuen,  the  liberal-minded  governor  of  Kwangtungin  1820, 
even  at  that  late  day,  "  makes  the  heavens  to  consist  of  ten  con- 
centric hollow  spheres  or  envelopes;  the  flrst  contains  the  moon's 
orbit ;  the  second  that  of  Mercury ;  those  of  Yenus,  the  Sun, 
Mars,  Jupiter,  Saturn,  and  the  twenty-eight  constellations,  fol- 
low ;  the  ninth  envelops  and  binds  together  the  eight  interior 
ones,  and  revolves  daily ;  while  the  tenth  is  the  abode  of  the 


■  Observations  of  Comef.,%  from  u.c.  Gil  to  a.d.  1640.    Extracted  from  the  Chi- 
liese  Annuls.     Loudon,  1871. 


74  IIIK    .MlUDLi:    Kl.NcatO.M. 

Celestial  tSovereit'n,  the  Great  lluler,  with  all  the  ii^ods  and  sao'es 
where  thej  enjoy  eternal  tranquillity."  lie  further  says,  "there 
are  two  north  and  two  south  poles,  those  of  the  equator  and 
those  of  the  ecliptic.  The  poles  of  the  ecliptic  regulate  the 
varied  machinery  of  the  heavenly  revolutions,  and  turn  round 
unceasingly.  The  poles  of  the  equator  are  the  pivots  of  the 
primitive  celestial  body,  and  remain  permanently  unmoved. 
What  are  called  the  two  poles,  therefore,  are  really  not  stars, 
but  two  immovable  points  in  the  north  and  in  the  south.*'  '  The 
author  of  this  astute  cosmogony  studied  under  Europeans,  and 
published  these  remarks  as  the  fruit  of  his  researches. 

The  action  and  reaction  of  the  elements  furnish  a  satisfactory 
explanation  to  Chinese  philosophers  of  the  changes  going  on  in 
the  visible  universe,  for  no  possible  contingencj'  can  arise  which 
they  are  not  prepared  to  solve  by  their  analysis  of  the  evolution 
of  its  powers.  Through  their  speculations  by  this  curious  system 
they  have  been  led  away  from  carefully  recording  facts  and 
processes,  and  have  gone  on,  like  a  squirrel  in  a  cage,  making 
no  progress  tow^ard  the  real  knowledge  of  the  elements  they 
treat  of.  The  following  table  contains  the  leading  elementary 
cori-espondences  which  they  use,  but  a  full  explanation  would 
be  out  of  place  here. 

This  fanciful  system  is  more  or  less  received  by  their  most 
intelligent  mcTi ;  and  forms  a  sort  of  abracadabra  in  the  hands 
of  geomancers  and  foi-tuue-tellers,  by  which,  with  a  show  of 
great  learning,  they  impose  on  the  people.  The  sun,  moon, 
and  planets  influence  sublunary  events,  especially  the  life  and 
death  of  human  beings,  and  changes  in  their  color  menace  ap- 
proaching calamities.  Alterations  in  the  appearance  of  the  sun 
announce  misfortunes  to  the  state  or  its  head,  as  revolts,  fam- 
ines, or  the  death  of  the  Einperor ;  when  the  moon  waxes  red, 
or  turns  pale,  men  should  be  in  awe  at  the  unlucky  times  thus 
foreomened. 

The  sun  is  symbolized  by  the  figure  of  a  raven  in  a  circle, 
and  the  moon  by  a  rabbit  on  his  hind  legs  pounding  rice  in 
a  mortar,  or  by  a  three-legged  toad.     The  last  refers  to  the 


Chinese  ChrcHtoiiuitlii/,  p.  391 


ACTION    AND    UEACTIOX    OF   THE   ELEMENTS. 


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76  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

legend  of  an  ancient  beauty,  Cliang-ngo,  who  drank  the  liquor 
of  imniortality  and  straightway  ascended  to  the  moon,  where 
she  was  transformed  into  a  toad,  still  to  be  traced  in  its  face. 
It  is  a  special  object  of  worship  in  autumn,  and  moon-cakes 
dedicated  to  it  are  sold  at  this  season.  All  the  stars  are  i-anged 
into  constellations,  and  an  emperor  is  installed  over  them,  who 
resides  at  the  north  pole  ;  five  monarchs,  also,  Yivc  in  the  five 
stars  in  Leo,  where  is  a  palace,  called  Wu  Tl  tao^  or  'Throne  of 
the  Five  Emperors.'  In  this  celestial  government  there  is  also 
an  heir-apparent,  empresses,  sons  and  daughters,  tribunals,  and 
the  constellations  receive  the  names  of  men,  animals,  and  other 
terrestrial  objects.  The  Dipper  is  worshipped  as  the  residence 
of  the  fates,  where  the  duration  of  life,  and  other  events  relating 
to  mankind,  are  measured  and  meted  out.  Doolittle's  Social 
Life  contains  other  popular  notions  connected  with  the  stars, 
showing  the  ignorance  still  existing,  and  the  fears  excited  by 
unusual  phenomena  among  the  heavenly  bodies.  Both  heaven 
and  the  sun  are  worshipped  by  the  government  in  appropriate 
temples  on  the  west  and  east  sides  of  Peking.  The  rainbow  is 
the  product  of  the  impure  vapors  ascending  from  the  earth 
meetino;  those  descendino;  from  the  sun. 

If  their  knowledge  of  astronomy  can  be  criticised  as  being 
anything  but  an  exact  science,  the  Chinese  should  not  be  denied 
credit  for  a  certain  amount  of  beauty  in  what  may  be  called  the 
romantic  side  of  this  study.  In  the  myths  and  legends  which 
have  clustered  about  and  doubtless  in  many  cases  perverted 
their  observations  of  the  stars,  there  are  the  sources  of  fetes 
and  subjects  for  pictorial  illustration  Mithout  number.  One  of 
these  stories,  forming  the  motive  of  a  bowl  decoration  given 
upon  the  opposite  page,  is  the  fable  of  Aquila  (;^/'i'/.)  and  Vega, 
known  in  Chinese  and  Japanese  mytliX)logy  as  the  Herdsman 
and  Weaver-girl.  The  latter,  the  daughter  of  the  sun-god,  was 
so  continually  busied  with  her  loom  that  her  father  became  wor- 
I'ied  at  her  close  habits  and  thought  that  by  marrying  her  to  a 
neighbor,  who  herded  cattle  on  the  banks  of  the  Silver  Stream 
of  Heaven  (the  Milky  Way),  she  might  awake  to  a  brighter 
manner  of  living. 

"  No  sooner  did   the  maiden  become  wife  than  her  habits 


FABLE    OF   THE    HERDSMAN    AND    WKAVEIt-GIRL.  77 


78  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

and  character  utterly  changed  for  the  worse.  She  hecame  not 
only  very  merry  and  lively,  but  quite  forsook  loom  and  needle, 
giving  up  her  nights  and  days  to  play  and  idleness ;  no  silly 
lover  could  hav^e  been  more  foolish  than  she.  The  sun-king;,  in 
great  wrath  at  all  this,  concluded  that  the  husband  was  the 
cause  of  it  and  determined  to  sepai'ate  the  couple.  So  he  or- 
dered him  to  remove  to  the  other  side  of  the  river  of  stars,  and 
told  him  that  hereafter  they  should  meet  only  once  a  year,  on 
the  seventh  night  of  the  seventh  month.  To  make  a  brids-e 
over  the  flood  of  stars,  the  sun-king  called  myriads  of  magpies, 
which  thereupon  flew  together,  and,  making  a  bridge,  supported 
the  poor  lover  on  their  wnngs  and  backs  as  if  it  were  a  roadway 
of  solid  land.  So  bidding  his  weeping  wife  farewell,  the  lover- 
husband  sorrowfully  crossed  the  River  of  Heaven,  and  all  the 
magpies  instantly  flew  away.  But  the  two  were  separated,  the 
one  to  lead  his  ox,  the  other  to  ply  her  shuttle  during  the  long 
hours  of  the  day  wdth  diligent  toil,  and  the  sun-king  again  re- 
joiced in  his  daughter's  industry. 

"At  last  the  time  for  their  reunion  drew  near,  and  only  one 
fear  possessed  the  loving  wife.  AVhat  if  it  should  rain  ?  For 
the  River  of  Heaven  is  always  full  to  the  brim,  and  one  extra 
di'op  causes  a  flood  which  sweeps  away  even  the  bird  l)ridge. 
But  not  a  drop  fell ;  all  the  heavens  were  clear.  The  magpies 
flew  joyfully  in  myriads,  making  a  way  for  the  tiny  feet  of  the 
httle  lady.  Trembling  with  joy,  and  with  heart  fluttering  more 
than  the  bridge  of  wings,  she  crossed  the  River  of  Heaven  and 
was  in  the  arms  of  her  husband.  This  she  did  every  year. 
The  husband  staid  on  his  side  of  the  river,  and  the  wife  came 
to  him  on  the  magpie  bridge,  save  on  the  sad  occasion  when  it 
rained.  So  every  year  the  people  hope  for  clear  weather,  and 
the  happy  festival  is  celebrated  alike  by  old  and  young."  ' 

These  two  constellations  are  worshipped  principally  by  wom- 
en, that  they  may  gain  cumiing  in  the  arts  of  needlework 
and  making  of  fancy  flowers.  AVatermelons,  fi-uits,  vegetables, 
cakes,  etc.,  are  placed  with  incense  in  the  reception-room,  and 

'  Somewhat  abridged  from  Mr.  W.  E.  Griffis'  Japdneae  Fairy  Worhl,  a  book 
which  has  given  us  the  cream  of  a  great  variety  of  stories  from  Eastern  won' 
der-lore. 


DIVISIONS    OF    THE    DAY— THE   ALMANAC.  79 

before  these  offerings  are  performed  the  kneelings  and  knoek- 
ing-s  in  the  usual  wav. 

The  entire  day  is  divided  into  twelve  two-hour  periods  caUed 
shin.,  coumiencing  at  eleven  o'clock,  p.m.;  each  hour  is  further 
subdivided  into  kik,  or  eighths,  equal  to  fifteen  of  our  minutes, 
and  receives  the  same  characters.  There  are  various  means 
employed  to  measure  time,  but  the  people  are  rapidly  learning 
to  reckon  its  progress  by  watches  and  clocks,  and  follow  our  di- 
visions in  preference  to  their  own.  A  common  substitute  for 
watches  are  tl/ne-sticks,  long  round  pieces  of  a  composition  of 
clay  and  sawdust,  well  mixed  and  wound  in  a  spiral  manner; 
the  lapse  of  time  is  indicated  by  its  equable  slow  combustion 
from  one  hour  mark  to  another,  until  the  whole  is  consumed, 
which  in  the  longest  is  not  less  than  a  week.  Dials  are  in 
common  use,  and  frequently  attached  to  the  mariner's  compass, 
by  making  the  string  which  retains  the  cover  in  its  place  cast  a 
shadow  on  the  face  of  it.  This  lesson  in  dialing,  Davis  supposes 
they  learned  from  the  Jesuits.  Clepsydras  of  various  forms 
were  anciently  employed,  some  of  which,  from  their  descrip- 
tion, were  so  disproportionately  elegant  and  costly  for  such  a 
clumsy  mode  of  noting  time,  that  their  beauty  more  than  their 
use  was  perhaps  the  principal  object  in  preparing  them. 

The  almanac  holds  an  important  place,  its  preparation  having 
been  early  taken  under  the  special  cal-e  of  the  government, 
which  looks  upon  a  present  of  this  important  publication  as  one 
of  the  highest  favors  which  it  can  confer  on  tributary  vassals 
or  friendly  nations.  It  is  annually  prepared  at  Peking,  under 
the  direction  of  a  bureau  attached  to  the  Board  of  Rites,  and, 
by  making  it  a  penal  offence  to  issue  a  counterfeit  or  pirated 
edition  the  governmental  astrologers  have  monopolized  the 
management  of  the  superstitions  of  the  people  in  regard  to  the 
fortunate  or  unlucky  conjunctions  of  each  day  and  hour.  Be- 
sides the  cabalistic  part  of  it,  the  ephemeris  also  contains  tables 
of  the  rising  of  the  sun  according  to  the  latitudes  of  the  prin- 
cipal places,  times  of  the  new  and  full  moon,  the  beginning 
and  length  of  the  twenty -four  terms,  eclipses,  application  of  the 
horary  characters,  conjunction  of  the  planets,  etc.  Two  or 
three  editions  are  published  for  the  convenience  of  the  people, 


80  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

the  prices  of  which  vary  from  three  to  ten  cents  a  copy.  Xo 
one  ventures  to  be  without  an  ahuanac,  lest  he  be  liable  to  the 
gi'eatest  misfortunes,  and  run  the  imminent  hazard  of  under- 
taking important  events  on  black-balled  days.  The  Europeans 
who  were  employed  for  many  years  in  compiling  the  calendar 
were  not  allowed  to  interfere  in  the  astrological  part ;  it  is 
to  the  discredit  of  the  Chinese  to  aid  thus  in  perpetuating  folly 
and  ignorance  among  the  people,  when  they  know  that  the 
whole  system  is  false  and  absurd.  Such  governments  as  that  of 
China,  however,  deem  it  necessary  to  uphold  ancient  supersti- 
tions, if  they  can  thereby  influence  their  security,  or  strengthen 
the  reverence  due  them. 

If  their  astronomical  notions  are  vague,  their  geographical 
knowledge  is  ridiculous.  The  maps  of  their  own  territories  are 
tolerably  good,  being  originally  drawn  from  actual  survej's  by 
nine  of  the  Jesuits,  between  the  years  1708-1718,  and  since 
that  time  have  been  filled  up  and  changed  to  conform  to  the 
alterations  and  divisions.  Their  full  survey's  were  engraved  on 
copper  at  Paris,  by  order  of  Louis  XIV.,  on  sheets,  measuring 
in  all  over  a  hundred  square  feet,  and  have  formed  the  basis  of 
all  subsequent  maps.  The  Chinese  do  not  teach  geography  in 
their  schools,  even  of  their  own  empire.  The  conimon  people 
have  no  knowledge,  therefore,  of  the  form  and  divisions  of  the 
globe,  and  the  size  and  position  of  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth. 
Their  common  maps  delineate  them  very  erroneously,  not  even 
excepting  their  own  possessions  in  Mongolia  and  tli — scattering 
islands,  kingdoms,  and  continents,  as  they  have  heard  of  their 
existence,  at  haphazard  in  various  corners  beyond  the  frontiers. 
The  two  Americas  and  Africa  are  entirely  omitted  on  most  of 
them,  and  England,  Holland,  Portugal,  Goa,  Lugonia,  Bokhara, 
Germany,  France,  and  India,  are  arranged  along  the  western 
side,  from  north  to  south,  in  a  series  of  islands  and  headlands. 
The  southei'n  and  eastern  sides  are  similarly  garnished  by  islands, 
as  Japan,  Lewchew,  Formosa,  Siam,  Pirmah,  Java,  the  Sulu 
Islands,  and  others,  while  Kussia  occupies  the  whole  of  the 
northern  frontier  of  tlieir  Middle  Kingdom. 

The  geographical  works  of  Tsinglai  are  not  (juite  so  erroneous 
as  his  astronomical,  but  the  uneducated  peoj^lc,  notwithstanding 


GE0(4KAnTICAL    KNOWLEDGK    OF   THE    CHINESE.  8\ 

Ills  efforts  to  teach  them  better,  still  generally  su})pose  the  earth 
to  be  an  inniiense  extended  stationary  plain.  Their  notions  of  its 
inhabitants  are  equally  whimsical,  and  wonld  grace  tlie  pages  of 
Sir  fJohn  Mandeville.  In  some  parts  of  its  surface  they  imagine 
the  inliabitants  to  he  all  dwarfs,  who  tie  themselves  together  in 
bunches  for  fear  of  being  carried  away  by  the  eagles;  in 
others  they  are  all  women,  who  conceive  by  looking  at  their 
shadows ;  and  in  a  third  kingdom,  all  the  people  have  holes  in 
their  breasts,  through  which  they  thrust  a  pole,  when  carrying 
one  another  from  place  to  place.  Chai'ts  for  the  guidance  of 
the  navigator,  or  instruments  to  aid  him  in  determining  his 
position  at  sea,  the  Chinese  are  nearly  or  quite  destitute  of; 
they  have  retrograded  rather  than  advanced  in  navigation,  judg- 
ing from  the  accounts  of  Fa-hian,  Ibn  Batuta,  and  other  travel- 
lers, M'hen  their  vessels  frequented  the  ports  in  the  Persian  Gulf 
and  on  the  Malabar  coast,  and  carried  on  a  large  trade  with  the 
Archipelago.  Itineraries  are  published,  containing  the  dis- 
tances betw^een  places  on  the  principal  thoroughfares  throughout 
the  provinces,  and  also  lists  of  the  ports,  harbors,  and  islands  on 
the  coast,  but  nothing  like  sailing  directions  accompany  the 
latter,  nor  do  maps  of  the  routes  illustrate  the  former.  Such 
knowledge  as  they  have  on  these  points  is  hidden  away  in  their 
libraries,  as  the  Latin  and  Greek  classics  were  in  European  con- 
vents and  castles  a  thousand  yeai's  ago. 

In  the  various  branches  of  mensuration  and  formulae  used  to 
describe  the  dimensions  and  weight  of  bodies,  they  have  reached 
only  a  practical  medioci'ity.  With  a  partial  knowledge  of  trigo- 
nometry, and  no  instruments  for  ascertaining  the  heights  of 
objects  or  their  distances  fi'om  the  observer,  still  their  lands  are 
well  measured,  and  the  area  of  lots  in  towns  and  cities  accurately 
ascertained.  The  cht/i  or  foot  is  the  integer  of  length,  but  its 
standard  value  cannot  be  easily  ascertained.  In  the  Chinese 
Commercial  Ouide^  p.  285,  is  a  table  of  eighty-four  observations 
on  this  point,  taken  at  different  times  and  places  in  China,  whose 
extremes  differ  more  than  six  inches.  It  is  fixed  by  the  Board 
of  Works  at  13^  in.  English,  but  tradesmen  at  Canton  employ 
foot  measures  varying  from  14.625  to  14.81  in. ;  according 
to  the  tariff,  it  is  reckoned  at  14.1  in.  English,  and  the  ehang 
Vol.  II.— 6 


83  THE    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

of  ten  chih  at  Z\\  yds.  During  the  past  thirty  years,  the  tariff 
weights  and  measures  have  gradually  obtained  acceptance  as  the 
standards,  and  this  will  probably  result  in  securing  uniforniity 
in  course  of  time.  The  chih  is  subdivided  into  ten  tsun  or  pun- 
tos,  and  each  tsun  into  teny^n.  The  I'l  is  used  for  distances, 
and  is  usually  reckoned  at  1,825.55  ft.  English,  Avh'ich  gives  2.89 
I'l  to  an  English  mile  ;  this  is  based  on  the  estimate  of  200  I'l  to 
a  degree,  but  there  were  only  180  li  to  a  degree  before  Euro- 
peans came,  which  increases  its  length  to  2,028.39  ft.  or  2.6  Vi  to 
a  mile,  which  is  nearer  the  common  estimate.  The  French 
missionaries  divided  the  degree  into  250  li  (each  being  then  ex- 
actly 1,460.44  ft.  English,  or  one-tenth  of  a  French  astronomical 
league),  and  also  into  sixty  minutes  and  sixty  seconds,  to  make 
it  correspond  to  western  notation  ;  this  measure  has  not  been 
adopted  in  common  use.  The  present  rulers  have  established 
post-houses  very  generally,  at  intervals  of  ten  li^  or  about  a 
league.  The  land  measures  are  the  mao  and  l:'in<j  ;  the  former 
measures  6,000  square  <?/«'A,  or  808.6  square  yaixls,  and  a  hundred 
of  them  make  a  king.  Taxes  are  collected,  land  is  leased, 
and  crops  are  estimated  by  the  mao  and  its  decimal  parts ;  but 
examination  has  shown  that  the  actual  area  of  a  inao  grows  less 
as  one  goes  north  ;  in  Canton,  it  is  about  4.76  'tnao  to  an  acre, 
and  at  Peking  it  is  six,  and  even  smaller. 

The  weights  and  measures  of  the  Chinese  are  twenty -four  in 
all,  and  vary  in  their  value  even  more  than  those  of  long  meas- 
ure. The  common  weights  are  called  tael^  catty ^  2i\\^^ecul  by 
foreigners ;  their  values  are  respectively  \\  oz.  av.,  1|^  lb.  av., 
and  1331^  lbs.  av.,  and  thus  roughly  correspond  to  the  English 
ounce,  pound,  and  hundredweight.  The  Chinese  deal  in  many 
articles  l)y  weight  which  among  western  nations  are  sold  accord- 
ing to  their  quality — such  as  M'ood,  silk,  oil,  whiskey,  cloth,  grain, 
poultry,  etc. — so  that  it  has  been  humorously  observed  that  the 
Chinese  sell  everything  by  -weight,  except  eggs  and  children. 
Their  common  measures  correspond  nearly  to  our  gill,  half-pint, 
pint,  and  peck,  and  are  used  to  retail  rice,  beans,  etc.  The  smaller 
ones  are  not  very  accurately  constructed  from  bamboo-joints, 
but  the  peck  measure,  or  tec,  shaped  like  tlie  frustum  of  a 
pyramid,  must  be  olRcially  examined  and  sealed  before  it  can 


MONEY,   WEIGHTS,   AND   MEASURES.  SIl 

be  used;  at  Canton  it  contains  6^  catties  weiglit,  or  about  1.13 
gallon.  The  decimals  of  the  tael,  called  riiace^  eamlareen,  and 
cash  {tsitn,  /an,  and  li),  are  employed  in  reckoning  bullion, 
pearls,  gems,  drugs,  etc.;  ten  cash  making  one  candareen,  ten 
candareens  one  mace,  etc.  The  proportions  between  the  Chi- 
nese and  American  moneys  and  weights  is  such  that  so  many 
taels  per  pecul,  or  candareens  per  catty,  is  the  same  as  so  many 
dollars  per  hundredweight,  or  cents  per  pound.' 

The  monetary  system  is  arranged  on  the  principle  of  weight, 
and  the  divisions  have  the  same  names,  fael,  mace,  candareen, 
and  cash.  The  only  native  coin  is  a  copper  piece  called  tsien, 
because  it  originally  weighed  a  mace  ;  it  is  thin  and  circular, 
rather  more  than  an  inch  in  diameter,  with  a  square  hole  in  the 
middle  for  the  convenience  of  stringing.  The  obverse  bears 
the  word  ])ao,  or  '  current,'  and  the  name  of  the  province  in 
Manchu,  on  each  side  of  the  square  hole  ;  the  reverse  has  four 
words,  Taulnran'j,  tun'j^pno,  i.e.,  'money  current  [during  the 
reign  of]  Taukwang.'  Mints  for  casting  cash  are  established 
in  each  provincial  capital  under  the  direction  of  the  Board  of 
lie  venue.  The  coin  should  consist  of  an  alloy  of  copper,  50  ; 
zinc,  ^\\  ;  lead,  6^  ;  and  tin,  2  ;  or  of  equal  parts  of  copper 
and  zinc  ;  but  it  has  been  so  debased  by  iron  and  reduced  in 
size  during  the  last  fifty  years  that  it  does  not  pay  to  counter- 
feit it.  Each  piece  should  weigh  58  grains  troy,  or  3.78 
grammes,  but  most  of  those  now  in  circulation  are  under  30 
grains,  and  the  rate  of  exchange  varies  in  different  parts  of  the 
land  from  900  to  1,800  for  a  silver  dollar. 

The  workmen  in  the  mint  are  required  to  remain  within  the 
building  except  wdien  leave  of  absence  is  obtained,  but  in  spite 
of  all  the  efforts  of  government,  private  coinage  is  issued  to  a 
great  amount,  and  sometimes  with  the  connivance  of  the  mint- 
master.  Xeither  silver  nor  gold  has  ever  been  coined  to  any 
extent  in  China.  In  seeking  for  the  cause  of  this  difference 
from  all  other  Asiatic  nations,  it  seems  to  lie  in  the  commercial 
freedom  which  has  done  so  much  to  elevate  them.     The  gov- 

^  Gliimse  Repository,  Vol.  X.,p.  050;  Chinrse  Chrestomathy ;  Cliinese  Com- 
mercml  Guide,  Fifth  Ed.,  pp.  2G5-288  ;  Rondot,  Commerce  de  la  Chine,  1819. 


84  THE   MIDDLE    KIN(4D0M. 

ernment  on  the  one  liand  is  not  strone;  enono;]i  to  restrain  coun- 
terfeiters,  and  not  honest  enough,  on  the  other  hand,  to  issne 
pieces  of  nniforni  standard  for  a  series  of  years  till  it  has  ob- 
tained the  (ioniidence  of  its  subjects.  It  will  not  receive  base 
metal  for  taxes,  and  cannot  force  merchants  to  accept  adulter- 
ated coins.  As  its  foreign  relations  extend  it  will  no  doubt  be 
obliged  to  issue  a  better  national  currency  in  the  three  metals. 
Attempts  have  been  made  to  introduce  a  silver  piece  of  the  size 
of  a  tael,  and  specimens  were  made  at  Shanghai  in  1856.  A 
large  coinage  of  native  dollars  was  attempted  in  Fuhkien  and 
Formosa,  about  1835,  to  pay  the  troops  on  that  island.  One  of 
them  indicated  that  the  piece  was  "  pure  silver  for  current  use 
from  the  Chang-chau  Commissariat ;  [weight]  seven  mace  two 
candareeiis^''  The  other  was  of  the  same  weight  and  purity 
(417.4  grains  troy),  and  besides  the  inscription  in  Chinese  on 
the  obverse,  and  in  Mancliu  on  the  reverse,  it  had  an  etfigy  of 
the  god  of  Longevity  on  the  head  and  a  tripod  on  the  tail,  to 
authenticate  its  official  origin.  These  pieces  were  either  melted 
or  counterfeited  to  such  an  extent  on  their  appearance,  that  they 
soon  disappeared. 

Foreign  dollars  are  imported  in  great  quantities  from  Mexico 
and  San  Francisco,  and  form  the  medium  of  trade  at  the  open 
ports.  They  are  often  stamped  by  the  person  who  pays  them 
out,  which  soon  destroys  thein  as  a  coin,  and  they  are  then 
melted  and  refined  to  be  cast  into  ingots  of  bullion,  called  shoes 
of  sijcee,  from  sl-s.z'  or  'fine  floss' ;  these  weigh  from  five  mace 
to  fifty  taels,  the  larger  pieces  being  stamped  with  the  district 
magistrate's  title  and  the  date,  to  verify  them.  They  are  from 
ninety-seven  to  ninety-nine  per  cent,  pure  silver,  but  small  in- 
gots of  ten  or  fifteen  taels  weight  are  less  pure  than  the  large 
shoes,  as  they  are  called  from  their  shape.  Gold  bullion  is  cast 
into  "bars  like  cakes  of  India-ink  in  shape,  weighing  about  ten 
taels,  or  hammered  into  thick  leaves  which  can  be  examined  but 
not  separated  by  di-iving  a  punch  through  a  pile  of  a  hundred 
or  more — a  precaution  against  cheating.  Large  quantities  are 
sent  abroad  in  this  shape. 

Taxes  and  duties  are  paid  in  sycee  of  ninety-eight  per  cent, 
fineness,  and  licensed  bankers  are  connected  with   the  revenue 


BANKING   SYSTEM   AND    TAPER   MONEY.  85 

department  to  wlioni  tlie  proceeds  are  paid,  and  who  are  allowed 
a  small  percentage  for  relining  and  becoming  resjjonsible  for  its 
purity.  Dollars  and  ingots  are  counterfeited,  and  all  classes 
have  them  inspected  by  shrofs,  who,  by  practice,  are  able  to 
decide  by  the  sight  alone  npon  tiie  degree  of  alloy  in  a  piece  of 
silver,  though  usually  they  employ  touchstone  needles  to  assist 
them,  different  degrees  of  fineness  imparting  a  different  color  to 
the  needle.  Books  are  prepared  as  aids  to  the  detection  of  coun- 
terfeit dollars  ;  in  these  the  process  of  manufacture  is  carefully 
described  ;  some  of  the  pieces  are  marvels  of  skill  in  forgery. 

Chartered  banking  companies  are  unknown,  for  a  govern- 
ment warrant  or  charter  would  carry  no  weight  with  it,  but 
private  bankers  are  found  in  all  large  towns.  Paper  money 
was  issued  in  immense  quantities  under  the  Mongol  dynasty, 
and  its  convenience  is  highly  praised  by  Marco  Polo,  who 
looked  upon  its  emission  by  the  Grand  Khan  as  the  highest 
secret  of  alchemy.  Polo's  ideas  of  this  operation  would  please 
the  '*  greenbackers  "  in  the  United  States.  He  says,  when  de- 
scribing Kublai's  purchases  :  "  So  he  buys  such  a  quantity  of 
those  precious  things  every  year  that  his  treasure  is  endless, 
while  all  the  while  the  money  he  pays  away  costs  him  noth- 
ing at  all.  If  any  of  those  pieces  of  paper  are  spoilt  the 
owner  cariies  them  to  the  mint,  and  by  paying  three  per  cent, 
on  the  value  he  gets  new  pieces  in  exchange."  The  total  issues 
of  this  highest  secret  of  alchemy  during  Kublai's  reign  of  tliirty- 
four  years  are  reckoned  by  Pauthier,  the  Yueji  Annals,  at  equal 
to  $624,135,500.  The  Khan's  successors,  however,  overdid  the 
mamifacture,  and  when  the  people  found  out  that  they  had 
nothing  but  paper  to  show  for  all  the  valuables  they  had  parted 
with  to  the  Mongols,  it  added  strength  to  the  rebellion  of  Ilung- 
wu  (a.d.  1359),  which  ended  in  their  expulsion  nine  years  after- 
ward. The  new  dynasty  was,  nevertheless,  obliged  to  issue  its 
notes  at  tirst,  but  the  mercantile  instincts  of  the  people  soon 
asserted  their  power,  and  as  industry  revived  they  were  super- 
seded about  1455.  The  Manchus  did  not  issue  any  Govern- 
mental paper  till  1S5S,  during  the  Tai-ping  rebellion,  and  its  cir- 
culation was  limited  to  the  capital  from  the  first ;  seeing  that 
even  then  it  was  known  to  have  no  basis  of  credit  or  funds. 


86  THE  MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

A  bank  can  be  opened  by  anj  person  or  company,  sub- 
ject to  certain  laws  and  payments  to  Government,  on  re- 
porting its  organization.  Tlie  number  of  these  offices  of  de- 
posit and  emission  is  large  in  proportion  to  the  busmess  of  a 
town,  but  tlieir  capital  averages  only  two  oi'  three  thousand 
taels  ;  the  number  in  Tientsin  is  stated  at  three  hundred,  at 
Peking  it  is  less  than  four  hundred,  of  which  scores  in  each  are 
mere  branches.  The  check  on  over-issue  of  notes  lies  in  the 
control  exercised  by  the  cleai'ing-house  of  every  city,  where  the 
standing  of  each  bank  is  known  by  its  operations.  The  circula- 
tion of  the  notes  is  limited  in  some  cases  to  the  street  or  neigh- 
borhood wherein  the  establishment  is  situated ;  often  the 
payee  has  a  claim  on  the  payer  of  a  bill  for  a  full  day  if  it  be 
found  to  be  counterfeit  or  worthless — a  custom  which  involves 
a  good  deal  of  scribbling  on  the  back  of  the  bill  to  certify  the 
names.  Proportionally  few  counterfeit  notes  are  met  with,  ow- 
ing nioi'e  to  the  limited  range  of  the  bills,  making  it  easy  to  ask 
the  bank,  which  recognizes  its  own  paper  by  the  check-tallies, 
of  which  the  register  contains  two  or  three  halves  printed  across 
the  check-book.  When  silver  is  presented  for  exchange,  the 
bills  are  usually,  in  Peking,  iilled  up  and  dated  as  the  customer 
wishes  while  he  waits  for  them.  Their  face  value  ranges  from 
one  to  a  hundred  tiao,  or  strings  of  cash,  but  their  worth  de- 
pends on  the  exchange  between  silver  and  cash,  and  as  this 
fluctuates  daily,  the  bills  soon  And  their  way  home.  These 
notes  are  unknown  in  the  southern  provinces,  where  dollars 
have  long  circulated  ;  but  their  convenience  is  so  great  that 
people  are  willing  to  run  slight  risks  on  this  account.  Hong- 
kong bills  circulate  on  the  mainland  to  very  remote  disti'icts. 

Banks  issue  circular  letters  of  credit  to  travel  through  the 
Empire,  and  the  system  of  remittance  by  drafts  is  as  complete 
as  in  Europe ;  the  rates  charged  are  high,  however,  and  vast 
sums  of  silver  are  constantly  on  the  move.  The  habit  of  pawn- 
ing goods  is  very  general,  and  carries  its  disastrous  results  among 
all  classes.  There  are  three  kinds  of  pawnshops,  and  the  laws 
regulating  them  are  strict  and  equitable ;  the  chief  evil  arising 
from  their  number  is  tlie  facility  the}'  give  to  thieves.  Pawn 
tickets  are  exposed  for  sale  in  the  streets,  and  form  a  curious 


PAWNSHOPS   AND    POPULAR   ASSOCIATIONS.  87 

branch  of  traflfic.  These  estahlislinients  are  generally  very  ex- 
tensive, and  the  vast  amount  of  goods  stored  in  them,  especi- 
ally garments  and  jewelry,  shows  their  univ-ersal  pati-onage. 
One  pawnbroker's  warehouse  at  Tinghai  was  used  by  the  Eng- 
lish forces  as  a  hospital,  and  accommodated  between  two  and 
three  hundred  patients.  The  insecurity  of  commercial  opera- 
tions involves,  of  course,  a  high  rate  of  interest,  sometimes  up 
to  three  per  cent,  a  month,  lowering  according  to  circumstances 
to  twelve  or  ten  per  cent,  per  annum.  The  legal  pawnshops 
{tang  ])iC)  are  allowed  three  years  to  redeem,  and  give  three 
years'  notice  of  dissolution.  The  restrictions  on  selling  pawned 
articles  works  injuriously  to  the  shops,  in  consequence  of  rapid 
depreciation  or  risks  to  the  articles.  If  a  fire  occurs  on  the 
premises  the  pawner  claims  the  full  amount  of  his  pledge  ;  only 
one-half  is  paid  if  it  communicates  from  a  neighbors  house.' 

One  characteristic  feature  of  Chinese  society  cannot  be  omit- 
ted in  this  connection,  namely,  its  tendency  to  associate.  It 
is  a  fertile  principle  ap[)lied  to  every  branch  of  life,  but  espe- 
cially conspicuous  in  all  industrial  operations.  The  people 
crystallize  into  associations  ;  in  the  town  and  in  the  country,  in 
buying  and  in  selling,  in  studies,  in  tights,  and  in  politics,  every- 
body must  co-operate  with  somebody  else — women  as  well  as 
men.  To  belong  to  one  or  more  hioui,  and  be  identified  with 
its  fortunes,  and  enlisted  in  its  struggles,  seems  to  be  the 
stimulus  to  activity,  resulting  from  the  democratic  element  in 
the  Chinese  polity,  to  M'hicli  we  are  to  refer  the  continuity  as 
well  as  many  singular  features  of  the  national  character.  In 
trade  capitalists  associate  to  found  great  banks,  to  sell  favorite 
medicines,  or  engross  leading  staples  ;  little  farmers  club  to- 
gether to  buy  an  ox,  pedlers  to  get  the  custom  of  a  street,  por- 
ters to  monopolize  the  loads  in  a  ward,  or  chair-bearers  to  fur- 
nish all  the  sedans  for  a  town.      Beggars  are  allotted  to  one  or 

'  Ed.  Biot  in  Journcd  Asiatiqw,  1837,  Tome  III.,  p.  422,  and  Tome  IV.,  pp. 
97,  209;  Cfatime  CommercM  Gnklf,  1863,  pp.  264-275;  N.  C  As.  Journal, 
No.  VI  ,  pp.  52-71  ;  Yule's  Marco  Polo,  1871,  Vol.  I.,  p.  378-^85;  Pauthier 
Le  Litre  de  M.  Polo,  Cap.  XCV.,  p.  319  ;  Vissering  On  Chinese  Currency,  1877,- 
Chinese  Reipository,  Vol.  XX.,  p.  289  ;  Doolittle's  Social  Life,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  138- 
247;  Notes  and  Queries  on  C-  and  J.,  Vol.  II.,  p.  108. 


88  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

two  streets  by  their  hicul,  and  driven  off  anotlier's  beat  if  thej 
encroach.  Each  guild  of  carpenters,  silknien,  masons,  or  even 
of  physicians  and  teachers,  works  to  advance  its  own  interests, 
keep  its  own  nienibei'S  in  order,  and  defend  itself  against  its 
opponents.  Villagers  form  themselves  into  organizations  against 
the  wiles  of  powerful  clans  ;  and  unscrupulous  officials  are  met 
and  balked  by  popular  unions  when  they  least  expect  it.  Wo- 
men and  mothers  get  up  a  couipany  to  procure  a  trousseau,  to 
buy  an  article  of  dress  or  furniture,  to  pay  for  a  son's  wedding. 
Associations  are  limited  to  a  year,  to  a  month,  to  a  decade,  ac- 
cording to  their  design.  These  various  forms  of  co-operation 
teach  the  people  to  know  each  other,  while  they  also  furnish 
agencies  for  unscrupulous  men  to  oppress  and  crush  out  their 
enemies,  gratify  their  revenge,  and  intimidate  enterprise.  Nev- 
ertheless, until  the  people  learn  higher  principles  of  morality, 
these  habits  of  combining  themselves  bring  more  benefits  to 
the  whole  body  than  evils,  at  the  same  time  quickening  the  vi- 
tality of  the  mass,  without  which  it  would  die  out  in  brigandage 
and  despair.' 

The  theory  of  war  has  received  more  attention  among  the 
Chinese  than  its  practice,  and  their  reputation  as  an  unwarlike 
people  is  as  ancient  and  general  among  their  neighbors  as  that 
of  their  seclusion  and  ingenuity.  The  Mongols  and  Manchus, 
Huns  and  Tartars,  all  despised  the  effeminate  braggadocio  of 
Chinese  troops,  and  easily  overcame  them  in  war,  but  were 
themselves  in  tui-n  conquered  in  times  of  peace.  Minute  direc- 
tions are  given  in  books  with  regard  to  the  drilling  of  troops, 
which  are  seldom  reduced  to  practice.  The  puerile  nature  of 
the  examinations  which  candidates  for  promotion  in  the  army 
pass  through,  ])roves  the  remains  of  the  ancient  hand-to-hand 
encounter,  and  evinces  the  low  standard  still  entertained  of 
what  an  officer  should  be.  Personal  courage  and  brawn  are 
highly  esteemed,  and  the  prowess  of  ancient  heroes  in  the 
battle-field  is  lauded  in  songs,  and  embellished  in  novels. 

The  arms  of  the  Chinese  still  consist  of  bows  and  arrows. 


'  For  an  account  of  the  money  hwiii  and  details  of  their  system,  see  M.  Eug. 
Simon,  Les  Petites  Societes  d' Argent  en  Chine,  N.  C.  Br.  B.  As.  Soe.  Journal^ 
No.  v.,  Art.  I.  (1868). 


MILITARY    SCIEXCE    AND   IMPLEMENTS   OF    WAR.  89 

spears,  matchlocks,  swords,  and  cannon  of  various  sizes  and 
lengths.  The  bow  is  used  more  for  show  in  the  military  ex- 
aminations, than  for  service  in  battle.  Rattan  shields,  painted 
with  tigers'  heads,  are  used  on  board  the  revenue  cutters  to  turn 
the  thrust  of  spears,  and  on  ceremonial  occasions,  when  the 
companies  are  paraded  in  full  uniforms  and  equipments.  The 
imiform  of  the  difterent  regiments  of  the  luh-tjin<j  or  '  native 
army,'  consists  of  a  jacket  of  brown,  yellow,  or  blue,  bordered 
with  a  wide  edging  of  another  color ;  the  trowsers  are  usually 
blue.  The  cuirass  is  made  of  quilted  and  doubled  cotton  cloth, 
and  covered  with  iron  plates  or  brass  knobs  connected  by  copper 
bands ;  the  helmet  is  iron  or  polished  steel,  sometimes  inlaid, 
weighing  two  and  one-fourth  pounds,  and  has  neck  and  ear  lap- 
pets to  protect  those  parts.  The  back  of  the  jacket  bears  the 
word  yung,  '  courage,'  and  on  the  breast  is  painted  the  service 
to  which  the  corps  is  attached,  whether  to  the  governor,  com- 
mandant, or  Emperor.  The  exhibition  of  courage  among  Chi- 
nese troops  is  not,  however,  always  deferred  to  the  time  when 
they  run  away,  spite  of  the  disparaging  reputation  they  have 
obtained  in  this  i-espect  from  their  British  conquerors — who 
have,  nevertheless,  on  more  than  one  occasion,  been  led  to  ad- 
ujire  the  cool  pluck  of  the  same  men  when  led  by  competent 
officers. 

The  matchlock  is  of  wrought  iron  and  plain  bore ;  it  has  a 
longer  barrel  than  a  musket,  so  long  that  a  rest  is  sometimes 
attached  to  the  stock  for  greater  ease  in  firing ;  the  match  is 
a  cord  of  hemp  or  coir,  and  the  pan  must  be  uncovered  with  the 
hand  before  it  can  be  fired,  which  necessarily  interferes  with, 
and  almosts  prevents  its  use  in  wet  or  windy  weather.  The 
cannon  are  cast,  and  although  not  of  very  uniform  calibre  from 
the  mode  of  manufacture,  are  serviceable  for  salutes.  The 
ginjal  ic  a  kind  of  swivel  from  six  to  fourteen  feet  long,  resting 
on  a  tripod  ;  being  less  liable  to  burst  than  the  cannon,  it  is  the 
most  effective  gun  the  Chinese  possess. 

Gunpowder  was  probably  known  to  the  Chinese  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  II an  dynasty  (a.d.  250),  but  its  application  in  fire- 
arms at  that  time  is  not  so  plain.  The  exploits  of  Kung-ming 
in  that  period  owe  their  interest  to  his  use  of  gunpowder  in 


90  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

modes  like  the  Greek  fire  of  the  Byzantines,  though  the  ani- 
mated narratives  of  Lo  Kwan-chung  (a.d.  1300)  in  his  History 
of  the  Three  States,  are  not  reliable  histoi-y  in  this  particular. 
Grosier  (Vol.  VIL,  pp.  176-200)  has  adduced  the  evidences 
proving  the  use  of  powder  at  or  before  the  Christian  era.  The 
inferences  that  Europe  obtained  it  from  India  rather  than  China 
have,  however,  a  good  deal  of  weight.  Early  Arab  historians 
refer  to  it  as  Chinese  snow  and  Chinese  salt — a  fact  which  only 
shows  its  eastern  origin — while  the  Chinese  comx^und  term  of 
hioo-yioh,  or  '  fire  drug,'  rather  indicates  a  foreign  source  than 
otherwise. 

Mr.  W.  F.  Mayers  has  searched  out  and  collated  a  consider- 
able mass  of  evidence  from  Chinese  sources  bearing  upon  the 
introduction  of  explosives  in  native  warfare  and  ordinary  life. 
The  conclusions  of  this  writer  point  both  to  a  foreign  origin  of 
gunpowder  in  China,  and  a  nnicli  later  use  of  the  compound 
among  their  warriors  than  has  generally  been  supposed.  Com- 
ing, probably,  from  India  or  Central  Asia  about  the  fifth  cen- 
tury A.D.  the  invention,  he  says,  "  perhaps  found  its  way  into 
China  in  connection  with  the  manufacture  of  fireworks  for  pur- 
poses of  diversion ;  and  supplanting  at  some  unascertained 
period  the  jiractice  of  producing  a  crepitating  noise  by  burning 
bamboos  as  a  charm  against  evil  spirits."  No  evidence  exists 
of  the  use  of  gunpowder  as  an  agent  of  warfare  until  the  middle 
of  the  twelfth  century,  nor  did  a  knowledge  of  its  propulsive 
effects  come  to  the  Chinese  until  the  reign  of  Yungloh,  in  the 
fifteenth  century — a  thousand  years  after  its  first  employment 
in  fire-crackers.' 

Fire-arms  of  large  size  were  introduced  toward  the  end  of  the 
Ming  dynasty  by  foreign  instructors ;  ginjals  and  matchlocks 
were  known  four  centuries  earlier  in  all  the  eastern  and  central 
regions  of  Asia,  but  none  of  those  people  could  forge  or  cast 
large  artillery,  owing  to  their  imperfect  machinery.  The  gun- 
powder is  badly  mixed  and  ti'itui-ated,  though  the  proportions 
are  nearly  the  sauje  as  our  own.     The  native  arms  are  now 


'  JVm'th  CJiina  Br.  Royal  Aniutic  iSoc.  JouriMl,  1870,  No.  VI.,  Art.  V.    Com 
pare  Notes  and  Queries  on  G.  and  J. 


INVENTION    AND    USE   OF   GUNP0\YDER.  91 

rapidly  giving  place  to  foreign  in  the  imperial  army,  and  the 
establishment  of  four  or  live  arsenals  under  the  numagement  of 
competent  instructors,  where  implements  of  warfare  of  every 
kind  are  manufactured,  will,  ere  long,  make  an  entire  change  in 
Chinese  weapons  and  tactics.  Some  of  their  brass  guns  were  of 
•  enormous  size  and  great  strength,  but  were  of  little  use  for 
practical  warfare,  owing  to  the  bad  carriages  and  rude  means  of 
working  them. 

The  uniforms  of  Chinese  troops  are  not  even  calculated  to 
give  them  a  iine  appearance  when  drawn  up  for  parade,  and 
no  one,  looking  at  them,  can  believe  that  men  dressed  in  loose 
jackets  and  trousers,  with  heavy  shoes  and  bamboo  caps,  could 
be  trained  to  cope  with  western  soldiers.  Fans  or  umbrellas 
are  often  made  use  of  on  parade  to  assuage  the  heat  or  protect 
from  the  i-ain,  while  the  chief  object  of  these  reviews  is  to 
salute  and  knock  head  before  some  high  officer.  In  order  to 
repress  insurrection,  the  government  has  been  frequently  com- 
pelled to  buy  off  turbulent  leaders  with  office  and  rewards,  and 
thus  disorganize  and  scatter  the  enemy  it  could  not  vanquish. 

But  however  ridiculous  the  army  and  navy  of  the  Chinese 
were  half  a  century  ago,  in  the  isolation  and  ignorance  which 
then  held  them,  it  cannot  be  alleged  of  what  has  been  at- 
tempted within  twenty  3'ears,  and  the  promise  of  wdiat  may  be 
done  in  as  numy  more.  The  following  resume  of  the  qualities 
of  the  Chinese  soldier,  from  experience  with  Col.  Gordon^s 
"Ever  Victorious  Force"  during  the  Tai-ping  insurrection  will 
be  a, 2}roj)os  of  this  subject  to  which  this  work  cannot  devote 
further  space.  "  The  old  notion  is  pretty  well  got  rid  of,  that 
they  are  at  all  a  cowardly  people  when  properly  paid  and  ef- 
ticiently  led ;  while  the  regularity  and  order  of  their  habits, 
whicli  dispose  them  to  peace  in  ordinary  times,  give  place  to  a 
daring  bordering  upon  recklessness  in  time  of  war.  Their  in- 
telligence and  capacity  for  remembering  facts  make  them  well 
fitted  for  use  in  modern  warfare,  as  do  also  the  coolness  and 
calmness  of  their  disposition.  Physically  they  are  on  the 
average  not  so  strong  as  Europeans,  but  considerably  more 
30  than  most  of  the  other  races  of  the  East ;  and  on  a  cheap 
diet  of  rice,  vegetables,  salt  fish,  and  pork,  they  can  go  through 


92  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

a  vast  amount  of  fatigue,  whether  in  a  temperate  climate  or  a 
tropical  one,  where  Europeans  are  ill-fitted  for  exertion.  Their 
wants  are  few;  they  have  no  caste  prejudices,  and  hardly  any 
appetite  for  intoxicating  liquors.  Being  of  a  lymphatic  or  lym- 
phatic-bilious temperament,  they  enjoy  a  remarkable  immunity 
from  inflannnatory  disease,  and  the  tubercular  diathesis  is  little 
known  amongst  them."' ' 

Their  progress  in  real  civilization  is  not  to  be  fairly  measured 
by  their  attainments  in  war,  although  it  has  been  said  that  the 
two  best  general  criteria  of  civilization  among  any  people  are 
superior  skill  in  destroying  their  fellow  men,  and  the  degree  of 
respect  they  pay  to  women.  China  falls  far  behind  her  place 
among  the  nations  if  judged  by  these  tests  alone,  and  in  reality 
owes  her  present  advance  in  numbers,  industry,  and  wealth 
mainly  to  her  peaceful  character  and  policy.  She  would  have 
probably  presented  a  spectacle  similar  to  the  disunited  hoi'des 
of  Central  Asia,  had  her  people  been  actuated  by  a  warlike 
spirit,  for  when  divided  into  fifty  or  more  feudal  states,  as  was 
the  case  in  the  days  of  Confucius,  she  made  no  progress  in  the 
arts  of  life.  The  Manchu  Emperors  have  endeavored  to  con- 
quer their  neighbors,  the  Birmans  and  Coreans,  but  in  both 
cases  had  to  be  satisfied  with  the  outward  homage  of  a  ]votou\ 
and  a  few  articles  of  tribute,  when  a  formal  embassy  presented 
itself  in  Peking.  The  Siamese,  Cochinchinese,  Coreans,  Tibet- 
ans, Lewchewans,  and  some  of  the  tribes  of  Turkestan,  are 
nominally  vassals  of  the  Son  of  Heaven,  and  their  names  re- 
main on  the  roll  of  feifs.  The  first  two  have  ceased  to  tsin 
hung,  or  send  tribute,  since  about  1860 ;  and  the  Lewchewans 
are  not  likely  to  revisit  their  old  quarters  at  Peking  in  any  ca- 
pacity ;  while  the  others  derive  advantage  from  the  facilities  of 
traffic  which  they  are  unwilling  to  give  up. 

The  precepts  of  Confucius  taught  the  rulers  of  China  to  con- 
quer their  neighbors  by  showing  the  excellence  of  a  good  gov- 
ernment, for  then  their  enemies  would  come  and  voluntarily 
range  themselves  vmder  their  sway  ;  and  although  the  kindness 


'Andrew  Wilson,   Tlie  '■'■Ever  Victorious  Army."     A  RiHtory  of  the  Ghineae 
Vu»ip(.ii(/n  under  Lieut. -Vol.-  (Jordou.     London,  lb08,  p.  2G9. 


CHINESE    POLICY    AND    PKACTICE   IN    WARFARE.         93 

of  tlie  rulers  of  Cliina  to  tliose  fully  in  their  [)()vver  is  as  hypo- 
critical as  their  rule  is  unjust,  those  nations  who  pay  them  this 
homage  do  it  voluntarily,  and  experience  no  interfei'ence  in  their 
internal  affairs.  The  maxims  of  Confucian  polity,  aided  by  the 
temper  of  the  people,  have  had  some  effect,  in  the  lapse  of 
years,  upon  the  nature  of  this  quasi  feudality.  The  weaker  na- 
tions looked  up  to  China,  since  they  could  look  no  higher,  and 
their  advances  in  just  government,  industiy,  and  arts,  is  not  a 
little  owing  to  their  political  intercourse  during  past  centu- 
ries. The  Chinese  Empire  is  a  notable  example  of  the  admira- 
ble results  of  a  peaceful  policy  ;  and  the  sincere  desire  of  every 
well-wnsher  of  his  race  doubtless  is  that  this  mighty  mass  of 
human  beings  may  be  Christianized  and  elevated  from  their 
present  ignorance  and  weakness  by  a  like  peaceful  infusion  of 
the  true  principles  of  good  order  and  liberty. 

Many  treatises  upon  the  art  and  practice  of  war  exist,  one  of 
which,  called  the  Soldier's  Manual^  in  eighteen  chaptei's,  con- 
tains some  good  directions.  The  lirst  chapter  treats  of  the 
mode  of  marching,  necessity  of  having  plans  of  the  country 
through  which  the  army  is  to  pass,  and  cautions  the  troops 
against  harassing  tlie  people  unnecessarily — not  a  useless  ad- 
monition, fur  a  body  of  Chinese  soldiers  is  too  often  like  a 
swarm  of  locusts  upon  the  land.  The  second  chaj)ter  teaches 
the  mode  of  buildino-  bridges,  the  need  there  is  of  cautious  ex- 
plorations  in  marching,  and  of  sending  out  scouts ;  this  subject 
is  also  continued  in  the  next  section,  and  directions  given  about 
castrametation,  placing  sentries,  and  keeping  the  troops  on  the 
alert,  as  well  as  under  strict  discipline  in  camp.  The  rest  of 
the  book  is  chiefly  devoted  to  directions  for  the  management  of 
an  actual  battle,  sending  out  spies  beforehand,  choosing  posi- 
tions, and  bringing  the  various  parts  of  the  army  into  action  at 
the  best  time.  The  hope  of  reward  is  held  out  to  induce  the 
soldier  to  be  brave,  and  the  threats  of  punishment  and  death  if 
he  desert  or  turn  his  back  in  time  of  battle. 

The  utility  of  music  in  encouraging  the  soldiers  and  exciting 
them  to  the  charge  is  fully  appreciated,  but  to  our  notions  it 


'  Chinese  Eepositoi-y,  Vol.  XI.,  p.  487. 


94 


THE  MIDDLE   KIXGDOM. 


no  more  deserves  the  name  of  music  tliaii  the  collection  ol 
half-drilled  louts  in  petticoats  does  that  of  an  arnn',  when 
compared  with  a  European  force.  Still,  its  antiquity,  if  nothing 
else,  renders  it  a  subject  of  great  interest  to  the  umsical  student, 
while  its  power  over  the  people  seems  to  be  none  the  less  be- 
cause it  is  unscientific.  However  small  their  attainments  in  the 
theory  and  practice  of  nuisic,  no  nation  gives  to  this  art  a  higher 
place.  It  was  regarded  by  Confucius  as  an  essential  part  in  the 
government  of  a  state,  harmonizing  and  softening  the  relations 
between  the  different  ranks  of  society,  and  causing  them  all  to 
move  on  in  consentaneous  accord.  It  is  remarked  of  the  sage 
liimself  that  having  heard  a  tune  in  one  of  his  ramblings,  he 
did  not  know  the  taste  of  food  for  three  weeks  after — but,  with 
all  deference  to  the  feelings  of  so  distinguished  a  man,  we  can- 
not help  thinking  his  food  miglit  have  been  quite  as  palatable 
without  music,  if  it  was  no  better  then  than  it  is  at  the  present 
day.  The  Chinese  never  had  anything  like  the  musical  contests 
among  the  Greeks,  and  their  efforts  have  been  directed  to  de- 
velop insti-umental  rather  than  vocal  music. 

The  names  and  characters  used  for  notes  in  vocal  music  are 
here  given,  though  their  real  tone  cannot  be  accurately  repre- 
sented by  our  staff.  The  second  octave  is  denoted  by  affixing 
the  sign  j  in,  'a  man,'  to  the  simple  notes,  or  as  shown  in  the 
second  c7te,  by  a  peculiar  hooked  bottom. 

-^  ng  Tj  j:   K  i  fL  7*;   ^    fL    ji:  J^i^h 


lyu — J  I**  1*  1 — 1 — 1 — \ — \ — 1 — 1 — 1 — 1  1  M 

ho        ss'        i    i-hancj  vh(' ku7uj  fan  liu       wu        i      c/iang  rhi' kung  fan 

If  the  first  note  in  this  scale  be  taken  as  the  tonic,  then  they 
form  a  diatonic  octave,  with  a  supernumerary  note,  which  is  an 
octave  above  the  second  one  sz',  the  first  one,  ho,  being  an  oc- 
tave below  liu,  the  eighth.  But  the  semitones  t  and  fan  are 
very  little  used,  and  it  loses  in  some  degree  its  diatonic  charac- 
ter. No  chromatic  scale  exists  among  them,  at  least  none  of 
their  instruments  are  made  to  express  fiat  and   sharp  notes. 


CHINESE   MUSICAL   NOTATION.  93 

Barrow  says  that  the  Chinese  learned  this  mode  of  writing 
music  from  Pereira,  a  llomaii  Catholic  missionary,  in  1670,  but 
its  existence  in  Japan  and  Corea  invalidates  this  statement. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  nmsic,  known  as  tlie  Soutliern  and 
Northern,  which  differ  in  their  character,  and  are  readily 
recognized  by  the  people.  The  octave  in  the  former  seems  to 
have  had  only  six  notes,  and  the  songs  of  the  Miaotsz'  and  rural 
people  in  that  portion  of  China  are  referable  to  such  a  gamut, 
while  the  eight-tone  scale  generally  prevails  in  all  theatres  and 
more  cultivated  circles.  Further  examination  by  competent  ob- 
servers who  can  jot  down  on  such  a  gamut  the  airs  they  hear  in 
various  regions  of  China,  is  necessary  to  ascertain  these  inter- 
esting points,  which  now  seem  to  carry  us  back  to  remote  an- 
tiquity, and  have  been  noticed  in  other  countries  than  China. 

In  writing  instrumental  music,  marks,  meaning  io  jmsh^Jilli^p, 
hool;  etc.,  are  added  to  denote  the  mode  of  playing  the  string ; 
the  two  are  united  into  very  complicated  combinations.  For 
instance,  in  writing  a  tune  for  the  lute  or  kin,  "  each  note  is  a 
chister  of  characters  ;  one  denotes  the  string,  another  the  stud, 
a  third  informs  you  in  what  manner  the  lingers  of  the  right 
hand  are  to  be  used,  a  fourth  does  the  same  in  reference  to  the 
left,  a  fifth  tells  the  performer  in  what  way  he  must  slide  the 
hand  before  or  after  the  appropriate  sound  has  been  given,  and 
a  sixth  says,  perhaps,  that  two  notes  are  to  be  struck  at  the 
same  time."  These  complex  notes  are  difiicult  to  learn  and  re- 
member, therefore  the  Chinese  usually  play  by  the  ear.  This 
mode  of  notation,  in  addition  to  its  complexity,  must  be  varied 
by  nearly  every  kind  of  instrument,  inasmuch  as  the  combina 
tions  fitted  for  one  instrument  are  inapplicable  to  another  ;  but 
music  is  written  for  only  a  few  instruments,  such  as  the  lute 
and  the  guitar. 

These  notes,  when  simply  written  without  directions  condiined 
with  them  as  described  above,  indicate  only  their  pitch  in  a 
certain  scale,  and  do  not  denote  either  the  length  or  the  absolute 
pitch ;  they  are  written  perpendicularly,  and  various  marks  of 
direction  are  given  on  the  side  of  the  column  regarding  the 
proportionate  length  of  time  in  which  certain  notes  are  to  be 
played,  others  to  be  trilled  or  repeated  once,  twice,  or  more 


96  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

times,  and  wlien  the  perfonner  is  to  pause.  Beats  occur  at 
regular  intervals  in  some  of  the  written  tunes  ;  all  nnisic  is  in 
common  time  and  no  triple  measures  are  used,  yet  time  is  pretty 
well  ohserved  in  orchestras.  Of  harmony  and  counterpoint 
they  know  nothing ;  the  swell,  diminish,  flat,  sharp,  appogia- 
tura,  tie,  and  other  marks  which  assist  in  giving  expression  to 
our  written  nnisic,  are  for  the  most  part  unknown,  nor  are  tunes 
set  to  any  key.  The  neatness  and  adaptation  of  the  European 
notation  is  hetter  appreciated  after  studying  the  clumsy,  imper- 
fect mode  which  is  here  briefly  described.' 

Xo  description  can  convey  a  true  idea  of  Chinese  vocal  music, 
and  few  persons  are  able  to  imitate  it  when  they  have  heard  it. 
De  Guignes  says,  "  It  is  possible  to  sing  a  Chinese  song,  but  I 
think  it  would  be  very  difficult  to  give  it  the  proper  tone  with- 
out having  heard  it  by  a  native,  and  I  rather  believe  that  no 
one  can  perfectly  imitate  their  notes."  They  seem,  in  some 
cases,  to  issue  from  the  larynx  and  nose,  the  tongue,  teeth,  and 
lips  having  little  to  do  with  them,  the  modulation  being  made 
mostly  with  the  muscles  of  the  bronchia ;  at  other  times,  the 
enunciation  of  the  words  requires  a  little  more  use  of  the  lips 
and  teeth.  Singing  is  generall}'  on  a  falsetto  key  ;  and  this 
feature  prevails  throughout.  Whether  in  the  theatre  or  in  the 
street,  about  the  house  or  holding  the  guitar  or  lute,  both  men 
and  women  sing  in  this  artificial  tone  somewhere  between  a 
squeal  and  a  scream,  and  which  no  western  musical  instrument 
is  able  to  imitate.  Its  character  is  plaintive  and  soft,  not  full 
or  exhibiting  much  compass,  though  when  two  or  three  females 
sing  together  in  recitative,  not  destitute  of  sweetness.  Bass  and 
tenor  are  not  sung  by  men,  nor  a  second  treble  by  females,  and 
the  two  performers  are  seldom  heard  together  among  the  thou- 
sands of  street  musicians  who  get  a  precarious  living  by  their 
skill  in  this  line,  as  they  accompany  the  guitar  or  rebeck.  The 
chanting  in  Buddhist  services  resembles  the  Ambrosian  and  early 
Gregorian  tones,  and  is  accompanied  only  by  striking  a  block 

'  Compare  Dr.  Jenkins  in  the  Jmimal  N.  C.  Br.  R.  A.  S.,  Vol.  V.,  1868,  pp. 
30  ff.,  and  Rev.  E.  W.  Syle  in  ib.  Vol.  II.,  1859,  p.  17G  ;  Pere  Amiot  in  Mem. 
mnc.  les  CMnois,  Vol.  VI.,  pp.  1  ff.;  Notes  <ind  Queries  on  C.  and  «/.,  Vol.  IV., 
Arts.  2  and  ;}.     Pt-rny  Did.,  app.  No.  XIV.,  p.  443. 


CHINESE   TUNES. 


97 


and  marking  the  time  ;  tlie  tenor  voices  of  boys  make  a  strong 
contrast  to  the  gruff  bass  voices  of  the  men  in  this  service; 
some  of  the  latter  will  carry  their  part  as  low  as  an  octave 
below  C  or  D  in  the  bass,  sounding  most  sepulchrally,  like  a 
trombone. 

Three  of  the  tunes  insei'ted  in  Barrow's  Travels  are  here 
quoted  as  specimens  of  Chinese  airs  The  first  is  the  most 
popular,  the  second,  conmion  at  Shanghai,  is  called  Liih  ixvn^ 
or  '  Six  Boards,'  it  has  a  strain  at  the  beginning  and  end  addi- 
tional to  the  usual  form. 


MOH-Ll    HWA  ;    OR,    THE    JASMINE    FLOWER. 


^^^^xjimt^- 


Hao     ye  to  sien   hva,  Yu     chao    yu    jih 

How  sweet  this  branch  of  fresh  flower?,         On  the  morn  of  the  day 


I 


W=^ 


e.^EiE^EfeiEi^^±^2 


loh  tsai  ICO  kia, 
'twas  dropped  in  my  house  ; 


IVo  pun  tai  puh  chu  mun, 

I'll  wear  it  myself,  yet  not  out  of  doors, 


^ 


^^ 


^P 


3^ 


W 


Tui  choh  sien  hira,  ^rh  loh. 

But  will  match  it  with  others,  and  make  myself  glad. 

Hao  ye  to  Moh-l'i  hica, 

Miran  yuen  hwa  kai  sho  puh  kwei  la, 

Wo  pun  tai  tsz^  ye  ta, 

Tai  yu  kung  kan  hira  jin  ma. 

How  sweet  this  sprig  of  the  jasmine  flower! 
Through  the  whole  plat  there's  none  to  equal  it; 
I  myself  will  wear  this  new  plucked  sprig, 
Though  I  fear  all  who  sec  it  will  envy  me. 

Vol,  II.— 7 


98  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM 

LUH    PAN  ;    OK,    THE    SIX    BOAKDS. 


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aij=a- 


^^^^^^^^ 


^=^ 


^^^^^^s 


^^^^^^^1^ 


The  literature  on  the  art  of  music  is  large.  One  treatise 
on  heating  drums  scientilically  dates  from  ahom  tne  year  860 
A  D ,  and  contains  a  list  of  ahout  one  lumdred  and  twenty-nine 
symphonies,  nuxny  of  which  are  of  Indian  origin  Among  the 
seventy-two  instruments  hriefly  described  in  the  C7unese  Chres- 
toraathj,  there  arc  seventeen  kinds  of  drums,  from  the  large 


STRINGED   INSTRUMENTS   OF   MUSIC.  99 

ones  suspended  in  temples  to  assist  in  worship  to  others  of  lesser 
size  and  diverse  shape  used  in  war,  in  theatres,  and  in  bands. 
Gongs,  cjnibak,  tambourines,  and  musical  vases  are  also  de- 
scribed in  considerable  variety  ;  the  last  consisting  of  a  curious 
arrangement  of  twelve  cups,  more  or  less  filled  with  water,  and 
struck  with  rods.  The  Chinese  are  fond  of  the  tinkling  of 
small  pieces  of  sonorous  glass,  caused  by  the  wind  striking  them 
against  each  other  as  they  are  suspended  from  a  frame  or  lamp. 
The  simple  succession  of  sounds  arising  from  striking  upon  a 
liarmonicon,  jingling  these  glasses  together,  or  touching  differ- 
ent sized  cymbals  suspended  in  a  frame,  is  a  favorite  species  of 
music. 

The  stringed  instruments  to  be  ])layed  by  thi-umming  are  not 
as  numerous  as  those  of  percussion,  but  they  display  more 
science.  Nothing  resembling  the  harp  or  Apollo's  lyre  has  been 
observed  among  them.  The  Z///,  or  'scholar's  lute,'  is  con- 
sidered as  the  most  finished,  and  has  received  more  attention 
than  any  other  orchestral  implement ;  to  excel  in  playing  it  is 
regarded  as  a  scholarly  accomplishment.  A  work  entitled  The 
Lute-l*laijcr''s  Easy  Lesmns,  in  two  volumes,  contains  explana- 
tions of  one  hundred  and  nine  terms  and  is  illustrated  l)y  twenty- 
nine  pictures  of  the  position  of  the  hands  to  aid  in  a  full 
understanding  of  the  tM-enty-three  sets  of  tunes  given  in  the 
second  volume.  This  lute,  it  may  be  added,  is  of  very  ancient 
origin  and  derives  its  name  from  the  word  Jcin,  '  to  prohibit,' 
"  because  it  restrains  and  checks  evil  passions  and  cori-ects  the 
human  heart."  It  is  a  board  about  four  feet  in  length  and 
eighteen  inches  wide,  convex  above  and  flat  beneath,  where  are 
two  holes  opening  into  hollows.  There  are  seven  strings  of  silk, 
which  pass  over  a  bridge  near  the  wide  end  through  the  board, 
and  are  tightened  by  nuts  beneath  ;  they  are  secured  on  two 
pegs  at  the  smaller  end.  The  sounding-board  is  divided  by 
thirteen  studs,  "  so  placed  that  the  length  of  the  strings  is 
divided  first  into  two  equal  parts,  then  into  three,  etc.,  up  to 
eight,  with  the  omission  of  the  seventh.  The  seven  sti-ings  in- 
close the  compass  of  a  ninth  or  two-fifths,  the  middle  one  being 
treated  like  A  upon  the  violin,  viz.,  as  a  middle  string,  and  each 
of  the  outer  ones  is  tuned  a  fifth  from  it.     This  interval  is 


100  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

treated  like  our  octave  in  tlie  violin,  for  the  compass  of  the  Idn 
is  made  up  of  fifths.  Each  of  the  outer  strings  is  tuned  a  fourth 
from  the  alternate  string  within  the  system,  so  that  there  is  a 
major  tone,  an  interval  tone  less  than  a  minor  third,  and  a 
major  tone  in  the  fifth.  The  Chinese  leave  the  interval  entire, 
and  skip  the  half  tone,  while  we  divide  it  into  two  unequal 
parts.  It  will  therefore  readily  appear  that  the  mood  or  charac- 
ter of  the  music  of  the  hln  nmst  be  very  different  from  that  of 
western  instruments,  so  that  none  of  them  can  exactly  do  justice 
to  the  Chinese  airs.  One  of  the  peculiarities  in  performing  on 
the  lute  is  sliding  the  left  hand  fingers  along  the  string,  and 
the  trilling  and  other  evolutions  they  are  made  to  execute." 

There  are  other  instruments  similar  to  the  hin^  one  with 
thirty,  and  another  with  thirteen  strings,  played  with  plectrums. 
The  number  of  instruments  resembling  the  guitar,  lute,  cithern, 
spinet,  etc.,  is  cousidei'able,  some  with  silken,  others  with  wire 
strings,  but  none  of  catgut.  The  balloon-shaped  guitar,  or 2nj>c(-, 
has  four  strings  arranged  and  secured  like  those  of  a  violin  ;  it 
is  about  three  feet  lung,  and  the  unvarnished  upper  table  has 
twelve  frets  to  guide  the  performer.  The  strings  are  tuned  at 
the  intervals  of  a  fourth,  a  major  tone,  and  a  fourth,  so  that  the 
outer  strings  are  octaves  to  each  other ;  but  the  player  gener- 
ally avoids  the  semitones.  The  j'U''^  frequently  accompanies 
the  songs  of  strolling  musicians  and  ballad  singers.  The  san 
hlen,  or  'three-stringed  guitai',' resembles  a  rebeck  in  its  con- 
tour, but  the  neck  and  head  is  three  feet  long,  and  the  body  is 
cylindrical  and  hollow,  usually  covered  with  snake's  skin,  upon 
which  the  bridjire  is  set.  The  strini:;s  are  tuned  as  fourths  to 
each  othei',  and  in  this  respect  it  seems  to  be  the  counterpart  of 
the  Grecian  mercurian  ;  their  sound  is  low  and  dull,  and  the 
instrument  is  sometimes  played  in  company  with  the  2n2>a. 
Another  kind  of  guitar,  called  yueh  kin,  or  '  full  moon  guitar,' 
has  a  large  round  belly  and  short  neck,  resembling  the  theorbo 
or  arch  lute  of  Europe,  but  with  only  four  strings,  while  that 
had  ten  or  more.  These  four  strings  stand  in  pairs  that  are 
unisons  with  each  other,  having  an  interval  of  a  fifth  interposed 
between  the  pairs.  Tiie  sound  is  smarter  than  that  from  the 
pij[)a  or  Jiin,  and  it  is  used  in  lively  tunes,  the  strings  being 


WIND    INSTRUMENTS.  101 

struck  briskly  witli  the  iniil  or  .a  plectriiin.  Similar  in  its  con- 
struction to  the  san  hien  is  the  rebeck,  or  two-stringed  fiddle, 
tlie  rude  appearance  of  which  corresponds  to  the  thin  grat- 
ing sounds  which  issue  from  it.  This  instrument  is  merely  a 
bamboo  stick  thrust  into  a  cylinder  of  the  same  material,  and 
having  two  strings  fastened  at  one  end  of  the  stick  on  pegs,  and 
passing  over  a  bridge  on  the  cylinder  to  the  other  end  ;  they 
are  tuned  at  intervals  of  a  fifth.  The  bow  passes  between  the 
two  sti-ings,  and  as  they  are  near  each  other,  much  of  the  skill 
required  to  play  it  is  exhibited  in  wielding  the  bow  so  as  not  to 
make  discord  by  scraping  it  against  the  wrong  string  while  tvy- 
ing  to  produce  a  given  sound.  Europeans  wonder  how  the  Chi- 
nese can  be  delighted  with  the  harsh  gratings  of  this  wretched 
machine,  but  none  of  their  musical  instruments  are  more  popu- 
lar, and  the  skill  they  exhibit  in  playing  it  deserves  a  better 
reward  in  the  melody  of  the  notes.  A  modification  of  it,  called 
ti  kin,  or  'crowing  lute,'  is  made  by  employing  a  cocoanut  for 
the  belly  ;  its  sounds  are,  if  anything,  more  dissonant. 

The  1/ang  hin  is  a  kind  of  dulcimer,  consisting  of  a  greater  or 
less  number  of  brass  wires  of  different  lengths,  tuned  at  proper 
intervals,  and  fastened  upon  a  sounding-board ;  it  is  played  with 
light  hammers,  and  forms  a  rudimentary  piano-forte,  but  the 
sounds  are  very  attenuated.  The  samj  is  in  like  manner  the 
embryo  of  the  organ ;  it  is  a  hollow  conical-shaped  box,  which 
corresponds  to  a  wind -chest,  having  a  mouthpiece  on  one  side, 
and  communicating  with  thirteen  reeds  of  different  lengths  in- 
serted in  the  top ;  some  of  the  tubes  are  provided  with  valves, 
part  of  them  opening  upward  and  part  downward,  so  that  some 
of  them  sound  when  the  breath  fills  the  wind-box,  and  others 
are  only  heard  when  it  is  sucked  out  and  the  air  rushes  down 
the  tubes  to  refill  it.  The  tubes  stand  in  groups  of  four,  four, 
three,  two,  around  the  top,  and  those  having  ventiges  are  placed 
so  that  the  performer  can  open  or  close  them  at  pleasure  as  he 
holds  it.  By  covering  the  first  set  of  holes  and  gently  breath- 
ing in  the  mouthpiece,  a  sweet  concert  of  sounds  is  produced, 
augmented  to  the  octave  and  twelfth  as  the  force  of  the  breath 
is  increased.  By  stopping  certain  groups,  other  notes,  shriller 
and  louder,  are  emitted  ;  and  any  single  tube  can  be  sounded  by 


102  THE    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

inhaling  the  wind  from  tlie  wind-box  and  stopping  the  other 
lioles.  It  is  a  simple  thing  and  no  doubt  among  the  most 
ancient  of  musical  instruments,  but  it  possesses  no  scope  nor 
means  of  varying  the  tone  of  the  tubes.  Mr.  Lay  thinks  it  to 
be  identical  in  principle  and  form  with  the  organ  invented  by 
Jubal ;  the  Chinese  regard  it  more  as  a  curious  instrument  than 
one  possessing  claims  to  adnuration  or  attention. 

Their  wind  instruments  are  numerous,  but  most  of  them  are 
remarkable  rather  for  clamor  than  sweetness  or  compass.  The' 
h  icang  tih^  or  flute,  is  about  twice  the  length  of  our  fife,  and  made 
of  a  bamboo  tube  neatly  prepared  and  pierced  with  ten  holes, 
two  of  which  ai'e  placed  near  the  end  and  unused,  and  one  mid- 
way between  the  enibouchuro  and  the  six  equidistant  ones  for  the 
fingers.  This  additional  hole  is  covered  with  a  thin  film  ;  the 
mouth-hole  is  bored  about  one-third  of  the  way  from  the  top. 
Tliei'e  are  no  keys,  and  the  performers  generally  blow  upon  the 
embouchure  so  violently  that  the  sounds  are  shrill  and  harsh,  but 
when  several  of  them  play  together  the  concert  is  more  agreeable. 
The  congener  of  the  flute  is  the  iiliii  tlh,  or  clarinet,  which  takes 
the  lead  in  all  musical  performances,  as  it  does  in  western  bands. 
It  has  seven  effective  lioles,  one  of  which  is  stopped  by  the  thumb, 
but  no  kej-s;  the  bell  is  of  coppor  and  sits  loose  upon  the  end, 
and  the  copper  mouthpiece  is  ornamented  Mith  rings,  and  blown 
through  a  reed.  The  tones  produced  by  it  are  shrill  and  deafen- 
ing, and  none  of  their  instruments  better  characterize  Chinese 
musical  taste.  A  smaller  one,  of  a  sweeter  tone,  like  a  flageolet, 
is  sometimes  fitted  with  a  singular  shaped  reed,  so  that  it  can  be 
played  upon  by  the  nose.  Street  musicians  sometimes  endeavor 
to  transform  themselves  into  a  travelling  orchestra.  One  of 
these  peripatetic  Orpheuses  will  fit  a  flageolet  to  his  nose,  sling 
a  small  drum  under  one  shoulder,  and  suspend  a  framework  of 
four  small  cymbals  upon  the  breast;  the  man,  thus  accoutred, 
aided  by  a  couple  of  monkeys  running  after  him,  or  sitting  on 
his  head  and  shoulders,  goes  from  street  to  street  singing  a  ])liiin- 
tive  ditty,  and  accompanying  his  voice  with  his  instruments, 
and  drawing  a  crowd  with  his  moidceys. 

The  horn  i-csenibles  a  trombone  in  principle,  for  the  shaft  is 
retractible  within  the  cylindrical  copper  bell,  and  can  be  length- 


tup:  horn,  gong,  etc.  103 

ened  at  pleasure.  The  sound  is  very  grave,  and  in  processions 
its  hollow  booming  forms  a  great  contrast  to  the  shrill  clarinets 
and  cymbals.  Another  kind  of  horn,  less  grave,  is  made  of  a 
crooked  stem  expanding  into  a  small  l)ell  at  tlie  end ;  the  shaft 
is  of  two  parts,  one  drawing  into  the  other,  so  that  the  depth  of 
tone  can  be  modified.  A  long  straight  horn,  resembling  the 
funeral  pipe  of  the  Jews,  is  sometimes  heard  on  funeral  occasions, 
but  this  and  the  clarion,  ti-umpet,  and  other  kinds  of  pipes  of 
ancient  and  modern  make  are  not  common. 

The  Zo,  or  gong,  is  the  type  of  Chinese  music :  a  crashing 
harangue  of  rapid  blows  upon  this  sonorous  plate,  with  a  rattling 
accompaniment  on  small  drums,  and  a  crackling  symphony  of 
shrill  notes  from  the  clarinet  and  cymbal,  constitute  the  chief 
features  of  their  musical  performances.  The  Emperor  Kanghi 
endeavored  to  introduce  foreign  tunes  and  instruments  among 
his  courtiers,  and  the  natives  at  Macao  have  heard  good  music 
from  the  Portuguese  bands  and  choirs  in  that  city  from  child- 
hood, but  not  an  instrument  or  a  tune  has  been  adopted  by  them. 
It  seems  to  be  a  rule  in  Chinese  music  that  the  gong  should 
only  vary  in  rapidity  of  strokes,  while  the  alternations  of  time 
into  agreeable  intervals  are  left  to  the  drums.  "  This  want  of 
perception  as  to  what  is  pleasing  in  i-hythmical  succession  of 
sounds,"  Lay  well  observes,  "  is  connected  with  another  fact — 
the  total  absence  of  metrical  effect  in  national  poetry.  The 
verses  contain  a  particular  number  of  words  and  set  pauses  in 
each  line,  but  there  is  nothing  like  an  interchange  of  long  and 
short  sounds.  Among  the  Greeks  the  fall  of  the  smith's  ham- 
mer, the  stroke  of  the  oar,  and  the  tread  of  the  soldier  in  armor 
suggested  some  poetic  measure,  and  their  music  exhibits  a  world 
of  curious  metres.  But  nothing  of  the  sort  can  be  heard  in 
China,  amid  all  the  sounds  and  noises  that  salute  the  ear  in  a 
noisy  country."  It  is  pi-obable  that  the  impracticable,  monosyl- 
labic nature  of  the  language  has  contributed  to  this  result; 
though  the  genius  and  temperament  of  the  people  are  the  chief 
reasons. 

A  Chinese  orchestra  or  band,  when  in  full  note,  strikes  upon 
the  ear  of  a  European  as  a  collection  of  the  most  discordant 
sounds,  and  he  immediately  thinks  of  Hogarth's  picture  of  the 


104  THK    3IID1)LK    KINGDOM. 

Enraged  JMusician,  as  tlie  best  likeness  of  its  dissonance.  It 
seems,  wlien  hearing  them,  as  if  each  performer  had  liis  own 
tnne,  and  was  trying  to  distinguish  liimself  above  liis  competitors 
by  his  zeal  and  force ;  but  on  listening  carefully  he  will  ob- 
serve, amid  the  clangoi',  that  they  keep  good  time,  one  taking 
the  octave,  and  the  different  instruments  striking  in  with  some 
regaj'd  to  parts,  only,  however,  to  confound  the  confusion  still 
more  because  they  are  not  tuned  on  the  same  key.  Bands  and 
orchestras  are  employed  on  occasions  of  marriages  and  funerals, 
theatrical  exhibitions,  religions  or  civic  processions,  and  recep- 
tion of  officers,  but  not  to  a  verj'  great  extent  in  temples  or 
ancestral  worship ;  no  nation  makes  more  use  of  such  music  as 
they  have  than  the  Chinese.  The  people  have  an  ear  for  music, 
and  young  men  foi'm  clubs  to  learn  and  practise  on  various 
instruments  and  fit  themselves  for  playing  at  weddings  or  birth- 
day festivals.  In  respect  to  adopting  foreign  harmonies,  which 
youths  soon  learn  to  appreciate  when  taught  in  mission  schools, 
there  is  likely  to  be  no  competition,  owing  to  the  great  differences 
between  them.  ' 

From  this  account  of  Chinese  mnsic,  it  may  be  readily  inferred 
that  it  is  not  of  such  a  character  as  to  start  the  hearers  off  in  a 
lively  dance.  A  sort  of  nnimmer  or  posture-making  is  practised 
by  persons  attached  to  theatrical  companies,  and  pantomimic 
art  seems  to  have  been  understood  in  ancient  times,  but  the 
exhibitions  of  it  were  probably  as  jejune  as  the  caperings  of 
puppets.  As  acrobats  the  Chinese  are  equal  to  any  nation,  and 
companies  have  performed  in  many  western  capitals  within  a 
few  years  past.  Some  of  their  performances  are  highly  exciting, 
as  throwing  sharp  cleavers  at  a  man  fastened  to  a  post,  till  he 
cannot  stir  without  cuttinji;  himself  afirainst  their  blades,  is  a 
common  exhibition.     To  go  through  the  tragedy  of  trying,  con- 

'  Chinese  as  Ihey  Are,  Chap.  VIII.  Chinese  Repository,  Vol.  VIII.,  pp.  30-54. 
Chinese  Chrestouyithy,  pp.  85G--3G5.  Journal  N.  C.  Br.  R.  A.  Soc,  No.  II.,  1859, 
p.  176  ;  No.  v.,  1808,  p.  30.  Journal  of  tlie  Asiatic  Soc.  of  Japan,  1877,  Vol. 
v.,  pp.  170-179.  German  Asiatic  Soc.  of  Japan,  1876.  Grosier,  Description 
fjenerale  (U  la  Chine,  Tome  VI.,  p.  258.  Doolittle,  Soricd  TAfe,  Vol.  II.,  p.  216. 
Barrow's  Travels,  pp.  313-323.  Memoires  cone,  les  Chinois,  Tomes  I.,  III., 
VI.,  etc.;  for  ancient  musical  knowledge,  the  last  still  furnishes  the  best  an« 
alysis  yet  made. 


DANCING   AND   THE   FINK   ARTS.  105 

delnning,  and  killing  a  boy  by  stabbing  him  in  the  belly  is  not 
so  connnon  ;  the  imitation  of  the  gasping  chest  and  pallid  death 
hue  are  wotiderfnlly  natural.  Ventriloquism,  writing  answers 
to  questions  asked  of  the  spirits  by  means  of  rods  moving  over 
a  dusted  table,  and  other  black  art  or  magical  tricks  have  long 
been  known.  In  dancing  and  other  forms  of  graceful  motion 
they  are  entirely  wanting,  and  one  would  almost  as  soon  think 
of  associating  music  and  medicine  as  that  Chinese  music  should 
be  accompanied  by  quadrilles  and  cotillons,  or  that  men  witli 
shoes  like  pattens  could  lead  off  women  with  feet  like  hoofs 
through  the  turns  and  mazes  of  a  waltz  or  fandango. 

Their  deficiencies  in  music  will  not  lead  us  to  expect  much 
from  them  in  painting  or  sculpture,  for  all  flow  so  much  from 
the  same  general  perception  of  the  beautiful  in  sound,  form, 
and  color,  that  where  one  is  deficient  all  are  likely  to  be  unap- 
preciated. This  want  in  Chinese  mind  (for  we  are  hardly  at 
liberty  to  call  it  a  defect)  is,  to  a  greater  or  less  degree,  ob- 
servable in  all  the  races  of  Eastern  Asia,  none  of  whom  exhibit 
a  high  appreciation  of  the  beautiful  or  sublime  in  nature  or  art, 
or  have  produced  much  which  proves  that  their  true  principles 
were  ever  understood.  Painting  is  rather  behind  sculpture, 
but  neither  can  be  said  to  have  advanced  bej'ond  rude  imita- 
tions of  nature. 

Even  the  best  painters  have  no  proper  idea  of  perspective  or 
of  blending  light  and  shade,  but  the  objects  are  exhibited  as 
much  as  possible  on  a  flat  surface,  as  if  the  painter  drew  his 
picture  from  a  balloon,  and  looked  at  the  country  with  a  ver- 
tical sun  shining  above  him.  As  might  be  inferred  from  their 
deficiencies  in  linear  drawing  and  landscapes,  they  eminently 
fail  in  delineating  the  human  figui-e  in  its  right  proportions, 
position,  and  expressions,  and  of  grouping  the  persons  intro- 
duced into  a  piece  in  natural  attitudes.  The  study  of  the  hu- 
man figure  in  all  its  proportions  lias  not  been  attended  to  by 
painters  any  more  than  its  anatomy  has  by  surgeons.  Shadows 
upon  portraits  are  considered  a  great  defect,  and  in  order  to 
avoid  them  a  front  view  is  usually  taken.  Landscapes  are  also 
painted  without  shading,  the  remote  objects  being  as  minutely 
depicted  as  those  in  the  foreground,  and  the  point  of  view  in 


106 


THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 


pieces  of  any  size  is  changed  for  the  nearer  and  remote  pavts. 
There  is  no  vanishing  point  to  their  pictures,  as  might  be  in- 
ferred from  their  ignorance  of  perspective  and  tlie  true  elements 
of  art. 

Outline  drawing  is  a  favorite  style  of  the  art,  and  the 
wealthy  adorn  their  houses  with  rough  sketches  in  ink  of  fig- 
ures and  landscapes;  but  the  humblest  of  such  compositions  as 
are  common  in  the  galleries  and  studios  of  western  countries 
have  never  been  produced  by  Chinese  artists.     Some  of  their 


Representation  of  a  Man   Dreaming. 

representations  of  abstract  ideas  are  at  least  singular  to  us,  and, 
like  many  other  things  brought  from  their  country,  attract  no- 
tice from  their  oddity. 

Their  coloring  is  executed  with  great  skill  and  accuracy — too 
nuich,  indeed,  in  many  cases,  so  that  the  painting  loses  something 
of  the  effect  it  would  otherwise  have  from  the  scrupulous  minute- 
ness of  the  detail,  though  it  looks  well  in  j"»aintings  of  flowers, 
animals,  costumes,  ornaments,  and  other  single  objects  where 
this  filling  up  is  necessary  to  a  true  idea  of  the  original.  The 
tints  of  the  Innnan  countenance  are  no  better  done,  however. 


ATTAINMENTS    IN   DRAWING    AND    COLORING.  107 

tliaii  its  liueaiiieiits,  aiul  tlie  lifeless  opacity  suggests  tlie  idea 
that  the  artist  was  not  called  in  until  his  patron  was  about  to 
be  entombed  from  the  sight  of  his  soi-rowing  family.  The 
paintings  obtained  at  Canton  may,  some  of  them,  seem  to  dis- 
prove these  opinions  of  the  mediocrity  attained  by  the  artists 
in  that  country,  but  the  productions  of  the  copyists  in  that  city 
are  not  the  proper  criteria  of  native  uneducated  art.  Some  of 
them  have  had  so  nnich  practice  in  copying  foreign  produc- 
tions that  it  has  begun  to  cori-ect  their  own  notions  of  design- 
ing. These  constitute,  however,  a  very  small  proportion  of 
the  whole,  and  have  had  no  effect  on  national  taste.  The  de- 
signs to  1)0  seen  on  plates  and  bowls  are,  although  not  the  best, 
fairer  specimens  of  art  than  the  pieces  sometimes  procured  at 
Canton.  The  beautiful  fidelity  with  which  engravings  are 
copied  at  Canton  is  well  seen  in  the  paintings  on  ivory,  es- 
pecially miniatures  and  figures,  some  of  which  fully  equal  simi- 
lar productions  made  elsewhere.' 

As  samples  of  Chinese  illustrative  art,  the  two  adjoining 
wood-cuts  may  be  considered  as  quite  up  to  the  average  of 
their  fairest  achievements.  The  story  of  the  first  in  bi-ief  is  as 
follows:  In  the  district  of  Tsungngan  lived  a  crafty  plebeian, 
who,  envying  the  good  fortune  of  all  about  him,  became  es- 
pecially covetous  of  the  burial  ground  of  his  district  magis- 
trate Chu.  Hoping  to  gain  a  surreptitious  benefit  from  the 
felicitous  luck  of  the  plat,  he  secretly  buried  his  own  tomb- 
stone there,  and  at  the  end  of  several  years  brought  suit  for  its 
recovery.  Unable  to  comprehend  the  affair,  Chu  repaired  to 
the  burial  spot,  where  indeed  the  geomancy  of  the  grave  was 
found  to  be  entirely  in  accord  with  the  rules,  but  upon  remov- 
ing the  earth  the  stone  of  his  enemy's  remote  ancestry  was  dis- 
closed. The  suit  was  in  consequence  declared  against  him,  Chu 
removed  his  residence  to  the  black  tea  country,  and  his  envious 
neighbor  entered  in  triumph  upon  possession  of  the  graveyard. 

Xot  so  readily,  however,  did  the  powers  above  condone  this 
iniquity.     One  night  there  arose  a  tempest  of  unheard-of  vio- 

'  Compare  Owen  Jones,  Grammnr  of  Ornament,  Chap.  XIV. ,  and  Examples 
of  CMiieHe  Ornament  (London,  18()7).  Gazette  des  Beaux-Artu  for  Octoher  and 
November,  187:5,  and  January,  1874. 


108 


THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 


The  Vengeance   of   Heaven   upon  the   False   Grave. 


EXAMPLES    OF   CHINESE   ILLUSTRATIVE   ART.  109 

leiice,  when  the  thundei-  iuul  lightning  were  indescribable,  the 
hideons  roar  and  Hash  of  which  terrified  the  countiy  far  and 
near,  boding  no  good  to  its  wretched  inhabitants.  The  follow- 
ing morning  the  grave  was  discovered  in  ruins,  stone  and  epi- 
taph uprooted,  even  the  corpse  and  coffin  missing.  The  ven- 
geance of  liea\eu  had  repaired  tlu;  injustice  of  man. 

The  illustration  which  depicts  the  tempest  personified  in  its 
full  terror  shows  us  the  Lai  Kttiuj,  or  God  of  Thunder,  almost 
the  only  Chinese  mythological  deity  who  is  drawn  with  wings. 
The  cock's  head  and  claws,  the  hammer  and  chisel,  represent- 
ing the  splitting  peal  attending  a  flash,  the  circlet  of  fire  encom- 
passing a  number  of  drums  to  typify  the  reverberating  thunder 
and  the  ravages  of  the  irresistible  lightning,  present  a  grotesque 
ensemble  which  is  quite  unique  even  among  the  Vizarrerie  of 
oriental  figures ;  the  somewhat  juvenile  attempts  of  the  artist 
to  sketch  the  destruction  and  rifling  of  the  grave  are  much  less 
notable. 

Concerning  the  subject  of  the  second  illustration  (taken,  with 
the  other,  from  the  Sacred  Edict  of  Kanghi),  we  are  told  that 
one  Yuen,  having  conceived  a  violent  hatred  against  an  ac- 
quaintance, set  out  one  morning,  knife  in  hand,  with  the  pur- 
pose of  killing  him.  A  venerable  man  sitting  in  a  convent  saw 
liim  pass,  and  was  amazed  to  observe  several  scores  of  spirits 
closely  following  him,  some  of  whom  clutched  his  weapon, 
while  others  seemed  endeavoring  to  delay  his  progress.  "About 
the  space  of  a  meal-time"  the  patriarch  noticed  Yueirs  return, 
accompanied  this  time  by  more  than  a  hundred  spirits  wearing- 
golden  caps  and  bearing  banners  raised  on  high.  Yuen  himself 
appeared  with  so  happ}'  a  face,  in  place  of  his  gloomy  counte- 
nance of  the  early  morning,  that  the  old  man  sadly  concluded 
that  his  enemy  must  be  dead  and  his  revenge  gratified.  "  When 
you  passed  this  way  at  daybreak,"  he  asked,  "  where  were  you 
going,  and  how  do  you  return  so  soon  ?  "  "  It  was  owing  to  my 
quarrel  with  Miu,"  said  Y^ien,  "  that  made  me  wish  to  kill  him. 
But  in  passing  this  convent  door  better  thoughts  came  to  me  as 
I  pondered  upon  the  stress  his  wife  and  children  would  come 
to,  and  of  his  aged  mother,  none  of  whom  had  done  me  wrong. 
I  determined  then  not  to  kill  him,  and  return  thus  promptly 


110 


THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 


A  would-be  Assassin  followed   by  Spirits. 


SYMBOLISM   OF   THE   CHtN^ESE.  Ill 

from  my  evil  purpose."  It  hardly  needed  the  sage's  commen- 
dations to  increase  the  reformed  murderer's  inner  contentment, 
imparted  by  the  train  of  ghostly  helpers ;  he  continued  on  his 
way  rejoicing.  The  reader  may  notice  a  pictoi-ial  idea  as  well 
as  a  moral  not  unlike  those  of  more  western  countries. 

The  syml)olisni  of  the  Chinese  has  not  attracted  the  notice  of 
foreign  writers  as  much  as  it  deserves.  It  meets  us  every- 
where— on  plates  and  crockery,  on  carpets,  rugs,  vases,  wall 
pictures,  shop  signs,  and  visiting  cards.  Certain  animals  stand 
for  well-understood  characters  in  the  language,  and  convey 
their  sense  to  the  native  without  any  confusion.  Owing  to  the 
similarity  of  sound,  fuh  denotes  hat  and  ha_i>p\nem,  and  luh 
stands  for  deer  and  official  emolument.  The  cliaracter  shao, 
mtaning  'longevit}','  is  represented  in  many  ways — an  old  man 
leaning  on  his  staff;  a  pine  tree  cut  into  the  form  of  the  char- 
acter; a  tortoise,  which  is  among  the  longest-lived  reptiles;  a 
stork,  supposed  to  be  a  bird  which  attains  a  great  age,  and  a 
fabulous  peach  which  is  a  thousand  years  ripening.  A  dragon 
and  a  phoenix,  c^x  fung-iokang,  are  emblems  of  a  newly  wedded 
pail*,  and  various  modes  of  combination  are  adopted  to  repre- 
sent marriage  relations. 

A  rug  w'ill  sometimes  tell  a  story  very  neatly  to  the  eye.  In 
the  centre  is  the  Raxtstica,  or  'hammer  of  Thor,'  which  denotes 
all.,  and  symbolizes  all  happiness  that  humanity  desires.  On 
the  right  is  the  luh,  or  'deer,'  which  denotes  lionor  and  success 
in  study,  carrying  the  yii-'i,  or  Buddhist  sceptre,  in  its  mouth, 
meaning  success  in  literary  labors.  On  the  left  is  pictured  a 
goose,  indicating  domestic  felicity,  and  two  bats  complete  the 
rug,  with  its  good  wishes. 

In  the  plate  represented  in  the  picture  the  central  figure  is 
clad  in  the  ancient  costume  of  officials  bearing  the  insignia  or 
baton  of  a  minister  of  State.  The  old  man,  with  his  gourd  and 
peach,  indicates  an  extreme  and  happy  old  age ;  and  the  figure 
with  the  basket  corresponds  to  the  cornucopia  of  western 
emblems.  The  five  hats  symbolize  the  wufuh,  or  'five  happi- 
nesses,' Avhich  all  mankind  desires— riches,  longevity,  sound 
body,  love  of  virtue,  and  a  peaceful  end. 

The  visiting  card  and   note   paper   often    indicate   in  their 


112 


THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 


adornments  a  good  wish  and  a  motto  whieli  does  credit  to  the 
taste  and  lieart  of  the  designer.  A  most  graceful  and  not  nn- 
common  way  of  wishing  a  guest  good  luck  is  to  depict  some 
happy  emblem  or  a  sentence  of  the  language  with  a  fortunate 
meaning  on  the  bottom  of  his  tea-cup.  The  characters  "  May 
your  happiness  know  no  bounds  "  frequently  occur  in  this  posi- 


Symbols  of  Happiness  and  Old  Age.     (From  a  plaque.) 

tion,  and  the  oft-recurring  five  bats  or  three  peaches  can  be 
einployed  M'ith  like  signification.  The  mandarin  duck  is  a  well- 
understood  emblem  for  conjugal  affection ;  again,  a  cock  and 
hen  standing  on  an  artificial  i"ock-work  symbolize  the  pleasures 
of  a  country  life.  Sometimes  the  eiglit  symbols  peculiar  to  the 
Buddhist  sect,  or  the  pah  s/'en  ('  eight  genii')  indicative  of  their 
protection,  are  seen  in  the  border  of  a  plaque  amid  a  device  of 
running  arabesques.     The  favoi-ite  dragon,   in   an  infinite  di- 


PAINTING    ON    PITir-I'ArER   AND    LEAVES.  113 

versity  of  sliapes,  adorns  the  fiiici-  qualities  of  cups,  plates, 
bowls,  and  vases,  to  represent  imperial  grandeur,  but  connnon 
people  are  not  wont  to  use  such  patterns. 

The  brilliant  paintings  on  pith-paper,  or  rice-])ajpei\  as  it  is 
connnonlj  but  incorrectly  called,  deserve  special  mention  for 
their  singulai-  delicacy  aiid  spirit.  This  substance,  whose  vel- 
vety surface  contrasts  so  admirably  with  bi-ight  colors,  is  a  deli- 
cate vegeta1)le  film,  consisting  of  long  hexagonal  cells,  whose 
length  is  parallel  to  the  surface  of  the  film,  and  which  are  filled 
with  air  when  the  film  is  in  its  usual  state ;  the  peculiar  soft- 
ness which  so  well  adapts  it  for  receiving  colors  is  owing  to  tliis 
structure.  It  is  obtained  from  the  pith  of  a  species  of  Fatsia,  a 
plant  allied  to  the  Aralia,  growing  in  Formosa  and  Yunnan,  in 
nuirshy  districts.  It  is  cultivated  to  some  extent,  but  mostly 
gathered  \i\  cutting  the  branches  of  the  wild  plants,  which  re- 
semble the  elder.  This  pitli  forms  a  large  item  in  the  internal 
trade  of  China,  and  is  worked  up  into  toys  as  well  as  cut  into 
sheets.  The  fragments  are  used  to  stuff  pillows  or  fill  up  the 
soles  of  shoes,  or  wherever  a  light,  dry  material  is  needed.  The 
largest  and  best  sheets  (ten  l)y  fifteen  inches)  are  selected  for 
the  painters  at  Hongkong  and  Canton,  where  many  hundreds 
of  workmen  are  employed  in  making  them.  Under  the  direc- 
tion of  foreign  ladies  at  Amoy  and  elsewhere,  most  accurate 
imitations  of  flowers  and  bouquets  are  now  made  I)y  natives  out 
of  pith-paper.  The  pieces  are  cut  nearly  a  foot  long,  and  the 
pith  is  forced  out  by  driving  a  stick  into  one  end  ;  it  is  then  wet 
and  put  into  bamboos,  where  it  swells  and  dries  straight.  If 
too  short  to  furnish  the  i-equired  breadth,  several  bits  are  pressed 
together  until  they  adhere  and  make  one  long  straight  piece. 
The  paring  knife  reseml)lcs  a  butcher's  cleaver,  a  thin  find 
sharp  l)]ade,  which  is  touched  u])  on  a  block  of  iron-wood  at  the 
last  moment.  The  pith  is  pared  on  a  square  tile,  having  its 
ends  guarded  by  a  thin  strip  of  ])rass,  on  which  the  knife  rests. 
The  pith  is  rolled  over  against  its  edge  with  the  left  hand  ;  the 
right  firmly  holds  it,  slowly  moving  it  leftward,  as  the  workman 
pulls  and  rolls  the  pith  in  the  same  direction,  as  far  as  the  tile 
allows.  The  pared  sheet  runs  under  the  knife,  and  the  paring 
goes  on  until  only  a  centre  three  or  four  lines  thick  is  left ;  and 
Vol..  II.— 8 


114  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM, 

tliis  remnant  the  tlirifty  workmen  use  or  sell  for  an  aperient 
The  paring  resembles  the  operation  of  cutting  out  corks,  and 
produces  a  smooth  slieet  about  four  feet  long,  the  first  half  foot 
being  too  much  grooved  to  be  of  use.  The  fresh  sheets  are 
pressed  in  a  pile,  smoothed  by  ironing  and  their  fractures 
mended  with  mica.  Most  of  the  paper  is  trimmed  into  square 
sheets  for  the  makers  of  artificial  fiowers,  and  sold  in  Formosa 
at  about  eight  cents  for  five  hundred  sheets.  An  India-ink  out- 
line is  first  transferred  l)y  dampening  and  pressing  it  upon  the 
paper,  when  the  ink  strikes  off  sufliciently  to  enable  the  work- 
man to  fill  up  the  sketch ;  one  outline  will  serve  for  limning 
several  copies,  and  in  large  establishments  the  separate  colors 
are  laid  on  by  different  workmen.  The  manufacture  of  these 
paintings  at  Canton  employs  between  two  and  three  thousand 
hands. 

Another  tissue  sometimes  used  by  the  Chinese  for  painting, 
more  remarkable  for  its  singularity  than  elegance,  is  the  reticu- 
lated nerve-work  of  leaves,  the  parenchyma  of  the  leaf  having 
been  removed  by  maceration,  and  the  membrane  filled  with 
isinglass.  The  appearance  of  a  painting  on  this  transparent 
substance  is  pretty,  but  the  colors  do  not  retain  their  brilliancy. 
The  Chinese  admire  paintings  on  glass,  and  some  of  the  moon- 
light scenes  or  thunderstorms  are  good  specimens  of  their  art. 
The  clouds  and  dark  parts  are  done  with  India-ink,  and  a  dark 
shade  well  befitting  the  subject  is  imparted  to  the  whole  scene 
by  underlaying  it  with  a  piece  of  blackish  paper.  Portraits  and 
other  subjects  are  also  done  on  glass,  but  the  indifferent  execu- 
tion is  rendered  still  more  conspicuous  by  the  transparency  of 
the  ground  ;  the  Hindus  purchase  large  quantities  of  such  glass 
pictures  of  their  gods  and  goddesses.  Looking-glasses  are  also 
painted  on  the  back  with  singular  eifect  by  removing  the  quick- 
silver with  a  steel  point  according  to  a  design  previously 
sketched,  and  then  painting  the  denuded  portion. 

Statuary  is  confined  (thiefiy  to  molding  idols  out  of  clay  or 
cutting  them  from  wood,  and  carving  animals  to  adorn  balus' 
trades  and  temples.  Idols  are  generally  made  in  a  sitting  pos- 
ture and  dressed,  the  face  and  hands  being  the  only  pai'ts  of  the 
body  seen,  so  that  no  opportuility  is  afforded  for  imitating  the 


CHINESE   SCULPTURE    AND    CARICATURE.  115 

muscles  and  contour  of  tlie  figure.  The  hideous  monsters  which 
guard  the  entrance  of  temples  often  exhibit  more  artistic  skill 
than  the  unmeaning  images  enshrined  within,  and  some  even 
display  much  knowledge  of  character  and  proportion.  Among 
their  best  performances  in  statuettes  are  the  accurate  baked  and 
painted  models  of  different  classes  of  people  ;  Canton  and  Tien- 
tsin artists  excel  in  this  branch. 

Animals  are  sculptured  in  granite  and  cast  in  bronze,  showing 
great  skill  and  patience  in  the  detail  work  ;  deformity  in  the 
model  has  resulted  in  the  production  of  such  animals,  indeed,  as 
were  probably  never  beheld  in  any  world.  Images  of  lions, 
tigers,  tortoises,  elephants,  rams,  and  other  animals  ornament 
bridges,  temples,  and  tombs.  The  elephants  in  the  long  avenue 
of  warriors,  horses,  lions,  etc.,  leading  up  to  the  tomb  of  the 
Emperor  Ilungwu  at  Xanking  are  the  only  tolerable  representa- 
tions of  their  originals ;  the  gigantic  images  guarding  the 
tomb  of  Yungloh,  his  son,  at  Changping,  near  Peking,  are 
noticeable  for  size  alone.  The  united  effect  of  the  elaborate 
carving  and  grotesque  ornaments  seen  upon  the  roofs,  woodwork, 
and  pillars  of  buildings  is  not  devoid  of  beauty,  though  in  their 
details  there  is  a  great  violation  of  the  true  principles  of  art, 
just  as  the  expression  of  a  face  may  please  which  still  has  not  a 
handsome  feature  in  it.  Short  columns  of  stone  or  wood,  sur- 
mounted by  a  lion,  and  a  dragon  twining  around  the  shaft,  the 
whole  cut  out  of  one  block ;  or  a  lion  sejant  with  half  a  dozen 
cubs  crawling  over  his  body,  are  among  the  ornaments  of  tem- 
ples and  graves  which  show  the  taste  of  the  people. 

The  Chinese  have  a  sense  of  the  ridiculous,  and  exhibit  it 
both  in  their  sculpture  and  drawing  in  many  ways.  Lampoons, 
pasquinades,  and  caricatures  are  common,  nor  is  any  pei'son 
below  the  dragon's  throne  spared  by  their  pens  or  pencils,  though 
they  prefer  subjects  not  likely  to  involve  the  authors — as  in  the 
one  here  selected  from  the  many  elicited  during  the  war  of  1840. 

By  far  the  best  specimens  of  sculpture  are  their  imitations  of 
fruits,  flowers,  animals,  etc.,  cut  out  of  many  kinds  of  stone, 
from  gnarled  roots  of  bamboo,  wood,  and  other  materials ;  but 
in  these  we  admire  the  unwearied  patience  and  cunning  of  the 
workmen  in  making  gi'otesque  combinations  and  figures  out  of 


116 


THE    MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 


apparently  intractable  materials,  and  do  not  seek  for  any  indica- 
tions of  a  pni'e  taste  or  embodiment  of  an  exalted  conception. 
Inscriptions  of  a  religions  or  geomantic  cliai'acter  are  often  cnt 
npon  tlie  faces  of  rocks,  as  was  tlie  case  in  India  and  Arabia,* 
and  tlie  pictnrescpie  characters  of  the  language  make  a  pretty  ap- 
pearance in  such  situations. 

The  small  advances  made  in  architecture  have  already  been 
noticed  in  Chapter  XIII. — a  deficiency  exhibited  in  the  Iluns 
and  other  nations  of  the  Mongolian  stock  long  after  they  had 


Caricature  of  an  English  Foraging  Party. 

settled  in  Europe  and  Western  Asia ;  nor  was  it  imtil  their 
amalgamation  with  the  imaginative  nations  of  Southern  Europe 
had  changed  their  original  character  that  grand  performances 
in  architecture  appeared  among  the  latter.  If  the  Chinese  had 
a  model  of  the  Parthenon  or  the  Pantheon  in  their  own 
country,  belike  they  would  measurably  imitate  it  in  every  part, 
but  they  would  erect  dozens  in  the  same  fashion.  Perhaps 
an  infusion  of  elegance  and  taste  would  liave  been  imparted  to 
them  if  the  people  had  had  frequent  intercourse  witii  more  im- 


'  Compare  Job  XXX.,  24. 


LIMITATIONS    OF   TIIKIll    AlinilTKOTURE.  117 

ainiiative  nations,  1)ut  wlicn  tlici'c  wei-c  no  models  of  this  su- 
perior kind  to  follow  there  was  no  likelihood  of  their  origina- 
tihg  them.  In  lightei'  edifices,  as  ])avilions,  rest-houses,  kiosks, 
and  arbors,  there  is,  however,  a  degree  of  taste  and  adaptation 
that  is  umisual  in  other  buildings,  and  (juite  in  keeping  with 
their  fondness  for  tinsel  and  gilding  rather  than  solidity  and 
grandeur.  On  this  point  Lay's  remark  on  the  characteristics  of 
the  Attic,  Egyptian,  Gothic,  and  Chinese  styles  is  apposite. 
"  If  we  would  see  beauty,  size,  and  proportion  in  all  their  ex- 
cellence, we  should  look  for  it  among  the  models  of  Greece  ;  if 
we  desire  something  that  was  wild  and  stupendous,  we  should 
find  it  in  Egypt ;  if  grandeur  with  a  never-sated  minuteness  of 
decoration  please  us,  we  need  look  no  further  than  to  a  cathe- 
dral ;  and  lastly,  if  the  romantic  and  the  old-fashioned  attract 
our  fancy,  the  Chinese  can  point  us  to  an  exhaustless  store  in 
the  recesses  of  their  vast  Empire.  A  lack  of  science  and  of  con- 
ception is  seen  in  all  their  luiildings,  but  fancy  seems  to  have 
had  free  license  to  gambol  at  pleasure ;  and  wdiat  the  architect 
wanted  in  developing  a  scheme  he  made  up  in  a  redundancy  of 
imagination." 

The  Chinese  have  made  but  little  progress  in  investigating 
the  principles  and  forces  of  mechanics,  but  have  practically  un- 
derstood most  of  the  common  powers  in  the  various  applications 
of  which  they  are  capable.  The  lever,  wheel  and  axle,  wedge 
and  pinion,  are  all  known  in  some  form  or  other,  but  the  modi- 
fication of  the  wedge  in  the  screw  is  not  frequent.  The  sheave- 
blocks  on  board  their  vessels  have  only  one  pulley,  but  they 
understand  the  advantages  of  the  windlass,  and  have  adopted 
the  capstain  in  working  vessels,  driving  piles,  raising  timber, 
etc.  They  have  long  understood  the  mode  of  raising  weights 
by  a  hooked  pulley  running  on  a  rope,  attached  at  each  end  to 
a  cylinder  of  unequal  diameters ;  by  this  contrivance,  as  the 
rope  wound  around  the  larger  diameter  it  ran  off  the  snuiller 
one,  raising  the  weight  to  the  amount  of  the  difference  between 
the  circumference  of  the  two  cylinders  at  a  very  small  expense 
of  strength.  The  graduations  of  the  weighing-beam  indicate 
their  acquaintance  with  the  relations  between  the  balance  and 
the  weight  on   the  long  and   short  arm   of  the  lever,  and   this 


118  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

mode  of  weighing  is  preferred  for  gold,  pearls,  and  other  valu- 
able things.  The  overshot  water-M-heel  is  used  to  turn  stones 
for  grinding  wheat  and  set  in  motion  pestles  to  hull  rice  and 
press  oil  from  seeds,  i',nd  the  undershot  power  for  raising  water. 
There  is  a  great  expenditure  of  human  strength  in  most  of 
their  contrivances ;  in  many,  indeed,  the  object  seems  to  have 
been  i-ather  to  give  a  direction  to  this  strength  than  to  abridge 
it.  For  instance,  they  put  a  number  of  slings  under  a  heavy 
stone  and  carry  it  off  bodily  on  poles,  in  preference  to  making 
a  low  car  to  roll  it  away  at  half  the  expense  of  human  power. 

In  other  departments  of  science  the  attainments  of  the  people 
are  few  and  imperfect.  Chemistry  and  metallui'gy  are  un- 
known as  sciences,  but  many  operations  in  them  are  performed 
with  a  considerable  degree  of  success.  Sir  J,  Davis  gives  the 
detail  of  some  experiments  in  oxidizing  quicksilver  and  prepa- 
ration of  mercurial  medicines  which  were  performed  by  a  native 
in  the  presence  and  at  the  request  of  Dr.  Pearson  at  Canton, 
and  "  afforded  a  curious  proof  of  similar  results  ol)tained  by  the 
most  different  and  distant  nations  possessing  very  unequal 
scientific  attainments,  and  bore  no  unfavorable  testimony  to 
Chinese  shrewdness  and  ingenuity  in  the  existing  state  of  their 
knowledge.''  '  The  same  opinion  might  be  safely  predicated  of 
their  metallurgic  manipulations  ;  the  character  of  the  work  is 
the  only  index  of  the  efficacy  of  the  process.  In  bronzes  they 
take  a  high  place,  and  the  delicacy  of  their  niello  work  in  gold 
and  silver,  upon  wood  as  well  as  metal,  caimot  be  surpassed. 

This  compendious  review  of  the  science  of  the  Chinese  can 
be  brought  to  a  close  by  a  brief  account  of  their  theory  and  prac- 
tice of  medicine  and  surgery.  Although  they  are  almost  as 
superstitious  as  the  Hindus  or  Xorth  American  Indians,  they 
do  not  depend  upon  inc^antations  and  charms  for  relief  in  case  of 
sickness,  but  resoi't  to  the  prescriptions  of  the  physician  as  the 
most  reasonable  and  likely  way  to  i-ecovcr ;  mixed  up,  indeed, 
with  many  strange  practices  to  assist  the  efficacy  of  the  doses. 
These  vary  in  every  part  of  the  Empire,  and  show  the  power  of 
ignorance  to  perpetuate  and   strengthen   tlie  strangest  supersti- 


'  Tlie  Chinese,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  260-270,  28G. 


IDEAS    ON    Till-:    STKUt'TUIlE    OF    TIIK    IIFMAN    HODY.       119 

tions  wliere  health  and  life  are  involved.  Doolittle  has  col 
lected  many  instances,  and  the  experience  of  medical  mission- 
aries is  unifoi'm  in  this  matter. 

The  dissection  of  the  human  hody  is  never  attempted,  though 
some  notions  of  its  internal  structure  are  taught  in  medical 
works,  which  are  published  in  many  forms.  Mr.  Wylie  notices 
fifty-nine  treatises  of  a  medical  and  physiological  character  in 
his  Notes  on  Chinese  Literature.  They  contain  references  to 
a  far  greater  number  of  authors,  some  of  whom  flourished  in 
the  earliest  days  of  China,  and  many  of  whose  writings  exhibit 
good  sense  and  sound  advice  amid  the  strangest  theories.  Dr. 
Harland  has  deseril)ed  the  Chinese  ideas  of  the  organization  of 
the  body  and  the  functions  of  the  chief  viscera  in  a  lucid  man- 
ner, and  the  diagram  shown  on  p.  120  presents  the  popular 
opinions  on  this  subject,  for  whatever  foreigners  may  have  im- 
parted to  them  has  not  yet  become  generally  known. 

The  Chinese  seem  to  have  no  idea  of  the  distinction  between 
venous  and  arterial  blood,  nor  between  muscles  and  nerves,  ap- 
plying the  word  hin  to  both  tendons  and  nerves.  According  to 
these  physiologists,  the  brain  (A)  is  the  abode  of  the  yln  prin- 
ciple in  its  perfection,  and  at  its  base  (B),  where  there  is  a  reser- 
voir of  the  marrow,  communicates  through  the  spine  with  the 
whole  body.  The  larynx  (C)  goes  through  the  lungs  directly  to 
the  heart,  expanding  a  little  in  its  course,  while  the  pharynx 
(D)  passes  over  them  to  tlie  stomach.  The  lungs  («,  «,  r/,  a^  a,  a) 
are  white,  and  placed  in  the  thorax  ;  they  consist  of  six  lobes  or 
leaves  suspended  from  the  spine,  four  on  one  side  and  two  on 
the  other ;  sound  proceeds  from  holes  in  them,  and  they  rule 
the  various  parts  of  the  body.  The  centre  of  the  thorax  (or  pit 
of  the  stomach)  is  the  seat  of  the  breath ;  joy  and  delight  ema- 
nate from  it,  and  it  cannot  be  injured  without  danger.  The 
heart  {h)  lies  underneath  the  lungs,  and  is  the  prince  of  the 
body  ;  thoughts  proceed  from  it.  The  pericardium  {<■)  comes 
from  and  envelops  the  heart  and  extends  to  the  kidneys. 
There  are  three  tubes  communicating  from  the  heart  to  the 
spleen,  liver,  and  kidneys,  but  no  clear  ideas  are  held  as  to  their 
office.  Like  the  pharynx,  they  pass  through  the  diaphragm, 
which  is  itself  connected  with  the  spine,  ribs,  and  bowels.  The 


120 


THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 


Chinese  Notions  of  the   Internal  Structure  of  the   Human 
Body. 

/I,/?— The  brain.  C— Larynx.  D— Pharynx.  a,a,«,«,rt, 
a — Lungs.  6 — Heart,  c — Pericardium.  U — Bond  of  con- 
nection with  tho  spleen,  e — The  (Esophagus.  /— Boiidnf 
connection  with  the  liver,  (j — Bond  of  connection  with 
the  kidneys,  h — The  diaphragm,  i — Cardiac  extremity. 
;— The  spleen,  i— The  stomach.  /—Omentum.  »«— The 
pylorus.  n,n,n,n,n.v — The  liver,  o— The  gall-blndder. 
;> — The  kidneys,  q — The  small  intestines,  r — The  largo 
intestines,  s— Caput  coli.  i—Thc  navel,  m— The  blad 
tier.  ?' — The  "gate  of  life."'  sometimes  iiUu-ed  in  the 
right  kidney,  zo— The  rectum,  x,  y— The  urinal  and 
foecal  passages. 


liver  (??,  ;?,  ??,  71,  v,  71)  io 
on  the  right  side  and  has 
seven  lobes  ;  the  soul  re- 
sides in  it,  and  schemes 
emanate  from  it ;  tlie 
gall-bladder  (0)  is  below 
and  projects  npward  into 
it,  and  when  the  person 
is  angry  it  ascends ;  cour- 
age dwells  in  it ;  hence 
the  Chinese  sometimes 
procure  the  gall-bladder 
of  animals,  as  tigers  and 
bears,  and  even  of  men, 
especially  notorious  ban- 
dits executed  for  their 
crimes,  and  eat  the  bile 
contained  in  them,  under 
the  idea  that  it  will  im- 
part courage.  The  spleen 
{J)  lies  between  the  stom- 
ach and  diaphragm  and 
assists  in  digestion,  and 
the  food  passes  from  it 
into  the  stomach  {k),  aud 
hence  through  the  pylo- 
rus {m)  into  the  large  in- 
testines. The  omentum 
[l)  overlies  the  stomach, 
but  its  office  is  unknown, 
and  the  mesentery  and 
pancreas  are  entirely 
omitted. 

The  small  intestines 
{(j)  are  connected  witli 
the  heart,  and  the  urine 
passes  through  them  into 
the  bladder,  separating 
from  the  food  or  fseces 


TIIEOKIES  REGARDING  OSTEOLOGY  AND  CIRCULATION.    121 

at  the  caput  coli  iV),  where  they  divide  from  the  larger  intes- 
tines. The  large  intestines  (/■)  are  connected  with  the  lungs  and 
lie  in  the  loins,  having  sixteen  convolutions.  The  kidneys  {j)) 
are  attached  to  the  spinal  marrow,  and  resemble  an  egg  in  shape, 
and  the  subtle  genei-ative  fluid  is  eliminated  by  them  above  to  the 
brain  and  belo\v  to  the  spermatic  cord  and  sacral  extremity  ;  the 
testes,  called  wal  shin,  or  'outside  kidneys,'  communicate  with 
them.  The  right  kidney,  or  the  passage  from  it  (v),  is  called 
the  "  gate  of  life,"  and  sends  forth  the  subtle  fluid  to  the  sper- 
matic vessels.  The  bladder  (u)  lies  below  the  kidneys,  and  re- 
ceives the  urine  from  the  small  intestines  at  the  iliac  valve. 

The  osteology  of  the  frame  is  briefly  despatched :  the  pelvis, 
skull,  forearm,  and  leg  are  considered  as  single  bones,  the  pro- 
cesses of  the  joints  being  quite  dispensed  with,  and  the  whole 
considered  merely  as  a  kind  of  internal  framework,  on  and  in 
which  the  necessary  fleshy  parts  are  upheld,  but  with  which 
they  have  not  much  more  connection  by  muscles  and  ligaments 
than  the  post  has  with  the  pile  of  mud  it  upholds.  The  Tai-i 
Yuen,  or  Medical  College  at  Peking,  contains  a  copper  model 
of  a  man,  about  six  feet  high,  on  which  are  given  the  names  of 
the  pulses  in  different  places  ;  it  is  pierced  with  many  small 
holes.  In  a.d.  1027  the  Emperor  had  two  anatomical  figures 
made  to  illustrate  the  art  of  acupuncture,  which  is  still  prac- 
tised. The  irrigation  of  the  body  with  blood  is  rather  compli- 
cated, and  authors  vary  greatly  as  to  the  manner  in  which  it  is 
accomplished.  Some  pictures  represent  tubes  issuing  from  the 
fingers  and  toes,  and  running  up  the  limbs  into  the  trunk,  where 
the}'  are  lost,  or  reach  the  heart,  lungs,  or  some  other  organ  as 
well  as  they  can,  wandering  over  most  parts  of  the  body  in  their 
course. 

Theories  are  furnished  in  great  variety  to  account  for  the 
nourishment  of  the  body  and  the  functions  of  the  viscera,  and 
upon  their  harmonious  connection  with  each  other  and  the  five 
metals,  colors,  tastes,  and  planets  is  founded  the  well-being  of 
the  system  ;  with  all  tliey  hold  an  intimate  relation,  and  their 
actions  are  alike  built  on  the  all-pervading  functions  of  the  yiii 
and  ya7i(/ — tliose  universal  solvents  in  Chinese  philosophy.  The 
pulse  is  very  carefully  studied,  and  its  condition  regarded  as  the 


Bar, 

(( 

lightly 

(( 

(I 

heavily 

'Cubit, 

(( 

lightly 

(C 

(( 

heavily 

122  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

index  of  every  condition  of  the  body,  even  to  determining  tlie 
sex  of  an  unborn  infant ;  great  parade  is  usually  made  by  every 
practitioner  in  examining  this  important  symptom. 

Dr.  liarland  has  made  a  table  showing  the  sympathy  sup- 
posed to  exist  between  the  different  points  of  the  pulses  and  the 
internal  organs."  In  each  wrist  tiie  pulses  are  named  Inch, 
Ba}\  and  Cuhit  (the  first  being  nearest  the  liand) ;  a  change  in 
degree  of  pressure  doubles  the  range  of  viscera  thus  indexed  : 

LEFT  WRIST. 

Inch,  when  lightly  pressed,  indicates  the  state  of  the  small  intestines. 
"         "     heavily         "  "  "  "      heart. 

'  "  "  "      gall-bladder. 

.  u  u  «      liyej. 

'  "  "  "      urinary  bladder. 

'  "  "  "     kidneys. 

RIGHT  WRIST. 

Iiicli,  when  lightly  pressed,  indicates  the  state  of  the  large  intestines. 

"         "     heavily       "  "  "  "  lungs. 

Bar,       "     lightly         "  "  "  "  stomach. 

"         "     heavily        "  "  "  "  spleen. 

Ciibil,     "     lightly         "  "  "  "  sail  (seaott. 

"         "     heavily        "  "  "  "  miiu/  man. 

The  two  latter  meaning  respectively  '  Three  Passages  '  and  '  Gate 
of  Life,'  being  purely  imaginary  organs,  are  difficult  to  describe. 
A  diseased  state  of  an  organ  is  supposed  to  be  owing  to  a 
disagreement  of  the  yin  and  yong,  the  presence  of  bad  humors, 
or  the  more  powerful  agency  of  evil  spirits,  and  until  these 
agencies  are  corrected  medicines  cannot  exercise  their  full  effi- 
cacy. The  surface  of  the  body  receives  the  closest  attention, 
for  there  is  not  a  square  inch  w'ithout  its  appropriate  name. 
Plasters  and  lotions  are  applied  to  these  places  according  to  the 
diagnosis  of  tlie  disease,  predicated  on  the  dual  theory  ;  and  the 
strolling  quacks  and  regular  practitioners  both  administer  the 
rationale  and  the  dose  together — considering,  probably,  that  the 
medicine  would  lose  half  its  efficacy  upon  the  organs  it  was  in- 
tended to  affect  if  it  was  not  mixed  with  faith  to  operate  upon 
the  sentient  principle  lodged  there. 

'  Transactions  of  tlie  China  Br.  of  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  Hongkong,  Part  L , 
1847,  p.  43. 


mp:dical  puactice  of  the  Chinese.  123 

The  practice  of  tlic  Chinese  is  far  in  advance  of  tlieir  theory, 
and  some  of  their  treatises  on  dietetics  and  medical  practice 
contain  good  advice,  the  result  of  experience.  Dr.  W.  Lock- 
hart  has  ti-anslated  n  native  treatise  on  midwifery,  in  which  the 
author,  conlining  himself  principally  to  the  best  modes  of  treat- 
ment in  all  the  stages  of  parturition,  and  dwelling  brieii}'  on  the 
reasons  of  things,  has  greatly  improved  upon  the  physiologists. 
This  branch  of  the  profession  is  almost  entirely  in  the  hands  of 
women.  Sui-gical  operations  are  chietly  confined  to  removing  a 
tooth,  puncturing  sores  and  tumors  with  needles,  or  trying  to 
reduce  dislocations  and  reunite  fractures  by  pressure  or  ban- 
daging. Sometimes  they  successfully  execute  more  difficult 
cases,  as  the  amputation  of  a  finger,  operation  for  a  harelip, 
and  insertion  of  false  teeth.  In  one  case  of  dentistry  four  in- 
cisor teeth  made  of  ivory  were  strung  upon  a  piece  of  catgut 
and  secured  in  their  place  b}-  tying  the  string  to  the  eye-teeth  ; 
they  were  renewed  quarterly,  and  served  their  purpose  tolerably 
M'ell.  The  practice  of  acupuncture  has  some  good  results  among 
the  bad  ones.*  That  of  applying  cauteries  and  caustics  of  va- 
rious degrees  of  power  is  more  general,  and  sometiuies  entails 
shocking  distress  upon  the  patient.  Cases  have  presented  them- 
selves at  the  hosj)itals,  where  small  sores,  by  the  application  of 
escharotics,  have  extended  until  a  large  part  of  the  tissue,  and 
even  important  organs,  have  been  destroyed,  the  charlatan 
amusing  his  suffering  patient  by  promises  of  ultimate  cure. 
The  moxa,  or  burning  the  fiovvers  of  the  amaranthus  upon  the 
skin,  is  attended  with  less  injury. 

Tui-ning  in  of  the  eyelashes  is  a  connnon  ailment,  and  native 
practitioners  attempt  to  cure  it  by  everting  the  lid  and  fastening 
it  in  its  place  by  two  slips  of  bamboo  tightly  bound  on,  or  by  a 
pair  of  tweezers,  until  the  loose  fold  on  the  edge  sloughs  off : 
the  eye  is,  however,  more  frecpiently  disfigured  by  this  clumsy 
process  than  is  the  trouble  remedied.  Poultices  made  of  many 
strange  or  disgusting  substances  are  applied  to  injured  parts, 

'Compare  Ri'mnsat  {Xoiiveau.r  Melangen  Asiatiqves,  Tome  I.,  pp.  358-380), 
who  says  that  the  first  notion  of  acupuncture  as  practised  in  China  was  brought 
into  Europe  by  one  Ten-Rhyue,  a  Dutch  surgeon,  at  the  end  of  the  seveu- 
teenth  century. 


124  Tiip;  isiiddlt:  KiNGDo:\r. 

Dr.  Parker  mentions  the  case  of  a  man  who,  having  injured 
tlie  iris  by  a  fall,  was  ordered  by  his  native  physician  to  cut  a 
chicken  in  halves,  laying  one  portion  on  the  eye  as  a  cataplasm 
and  eating  the  other  as  an  internal  cure.  Venesection  is  rarely 
attempted,  but  leeches  and  cupping  are  employed  to  remove  the 
blood  from  a  particular  spot.  Blood-letting  is  disapproved  in 
fevers,  "  for,"  says  the  Chinese  reasoner,  "  a  fever  is  like  a  pot 
boiling ;  it  is  requisite  to  reduce  the  fire  and  not  diminish  the 
liquid  in  the  vessel  if  we  wish  to  cure  the  patient." 

Many  of  the  operations  in  cases  of  fracture  present  a  strange 
mixture  of  folly  and  sense,  proceeding  from  their  ideas  of  the 
internal  structure  of  the  human  body  conliicting  with  those 
which  common  sense  and  experience  teach.  Pere  Ripa's  de- 
scription of  the  treatment  he  underwent  to  prevent  the  ill  ef- 
fects of  a  fall  will  serve  as  an  illustration.  Having  been  thrown 
from  his  horse  and  left  fainting  in  the  street,  he  was  carried 
into  a  house,  wdiere  a  surgeon  soon  visited  him.  "  He  made 
me  sit  up  in  bed,  placing  near  me  a  large  basin  filled  with 
water,  in  which  he  put  a  thick  piece  of  ice  to  i-educe  it  to  a 
freezing  point.  Then  stripping  me  to  the  waist,  he  made  me 
stretch  my  neck  over  the  basin,  while  he  continued  for  a  good 
while  to  pour  the  water  on  my  neck  with  a  cup.  The  pain 
caused  by  this  operation  upon  those  nerves  which  take  their 
rise  from  the  pia  mater  was  so  great  and  insuffei'able  that 
it  seemed  to  me  unequalled,  but  he  said  it  would  stanch  the 
blood  and  restore  me  to  my  senses,  which  was  actually  the  case, 
for  in  a  short  time  my  sight  became  clear  and  my  mind  re- 
sumed its  powers.  He  next  bound  my  head  with  a  band  di-awn 
tight  by  two  men  who  held  the  ends,  while  he  struck  the  inter- 
mediate parts  vigorously  with  a  piece  of  wood,  which  shook  my 
head  violently,  and  gave  me  dreadful  pain.  This,  he  said,  was 
to  set  the  brain,  which  he  supposed  had  been  displaced,  and  it 
is  true  that  after  the  second  operation  my  head  felt  more  free. 
A  third  operation  was  now  performed,  during  which  he  made 
me,  still  stripped  to  the  waist,  walk  in  the  open  air  supported 
by  two  persons;  and  while  thus  walking  he  unexpectedly  threw 
a  basin  of  freezing  cold  water  over  my  breast.  As  this  caused 
me   to   draw   my   breath  with   great    vehemence,  and   as  my 


THE    PKACTICK   OF   CHINESE   PHYSICIANS.  125 

cliest  had  been  injured  b)-  tlie  fall,  it  may  easily  be  imagined 
Avhat  were  my  sufteriiigs  under  this  inlliction  ;  but  I  was  eon- 
soled  by  the  information  that  if  any  i-ib  had  been  dislocated, 
this  sudden  and  hard  breathing  would  restoie  it  to  its  natui-al 
position.  The  next  ])roceeding  was  not  less  painful  and  extrava- 
gant. The  operator  made  me  sit  on  the  ground,  and,  assisted 
by  two  men,  held  a  cloth  upon  my  mouth  and  nose  till  I  was 
almost  suffocated.  '  This,'  said  the  Chinese  Esculapius,  '  by 
causing  a  violent  heaving  of  the  chest,  will  force  back  any  rib 
that  may  have  been  dislocated.'  The  wound  in  my  head  not 
being  deep,  he  healed  it  by  stuffing  it  with  burnt  cotton.  He 
then  ordered  that  I  should  continue  to  walk  much,  supported 
by  two  persons ;  that  I  should  not  sit  long,  nor  be  allowed  to 
sleep  till  ten  o'clock  at  night,  at  which  time  I  should  eat  a  little 
thin  rice  soup,  lie  assured  me  that  these  walks  in  the  open 
air  while  fasting  would  prevent  the  blood  from  settling  upon 
the  chest,  where  it  might  corrupt.  These  remedies,  though 
barbarous  and  excruciating,  cured  me  so  completely  that  in 
seven  days  I  was  able  to  resume  my  journey."  ' 

The  active  daily  practice  of  a  popular  Chinese  doctor  may  be 
very  well  illustrated  from  Dr.  Ilobson's  description  of  one  Ta 
wang  siensang,  or  '  Dr.  Hhubarb,'  a  medical  practitioner  in 
Canton.  This  man,  after  prescribing  for  the  sick  at  his  office 
until  the  hour  of  ten  in  the  morning,  would  commence  his  rounds 
"  in  the  sedan  chair  carried  in  great  haste  by  three  or  four  men. 
Those  patients  were  visited  first  who  had  their  names  and 
residences  first  placed  in  the  entry  book,  and  as  the  streets  were 
narrow  and  crowded,  to  avoid  trouble  in  finding  the  house,  a 
copy  of  the  doctor's  sign-board  would  be  posted  up  outside  the 
patient's  door,  so  that  the  chairmen  should  be  able  at  once  to 
recognize  the  house  without  delay." 

The  doctor  being  ushered  into  the  hall,  or  principal  room,  is 
met  with  bows  and  salutations  by  the  father  or  elder  brother  of 
the  family.  Tea  and  pipes  are  offered  in  due  form,  and  he  is 
requested  to  feel  his  patient's  pulse';  if  a  male,  he  sits  opposite 

'  Pere  Ripa,  Memoirs  and  Residence  ai  Peking^  translated  by  F.  Prandi,  Lou- 
don, 1844,  p.  G7. 


126  TIIK    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

to  him  ;  if  a  female,  afcreeii  of  bamboo  intervenes,  wliich  is  only 
removed  in  case  it  is  requisite  to  see  tlie  tongue.  The  riglit 
hand  is  placed  upon  a  book  t»^  steady  it,  and  the  doctor,  with 
much  gravity  and  a  learned  look,  places  his  three  fingers  upon 
the  pulsating  vessel,  pressing  it  alternately  with  each  finger  on 
the  imier  and  outer  side,  and  then  making  with  three  fingers  a 
steady  pressure  for  scvei'al  minutes,  not  with  watch  in  hand,  to 
note  the  frequency  of  its  beats,  but  with  a  thoughtful  and  cal- 
culating mind,  to  diagnose  the  disease  and  prognosticate  its 
issue.  The  fingers  being  removed  the  patient  immediately 
stretches  out  the  other  hand,  which  is  felt  in  the  same  manner. 
Perhaps  certain  cpiestions  are  asked  of  the  father  or  mother  con- 
cerning the  sick  person,  but  these  are  usually  few,  as  it  is  pre- 
sumed the  pulse  reveals  everything  needful  to  kiiow.  Ink  and 
paper  are  produced  and  a  prescription  is  written  out,  which 
consists  of  numerous  ingredients,  but  there  are  one  or  two  of 
only  prime  importance  —the  rest  are  servants  or  adjuvants.  They 
are  all  taken  from  the  vegetable  kingdom,  and  are  mostly  simples 
of  little  efficacy.  The  prescrij)tion  is  taken  to  a  di-nggist  to  be 
dispensed ;  the  prescriber  seldom  makes  up  the  medicine  him- 
self, and  as  large  doses  are  popular  (a  quid  j»;yv'  J^^^),  so  the 
decoction  made  from  the  whole  amounts  to  pints  or  even  quarts, 
which  are  swallowed  in  lai'ge  portions  with  the  greatest  ease; 
powders,  boluses,  pills,  and  electuaries  are  also  use().  If  the 
patient  is  an  officer  of  the  government  or  a  wealthy  pei-son,  the 
nature  of  the  disease,  prognosis,  and  treatment  are  written  down 
for  the  inspection  of  the  family ;  for  this  the  doctor's  fee  is  a 
dollar.  But  genei-ally  speaking,  both  the  doctor  and  the  patient's 
friends  are  quite  satisfied  with  a  verbal  comnnmication  ;  and  if 
the  man  has  a  gift  for  speaking  and  has  brass  enough  to  use  it 
to  his  advantage  (i)oth  of  which  are  seldom  wanting  in  time- 
serving men),  he  will  describe  with  a  learned,  self-satisfied  air 
the  ailment  of  the  patient,  and  the  number  of  days  it  will  take 
to  cure  him.  The  fee  is  wra]>ped  up  in  red  paper,  and  called 
"golden  thanks,"  varying , in  amount  from  fifteen  to  seventy 
cents  or  more,  according  to  the  means  of  the  patient ;  the  chair- 
bearers  being  ]iaid  extra.  The  doctor  I'eturns  to  make  another 
visit  if  invited,  but  not  otherwise.     It  is  more  common,  if  tlie 


MKT)T("TXi:s    KMI  LoVKD.  127 

patient  is  not  at  once  benefited  by  the  pi-escription,  to  pall  in 
another,  then  a  third,  then  a  fourth,  and  even  more,  until  tired 
of  physicians  (for  the  Chinese  patience  is  soon  exliausted,  and 
their  faith  by  no  means  strong  in  all  their  doctors'  asseverations) 
they  have,  as  a  last  resort,  ap})lication  made  to  one  of  the  genii, 
or  a  god  possessing  wondei'ful  healing  powers.  The  result  is 
that  the  patient  dies  or  lives,  not  according  to  the  treatment 
received,  for  that  must  be  generally  inefficacious,  but  according 
as  his  natural  strength  is  equal  to  surmount  the  difficulties  by 
which  he  is  surrounded.' 

Dr.  Hobson  has  given  an  analysis  of  442  medicinal  agents 
enumerated  in  one  of  the  popular  dispensatories  ;  of  the  whole 
number,  314  are  vegetable,  50  mineral,  and  78  animal.  The 
author  gives  the  name  of  each  one,  the  organ  it  affects,  its  prop- 
erties, and  lastly  the  mode  of  its  exhibition.  Medicines  are  ar- 
ranged nnder  six  heads — tonics,  astringents,  resolvents,  purga- 
tives, alteratives  of  poisonous  humors,  and  of  the  blood.  Among 
the  agents  employed  are  many  strange  and  repulsive  substances, 
as  snake-skins,  fossil  bones,  rhinoceros  or  hart's  horn  shavings, 
silk-worm  and  liuinan  secretions,  asbestos,  moths,  oyster-shells, 
etc.  Calomel,  vermilion,  red  precipitate,  minium,  arsenic, 
plumbago,  and  sulphate  of  coppei"  are  among  the  metallic  med- 
icines nsed  by  physicians ;  Dr.  Henderson  enumerates  thirty- 
three  distitu't  mineral  medicines.  The  number  of  apothecary 
shops  in  towns  indicates  the  great  consumption  of  medicine; 
their  arrangement  is  like  the  druggist  shops  in  the  west,  though 
instead  of  huge  glass  jars  at  the  windows  filled  with  bright 
colored  liquids,  and  long  rows  of  vials  and  decanters  in  glass 
cases,  three  or  four  branching  deer's  horns  are  suspended  from 
the  walls,  and  lines  of  white  and  black  gallipots  cover  the 
shelv'es.  Hartshorn  is  reduced  to  a  dust  by  filing,  for  exhibition 
in  consumption.  Many  roots,  as  rhubarb,  gentian,  etc.,  are 
prepared  by  paring  them  into  thin  laminae  ;  others  are  powdered 
in  a  mortar  with  a  pestle,  oi-  ti-iturated  in  a  narrow  iron  trough 
in   which  a  close-fitting  wheel  is  worked.     The  use  of  acids 


'  Dr.  James  Henderson  in  Journal  of  the  N.  C.  Br.  of  Royal  Asiatic  Society, 
1864,  No.  r,  p.  54. 


128  THE   MIDDLE    KIXODOM. 

and  reagents  is  unknown,  for  they  imply  more  knowledge  of 
ciiemistry  than  tlie  Cliinese  possess.  Vegetable  substances,  as 
camphor,  myrrh,  ginseng,  rhubarb,  gentian,  and  a  great  variety 
of  roots,  leaves,  seeds,  and  barks,  are  generally  taken  as  pills  or 
decoctions.  Many  valuable  I'ecipes  will  probably  be  discovered 
in  their  books  as  soon  as  the  terms  used  are  accurately  ascer- 
tained, and  a  better  acquaintance  with  the  botany  and  mineral- 
ogy enables  the  foreign  student  to  test  them  intelligently. 

The  people  sometimes  cast  lots  as  to  which  one  of  a  dozen 
doctors  they  shall  employ,  and  then  scrupulously  follow  his 
directions,  whatever  they  may  be,  as  a  departure  thei-efrom 
would  vitiate  the  sortilege.  Sometimes  an  invalid  will  go  to  a 
doctor  and  ask  for  how  much  he  will  cure  him,  and  how  soon 
the  cure  can  be  performed.  lie  states  the  diagnosis  of  his 
case,  the  pulse  is  examined,  and  every  other  symptom  investi- 
gated, when  the  bargain  is  struck  and  a  portion  of  the  price 
paid.  The  patient  then  receives  the  suitable  medicines,  in  quan- 
tity and  variety  better  fitted  for  a  horse  than  a  man,  for  the 
doctor  reasons  that  out  of  a  great  number  it  is  more  likely  that 
some  will  prove  efficacious,  and  the  more  he  gets  paid  for  the 
more  he  ought  to  administer.  A  decoction  of  a  kettleful  of 
simples  is  drunk  down  l)y  the  sick  man,  and  he  gives  up  both 
M'orking  and  eating;  if,  however,  at  the  expiration  of  the  time 
specified  he  is  not  cured,  he  scolds  his  physician  for  an  ignorant 
charlatan  who  cheats  him  out  of  his  money,  and  seeks  another, 
with  whom  he  makes  a  similar  bargain,  and  probably  with 
similar  results.  Sagacious  observance  of  cause  and  effect, 
symptoms  and  pains,  gradually  give  a  shrewd  phj^sieian  great 
power  over  his  ignorant  patients,  and  some  of  them  become 
both  rich  and  influential ;  a  skilful  physician  is  termed  the 
"nation's  hand." 

A  regular  system  of  fees  exists  among  the  profession,  but  the 
remuneration  is  as  often  left  to  tiie  generosity  of  the  patient. 
New  medicines,  pills,  powders,  and  salves  are  advertised  and 
pufPed  by  flaunting  placards  on  the  walls  of  the  streets,  some  of 
them  most  disgustingly  obscene  ;  but  the  Chinese  do  not  puff 
new  nostrums  by  publishing  a  long  list  of  recommendations 
from  patients.     The  various  ways  devised  by  persons  to  dispose 


DISEASES   PREVALENT    IN    CHINA.  129 

of  their  inediciiies  exhibit  iimcli  ingenuity.  Sometimes  a  man, 
having  spread  a  mat  at  the  side  of  the  street,  and  marshalled 
his  gallipots  and  salves,  will  commence  a  hai-angne  npf>n  the 
goodness  and  efficacy  of  his  preparations  in  loud  and  eloquent 
tones,  until  he  has  collected  a  crowd  of  hearers,  some  of  whom 
he  manages  to  persuade  will  he  the  better  for  taking  some  of 
his  potions.  lie  will  exhibit  their  efficacy  by  first  pounding  his 
naked  breast  with  a  brick  till  it  is  livid,  and  then  immediately 
healing  the  contusion  by  a  lotion,  having  previously  foi-tified 
the  inner  parts  with  a  remedy ;  or  he  will  cut  open  his  tiesh 
and  heal  the  wound  in  a  few  moments  by  a  wonderful  elixir, 
which  he  alone  can  sell.  Others,  more  learned  or  more  pro- 
fessional, erect  a  pavilion  or  awning,  fluttering  with  signs  and 
streamers,  and  quietly  seat  themselves  under  it  to  wait  for  cus- 
tomers ;  or  content  themselves  with  a  flag  perched  on  a  pole 
setting  forth  the  potency  of  their  pills.  Dentists  make  a  neck- 
lace of  the  rotten  teeth  they  have  obtained  from  the  jaws  of 
their  customers,  and  perambulate  the  streets  with  these  trophies 
of  their  skill  hanging  around  their  necks  like  a  rosary.  In 
general,  however,  the  Chinese  enjoy  good  health,  and  when  ill 
from  colds  or  fevers,  lie  abed  and  suspend  working  and  eating, 
which  in  most  cases  allows  nature  to  work  her  own  cure,  what- 
ever doses  they  may  take.  They  are  perhaps  as  long-lived  as 
most  nations,  though  sanatory  statistics  are  wanting  to  enable 
us  to  form  any  indisputable  conclusions  t)n  this  head. 

The  classes  of  diseases  which  most  prevail  in  China  are  oph- 
thalmic, cutaneous,  and  digestive ;  intermittent  fevers  are  also 
connnon.  The  great  disproportion  of  affections  of  the  eye  has 
often  attracted  observation.  Dr.  Lockhart  ascribes  it  partly  to 
the  inflammation  which  often  comes  on  at  the  commencement 
of  winter,  and  which  is  allowed  to  run  its  course,  leaving  the 
organ  in  an  ujiliealthy  condition  and  very  obnoxious  to  other 
diseases.  This  inflammation  is  beyond  the  skill  of  the  native 
practitioners,  and  sometimes  destroys  the  sight  in  a  few  days. 
Another  fruitful  source  of  disease  is  the  practice  of  the  barbers 
of  turning  the  lids  over  and  clearing  their  surfaces  of  the  mucus 
which  may  be  lodged  there,  lie  adds:  ''If  the  person's  eyes  be 
examined  after  this  process,  they  will  be  found  to  be  very  red 
Vol.  II.— 9 


130  THE   MIDDLE   KIXGDOM. 

and  irritated,  and  in  process  of  time  chronic  conjunctivitis  super- 
venes, wliicli  being  considered  proof  of  insutiicient  cleansing, 
the  practice  is  persisted  in,  and  the  inner  surface  of  the  lid  be- 
comes covered  with  granulations.  In  other  cases  it  becomes 
indurated  like  thin  parchment,  and  the  tarsal  cartilages  contract 
and  induce  entropium."  Dense  opacity  of  the  cornea  itself  is 
frequently  caused  by  this  harherous  practice,  or  constant  pain 
and  weeping  ensues,  both  of  which  materially  injure  the  sight, 
if  the  patient  does  not  lose  it.  The  practice  of  cleansing  the 
ears  in  a  similar  way  frequently  results  in  their  serious  injury, 
and  sometimes  destruction.  When  the  ill  effects  of  such  treat- 
ment of  these  delicate  organs  must  be  plain  to  eveiy  obser\ing 
person  in  his  own  case,  it  is  strange  that  he  should  still  allow  the 
operation  to  be  repeated. 

The  physicians  in  charge  of  the  missionary  hospitals  suc- 
cessfully established  at  so  many  cities  in  Eastern  China  have 
attended  more  to  tumors,  dislocations,  wounds,  and  surgical 
cases,  ophthalmic  and  cutaneous  diseases,  than  to  common  clini- 
cal ailments.  The  hospitals  here  spoken  of  are  little  more  than 
dispensaries,  with  a  room  or  two  for  extreme  or  peculiarly  in- 
teresting cases ;  there  is  little  visiting  the  natives  at  their  own 
houses. 

Asthma,  even  in  boys,  is  common  at  Amoy,  and  consump- 
tion at  Canton  and  Chusan.  Intermittent  fevers  prevail  more 
or  less  wlierever  the  cultivation  of  rice  is  carried  on  near  vil- 
lages and  towns.  Elephantiasis  is  known  between  Shanghai  and 
Canton,  but  in  the  southern  provinces  leprosy  seems  to  exist  as 
its  equivalent.  This  loathsoma  disease  is  regarded  by  the 
Chinese  as  incurable  and  contagious.  Lazar-houses  are  provided 
for  the  residence  of  the  infected,  but  as  the  allowance  of  poor 
patients  is  insuthcient  for  their  support,  they  go  from  street  to 
street  soliciting  alms,  to  the  great  annoyance  of  every  one.  As 
soon  as  it  appears  in  an  individual,  he  is  immediately  separated 
from  liis  family  and  driven  forth  an  outcast,  to  herd  with  others 
similarly  afPected,  and  get  his  living  from  precarious  charity. 
The  institution  of  lazarettoes  is  ])raisewortliy,  hut  they  fail  of 
affording  relief  on  account  of  the  mismaiiagonient  and  peculation 
of  those  who  have  their  supervision  ;  and  those  who  cannot  get 


DISEASES   PREVALENT   IN   CHINA.  131 

in  are  obliged  to  live  in  a  village  set  apart  for  tliein  north  of 
the  city.  Lepers  can  intermarry  among  themselves,  but  on 
account  of  })overty  and  other  causes  they  do  not  often  do  so, 
and  the  hardships  of  their  lot  soon  end  their  days.  This  dis- 
ease will  probably  exist  among  the  Chinese  until  houses  are 
built  more  above  the  ground,  better  ventilation  of  cities  and 
improvement  in  diet  are  adopted,  when  it  will  disappear  as  it 
has  in  Southern  Europe. 

Diseases  of  an  inilammatoiy  nature  are  not  so  fatal  or  rapid 
among  the  Chinese  as  Europeans,  nor  do  consumptions  carry 
off  so  large  a  proportion  of  the  inhabitants  as  in  the  United 
States.  Dyspepsia  has  been  frequently  treated ;  it  is  ascribed 
by  Dr.  Hepburn  to  the  abundant  use  of  salt  provisions,  pickled 
vegetables,  and  fish,  irregularity  in  eating,  opium  smoking,  and 
immoderate  use  of  tea  ;  though  it  nuiy  be  questioned  whether 
the  two  last  reasons  are  more  general  and  powerful  at  Amoy 
than  Canton,  where  dyspepsia  is  comparatively  rare.  The  sur- 
geons at  the  latter  place  have  successfully  treated  hundreds  of 
cases  of  stone,  losing  less  than  fifteen  per  cent,  of  all.  Some  of 
the  patients  were  under  ten  years,  and  a  few  of  the  calculi 
weighed  nearly  half  a  pound.  This  malady  is  almost  md^nown 
in  Xorthern  China.  The  diseases  which  result  from  intemper- 
ate and  licentious  habits  are  not  as  violent  in  their  effects  as 
in  countries  where  a  greater  use  of  animal  food  and  higher  liv- 
ing render  the  system  more  susceptible  to  the  noxious  conse- 
quences of  the  virus. 

The  existence  of  tumors  and  unnatural  growths  in  great 
abundance  and  variety  is  satisfactorily  accounted  for  by  the  in- 
ability of  the  native  practitioners  to  remove  them.  Those  which 
had  a  healthy  growth  increased  until  a  moi-bid  action  super- 
vened, and  consequently  sometimes  grew  to  an  enormous  size. 
A  peasant  named  IIu  Lu  went  to  England  in  1831  to  have  an 
abdominal  tumor  extirpated  weighing  about  seventy  pounds  ; 
he  died  under  the  operation.  No  patients  bear  operations  with 
more  fortitude  than  the  Chinese,  and,  owing  to  their  hnnphatic 
temperament,  they  are  followed  with  less  inflammation  than  Is 
usual  in  European  practice.  CToitre  is  very  common  in  the 
mountainous  regions  of  the  northern  provinces  ;  Dr.  Gillan  es- 


132  THE   ^MIDDLE   KIXGDO:\r. 

tiniatcd  tliat  nearly  one-sixth  of  the  inhahitants  met  In  the  vil- 
lages on  the  liigli  land  between  Peking  and  Jeh  ho  were  atflicted 
M'itli  this  deformity,  which,  iiowever,  is  said  not  to  be  so  con- 
sidered by  the  vilLigers  themselves. 

The  Asiatic  cholera  has  been  a  great  scourge  in  China,  but 
does  not  often  become  an  epidemic  anywhere,  though  sporadic 
cases  constantly  occur.  It  raged  at  Ningpo  in  May,  1S20,  and 
an  intelligent  native  doctor  informed  Mr.  Milne '  that  it  was 
computed  that  ten  thousand  persons  were  carried  off  by  it  in 
the  city  and  department  of  Kingpo  during  the  summers  of 
1820-23.  In  1842  it  prevailed  at  Amoy  and  Changchau  and 
their  vicinity  ;  more  than  a  hundred  deaths  daily  occun-ed  at 
the  foi'mer  place  for  six  or  seven  weeks.  It  raged  violently  at 
Hangchau  in  Chehkiang  during  the  years  1821  and  1 822,  persons 
dropping  down  dead  in  the  streets,  or  dying  within  an  hour  or 
two  after  the  attack  ;  many  myriads  were  computed  to  have 
fallen  victims,  and  the  native  doctoi's,  finding  their  remedies 
useless,  gave  up  all  treatment.  It  carried  off  multitudes  in 
Shantung  and  Iviangsu  during  the  same  years,  and  was  as  titful 
in  its  progress  in  China  as  in  Europe,  going  from  one  city  to 
another,  passing  by  towns  apparently  as  obnoxious  as  those 
visited.  The  plague  is  said  to  have  existed  in  KSouthern  China 
about  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  centui-y,  but  it  has  not 
been  heard  of  lately. 

Small-pox  is  a  terrible  scath,  and  although  the  practice  and 
utility  of  vaccination  have  been  known  for  fifty  years  past  at 
Canton,  its  adoption  is  still  limited  even  in  that  city.  It  was 
introduced  in  1820  by  Dr.  Pearson,  of  the  East  India  Company's 
establishment,  and  native  assistants  were  fully  instructed  by 
him  in  the  practice.  Vaccination  has  now  extended  over  all 
the  Eighteen  Provinces,  and  the  government  has  given  its  sanc- 
tion and  assistance;  it  is  chiefly  owing  to  the  heedlessness  of 
the  people  in  not  availing  tbemselves  of  it  in  time  that  it  has 
,done  no  more  to  lessen  the  ravages  of  the  disease.  Where 
children  were  gratuitously  vaccinated  it  was  found  almost  im- 
possible to  induce  parents  to  bring  them  ;  and  Mdien  the  chil- 


'  Chinese  llepository,  Vol.  XII.,  p.  487. 


XATIVE   TREATISES    0\    MKDICINE.  133 

dren  liad  been  va(!cinated  it  was  increasingly  difficult  to  get 
them  to  return  to  allow  the  physician  to  see  the  result  of  the 
operation.  Inoculation  has  long  been  practised  by  inserting 
a  pledget  in  the  nostrils  containing  the  virjs;  this  mode  is 
occasionally  adopted  in  vaccination.  The  slovenly  habits  of 
tlie  people,  as  well  as  insufficient  protection  and  unwholesome 
food,  give  rise  to  many  diseases  of  the  skin,  some  of  them  in- 
curable. 

The  science  of  medicine  attracted  very  early  attention,  and 
there  are  numerous  treatises  on  its  various  branches.  But  the 
search  for  the  liquor  of  immortality  and  the  philosopher's  stone, 
with  careful  observations  on  the  pulse  as  the  leading  tests  of 
diseases,  have  led  them  astray  from  accurate  diagnosis  age  after 
affe.  The  common  classification  of  diseases  is  under  nine  heads, 
viz.,  those  which  affect  the  pulse  violently  or  feebly,  those  aris- 
ing from  cold,  female  and  cutaneous  diseases,  those  needing 
acupunetui-e,  and  diseases  of  the  eyes,  the  mouth  and  its  parts, 
and  the  bones.  A  professor  of  each  of  these  classes  is  attached 
to  the  imperial  family,  who  is  taken  from  the  Medical  College 
at  Peking;  but  he  has  no. greater  advantages  there  than  he 
could  get  in  his  own  reading  and  practice.  Xo  museums  of 
morbid  or  comparative  anatomy  exist  in  the  counti-y,  nor  are 
there  any  lectures  or  dissections ;  and  the  routine  which  old 
custom  has  sanctioned  will  go  on  until  modern  practice,  now 
rapidly  taking  its  place,  wins  its  way.  Section  CCXCYII.  of  the 
code  orders  tliat  "  whenever  an  unskilful  practitioner,  in  ad- 
ministering medicine  or  using  the  puncturing  needle,  proceeds 
contrary  to  the  established  forms,  and  thereby  causes  the  death 
of  a  patient,  the  magistrate  shall  call  in  oilier  practitionei-s 
to  examine  the  medicine  or  the  wound,  and  if  it  appear  that 
the  injury  done  was  unintentional,  the  practitioner  shall  then 
be  treated  according  to  the  statute  for  accidental  homicides, 
and  shall  not  be  any  longer  allowed  to  practise  medicine. 
But  if  designedly  he  depart  from  tlie  established  f(»rms,  and 
deceives  in  his  attempt  to  cure  the  malady  in  order  to  obtain 
property,  then,  according  to  its  amount,  he  shall  be  treated 
as  a  thief;  and  if  death  ensue  fmiu  his  malpractice,  then,  for 
having  thus  used  medicine   with    intent  to  kill,    he  shall    be 


134  TIIK   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

beheaded."  '  This  statute  is  seldom  carried  into  execution,  liow- 
ever,  and  the  doctors  are  allowed  to  kill  and  cure,  secundum, 
artem.,  as  their  patients  give  them  the  opportunity, 

Xatural  histojy,  in  its  various  branches  of  geologj,  botany, 
zoology,  etc.,  has  received  some  attention,  because  the  objects 
which  come  under  it  could  not  escape  the  notice  of  all  the 
writers  in  Chinese  literature.  As  sciences,  however,  none  of 
them  have  an  existence,  and  the}'  are  studied  chiefly  for  their 
assistance  in  furnishing  articles  for  the  materia  medica  of  the 
native  physician.  To  these  persons  nothing  comes  amiss,  and, 
like  the  ingredients  of  the  bubbling,  bubbling  caldron  of  Mac- 
betli's  witches,  the  stranger  it  is  the  more  potent  they  think  a 
dose  will  be  ;  in  this  particular  they  now  act  very  much  as  the 
faculty  did  in  England  two  centuries  ago.  It  is  to  be  regretted 
that  their  investigation  should  have  taken  such  a  direction,  but 
the  man  of  conunanding  influence  has  not  yet  arisen  to  direct 
their  researches  into  nature  and  divert  them  from  the  marvel- 
lous and  theoretical.  On  the  whole,  it  may  be  said  that  in  all 
departments  of  learning  the  Chinese  are  unscientific ;  and  that 
while  they  have  collected  a  great  variety  of  facts,  invented 
many  arts,  and  brought  a  few  to  a  high  degree  of  excellence, 
they  have  never  pursued  a  single  subject  in  a  way  calculated  to 
lead  them  to  a  right  understanding  of  it,  or  reached  a  proper 
classification  of  the  information  they  possessed  relating  to  it. 

'  Chinese  CJirestomnthy,  Chap.  XVI.,  pp.  497-532.  Asiatic  Soc.  Transac- 
tions, Hongkong,  Art.  III.,  1847;  No.  III.,  1852,  Art.  III.  Jour.  iV.  C  Br.  R. 
A.  Soc,  No.  I.,  1864,  and  No.  VI.,  1809.  W.  Lockhart,  Medical  Mission- 
ary in  China,  1861.  Chinese  Repository,  passim.  Porter  Smitli's  Contribu- 
tions to  Chinese  Materia  Medira,  Shanghai,  1871.  Fliickiger  &  Hanbnry, 
Pharmacofiraphia ,  London,  1874.  China  Retieir,  Vol.  I.,  p.  176;  Vol.  III., 
p.  224.  J.  Dudgoon,  The  Diseases  of  China,  Glasgow,  1877;  id.  iu  the  Chi- 
neae  Recorder,  Vols.  U.,  III.,  aud  IV.,  passim. 


CHAPTEK  XVII. 

HISTORY  AND  CHRONOLOGY  OF  CHINA. 

The  history  of  the  Cliinese  people  has  excited  less  attention 
among  western  scholars  than  it  deserves,  though  in  some  re- 
spects no  nation  offers  more  claims  to  have  its  chronicles  care- 
fully and  fairly  examined.  The  belief  is  generally  entertained 
tliat  their  pretensions  to  antiquity  are  extravagant  and  ridicu- 
lous, and  incompatible  with  the  Mosaic  chronology  ;  that  they 
not  only  make  the  world  to  have  existed  myriads  of  yeai's,  but 
reckon  the  snccession  of  their  monarchs  far  beyond  the  creation, 
and  ascribe  to  them  a  longevity  that  carries  its  own  confutation  on 
its  face.  In  consequence  of  this  opinion,  some  have  denied  the 
credibility  of  native  historians  altogether,  and  the  whole  subject 
of  the  settlement  and  eai'ly  progress  of  this  ancient  race  has 
been  considered  beyond  the  reach,  and  almost  nnworthy  the 
attempt,  of  sober  investigation.  This  erroneous  and  hasty  con- 
clusion is  gradnally  giving  way  to  a  careful  inquiry  into  those 
histories  which  show  that  the  early  records  of  the  sons  of  Han 
contain  much  which  is  worthy  of  credence,  and  much  more  that 
is  highly  probable.  A  wide  field  is  here  opened  for  the  re- 
searches of  a  Gibbon  or  a  Kiebuhr;  for  as  long  as  we  are  desti- 
tute of  a  good  history  of  China  and  its  connections  with  other 
Asiatic  nations,  we  shall  not  only  be  unable  to  form  a  correct 
opinion  respecting  the  people,  but  shall  lack  many  important 
data  for  a  full  illustration  of  the  early  history  of  the  human 
race.  It  is  easy  to  laud  the  early  records  of  the  Chinese  to  the 
skies,  as  French  writers  have  done  ;  and  it  is  quite  as  easy  to 
cry  them  down  as  worthless — manufactured  in  aftei--ages  to 
please  the  variety  of  their  writers.  The  reputation  both  people 
and  records  have  received  is  owing,  in  some  measure,  to  this 


136  THE   3IIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

wulue  laudation  and  depreciation,  as  well  as  to  the  intrinsic 
merits  and  defects  of  their  histories.  These,  however,  still 
mostly  remain  in  their  originals,  and  will  reqnire  the  united 
labors  of  many  scholars  to  be  full}'  brought  to  light  and  made 
a  part  of  the  world's  library. 

The  enormous  difficulties  arising  from  the  extent  and  tedious 
minuteness  of  native  historians,  coupled  with  the  scarcity  of 
translators  competent  or  willing  to  undertake  the  labor  of  even 
such  a  resume  of  these  works  as  will  satisfy  rational  curiosity, 
are  now  being  slowly  overcome,  both  by  Chinese  and  foreign 
students.  These  researches,  it  is  to  be  earnestlj-  hoped,  will  be 
rewarded  by  promoting  a  juster  estimate  in  the  minds  of  both 
classes  of  their  relative  positions  among  the  nations  of  the 
earth. 

China,  like  other  countries,  has  her  mythological  history,  and 
it  should  be  separated  from  the  more  recent  and  received,  as 
her  own  historians  regard  it,  as  the  fabrication  of  subsequent 
times.  She  also  has  her  ancient  history,  whose  earliest  dates 
and  events  blend  confusedly  with  the  mythological,  but  gradu- 
ally grow  more  ci'edible  and  distinct  as  they  come  down  the 
stream  of  time  to  the  begiiming  of  modern  history.  The  early 
accounts  of  every  nation  whose  founding  was  anterior  to  the 
practice  of  making  and  preserving  authentic  records  nnist 
necessarily  be  obscure  and  doubtful.  AYhat  is  applicable  to  the 
Chinese  has  been  true  of  other  ancient  people :  "  national 
vanity  and  a  love  of  the  marvellous  have  intiuenced  them  all, 
and  furnished  materials  for  many  tales,  as  soon  as  the  spirit  of 
investigation  has  supplanted  that  appetite  for  wonders  which 
marks  the  infancy  of  nations  as  well  as  of  individuals."'  The 
ignorance  of  the  ''  art  preservative  of  all  arts  "  will  greatly  ex- 
plain the  subsequent  record  of  the  wonderful,  without  suppos- 
ing that  the  infancy  of  nations  partook  of  the  same  traits  of 
weakness  and  credulity  as  that  of  individuals.  There  is  neither 
space  nor  time  in  this  work  to  give  the  details  concerning  the 
history  and  succession  of  dynasties  that  have  swayed  the  Middle 
Kingdom,  for  to  one  not  specially  engaged  in  their  examina- 
tion their  recital  is  proverbially  dry  ;  the  array  of  uncouth 
names  destitute  of  lasting  interest,  and  the  absence  of  the  charm 


THE   STUDY    OF    EAKLY    CHINESE    HrSTORY.  137 

of  association  with  western  nations  render  tliein  nnin\  iting  to 
the  general  reader.  Some  account  of  the  leading  events  and 
changes  is  all  that  is  necessary  to  exphiin  what  has  been  else- 
where incidentally  referred  to.' 

Chinese  historians  have  endeavored  to  explain  the  creation 
and  origin  of  the  world  around  them  ;  but,  ignorant  of  the 
sublime  fact  that  thei'e  is  one  C^reator  who  upholds  his  works 
by  the  word  of  his  power,  they  have  invented  various  modes  to 
account  for  it,  and  wearied  themselves  in  theorizing  and  disput- 
ing with  each  other.  One  of  them,  Yangtsz',  remarks,  in  view 
of  these  conflicting  suppositions :  "AVho  knows  the  affairs  of 
remote  antiquity,  since  no  authentic  records  have  come  down  to 
us?  He  who  examines  these  stories  will  find  it  difficult  to  be- 
lieve them,  and  careful  scrutiny  will  convince  him  that  they  are 
without  foundation.  In  the  primeval  ages  no  historical  records 
were  kept.  Why  then,  since  the  ancient  books  that  described 
those  times  were  burnt  l)y  Tsin,  should  we  misrepresent  those 
remote  ages,  and  satisfy  ourselves  with  vague  fables?  How- 
ever, as  everything  except  heaven  and  earth  must  have  a  cause, 
it  is  clear  that  they  have  always  existed,  and  that  canse  pro- 
duced all  sorts  of  men  and  beings,  and  endowed  them  with 
their  various  qualities.  But  it  must  have  been  man  who  in  the 
beginning  produced  all  things  on  earth,  and  who  may  therefore 
be  viewed  as  the  lord,  and  from  whom  rulers  derive  their 
dignities." 

This  extract  is  not  a  bad  example  of  Chinese  writers  and 
historians ;  a  mixture  of  sense  and  nonsense,  partially  laying 
the  foundation  of  a  just  argument,  and  ending  with  a  tre- 
mendous non-se(putur,  apparently  satisfactory  to  themselves, 
but  showing  pretty  conclusisely  how  little  pains  they  take  to 
gather  facts  and  discuss  their  bearings.  Some  of  these  writers 
imagine  that  the  world  owes  its  existence  to  the  retroactive 
agency  of  the  dual  powers  yhi  and  yang,  which  first  formed 
the  outline  of  the  universe,  and  were  themselves  influenced  by 

'  Among  the  works  which  will  repay  perusal  on  this  topic  are  Mailla's  //?'.'»' 
tfdre  (le  l<i  Chwe  and  Pauthier's  Cliinr,  in  Frendi,  and  Du  Halde's  Jl/sfnry. 
translated  into  English  ;  besides  the  briefer  compilations  of  Murray,  (irosier, 
Chitzluff,  Davis,  and  more  recently  of  Boulger  and  llichthofeii,  Band  I. 


138  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

tlieir  own  creations.     One  of  the  most  sensible  of  their  aatliors 
says : 

Heaven  was  formless,  an  utter  cliaos ;  the  whole  mass  was  nothing  but 
confusion.  Order  was  first  produced  in  the  pure  ether,  and  out  of  it  the 
universe  came  forth  ;  the  universe  produced  air,  and  air  the  milky-way.  When 
the  pure  male  principle  yang  had  been  diluted,  it  formed  the  heavens ;  the 
heavy  and  thick  parts  coagulated,  and  formed  the  earth.  The  refined  par- 
ticles united  very  soon,  but  the  union  of  the  thick  and  heavy  went  on  slowlv ; 
therefore  the  heavens  came  into  existence  first,  and  the  earth  afterward. 
From  the  subtle  essence  of  heaven  and  earth,  the  dual  principles  yia  and  yang 
were  formed ;  from  tlieir  joint  operation  came  the  four  seasons,  and  these 
putting  forth  their  energies  gave  birth  to  all  the  products  of  the  earth.  The 
warm  effluence  of  the  yang  being  condensed,  produced  fire ;  and  the  finest 
parts  of  fire  formed  the  sun.  The  cold  exhalations  of  the  yin  being  likewise 
condensed,  produced  water  ;  and  the  finest  parts  of  the  watery  substance  formed 
the  moon.  By  the  seminal  influence  of  the  sun  and  moon,  came  the  stars. 
Thus  heaven  was  adorned  with  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars ;  the  earth  also  re- 
ceived rain,  rivers,  and  dust. ' 

But  this  acute  explanation,  like  the  notions  of  Ilesiod  among 
the  Greeks,  was  too  subtle  for  the  common  people ;  they  also 
wanted  to  personify  and  deify  these  powers  and  operations,  but 
lacking  the  imaginative  genius  and  fine  taste  of  the  Greeks, 
their  divine  personages  are  outrageous  and  their  ideal  beings 
shapeless  monsters.  No  creator  is  known  or  imagined  who, 
like  Brahm,  lives  in  space,  ineffable,  formless ;  but  the  first 
being,  Pwanku,  had  the  herculean  task  to  mould  the  chaos 
which  produced  him  and  chisel  out  the  earth  that  was  to  con- 
tain him.  One  legend  is  that  "■  the  dual  powers  were  fi.xed 
when  the  primeval  chaos  separated.  C'haos  is  bubbling  turbia 
water,  which  enclosed  and  mingled  with  the  dual  powers,  like 
a  chick  in  ovo,  but  when  their  offspring  Pwanku  appeared  their 
distinctiveness  and  operations  were  apparent.  Pwdn  means  a 
' basin,'  referring  to  the  shell  of  the  egg ;  lu  means  ' solid,'  '  to 
secure,'  intending  to  show  how  the  first  man  Pwanku  was 
hatched  from  the  chaos  by  the  dual  powers,  and  then  settled 
and  exhibited  the  arrangement  of  the  causes  which  produced 
him." 

The  Pationalists  have  penetrated  furthest  into  the  Daedalian 


Chinese  Repositoin/,  Vol.  III. ,  p.  55. 


CHINESE   COSMOGONY. 


139 


mystery  of  this  cosniogoiiy,'  and  they  go  on  to  sliow  what 
Pvvanku  did  and  how  he  did  it.  They  pictui'e  him  liolding  a 
chisel  and  niahet  in  liis  liands,  splitting  and  fashioning  vast 


Pwanku   Chiselling  Out  the   Universe. 

masses  of  gvanite  lioating  confnsedly  in  space.  Behind  the 
openings  his  povv^erful  hand  has  made  are  seen  the  sun,  moon, 
and  stars,  monuments  of  his  stupendous  labors ;  at  his  right 

'  For    the   Buddhist   notions  of   cosmography  and   creation,  see   Remusat, 
Melattges  PoHthmneii,  pp.  G5-131. 


140  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

hand,  inseparable  companions  of  liis  toils,  but  whose  generation 
is  left  in  obscurity,  stand  the  dragon,  the  phoenix,  and  tlie  tor- 
toise, and  sometimes  the  unicorn,  divine  types  and  progenitors 
with  himself  of  the  animal  creation.  His  efforts  were  continued 
eighteen  thousand  years,  and  by  small  degrees  he  and  his  work 
increased  ;  the  heavens  rose,  the  earth  spread  out  and  thickened, 
and  Pwanku  grew  in  stature,  six  feet  evevy  day,  till,  his  labors 
done,  he  died  for  the  benefit  of  his  handiwork.  His  head 
became  mountains,  his  breath  wind  and  clouds,  and  his  voice 
thunder ;  his  limbs  were  changed  into  the  four  poles,  his  veins 
into  rivers,  his  sinews  into  the  undulations  of  the  earth's  sur- 
face, and  his  flesh  into  fields ;  his  beard,  like  Berenice's  hair, 
was  turned  into  stars,  his  skin  and  hair  into  herbs  and  trees, 
and  his  teeth,  bones,  and  marrow  into  metal?,  rocks,  and  precious 
stones ;  his  dropping  sweat  increased  to  rain,  and  lastly  {nascltur 
ridiculus  mus)  the  insects  which  stuck  to  his  body  were  trans- 
formed into  people ! 

Such  was  Pwanku,  and  these  Mere  his  works.  But  these 
grotesque  myths  afford  none  of  the  pleasing  images  and  per- 
sonifications of  Greek  fable  or  Egyptian  symbols  ;  they  fatigue 
without  entertaining,  and  only  illusti'ate  the  childibh  imagina- 
tion of  their  authors.  Pwanku  was  succeeded  by  three  rulei's 
of  monstrous  forms  called  the  Celestial,  Terrestrial,  and  Human 
sovereigns,  impersonations  of  a  trinity  of  powers,  whose  traces 
and  influences  run  through  Chinese  philosophy,  religion,  and 
politics  ;  their  acts  and  characters  are  detailed  with  the  utmost 
gravity,  and  more  than  Methusalean  longevity  allowed  them  to 
complete  their  plans.  Tlieir  reigns  continued  eighteen  thou- 
sand years  (nioi-e  or  less  accoixling  to  the  author  quoted),  dui'ing 
M'hich  time  good  govermnent  connnenced,  men  learned  to  eat 
and  di'iiik,  the  sexes  united,  sleep  was  invented,  and  other  im- 
provements adopted.  One  would  think,  if  the  subjects  of  these 
wonderful  beings  were  as  long-li\ed,  great  perfection  might 
liave  been  attained  in  these  and  other  useful  arts;  but  the  mys- 
tei'ious  tortoise,  conq)anion  of  Pwanku,  on  whose  carapace  was 
M'ritten,  in  ta<l])olo-headed  characters,  the  histoiy  of  the  anterior 
world,  did  not  survive,  and  their  i-ecord  has  not  come  doM'u. 
After  them  flourished  two  othci'  niouai'chs,  one  of  them  called 


MYTHS   OF   THE   CREATION.  Hi 

Yu-chau,  which  means  'liaving  a  nest,'  and  the  other  Sui-jin,  or 
'  match-man.'  Whether  the  former  invented  nests  for  the  abodes 
of  his  subjects,  sncli  as  the  Indians  on  the  ()i'iuo(;o  have,  is  not 
stated  ;  but  the  hitter  brought  down  tire  from  heaven  for  them 
to  cook  with,  and  became  a  second,  or  rather  the  first,  Prome- 
theus. 

Tliese  fancies  are  gathered  from  a  popuhir  summary  of 
knowledge,  called  the  Coral  Forest  of  Ancient  Matters^  and 
from  the  opening  chapters  of  lUstory  Made  Easy.  A  higher 
style  of  philosophizing  is  found  in  C'liu  Ill's  disquisition,  from 
which  an  extract  has  been  given  in  Chapter  XII.  Another  on 
Cosmogony  will  show  that  he  comes  no  nearer  to  the  great  fact 
of  creation  than  ancient  western  writers. 

In  the  beginning  heaven  and  earth  were  just  the  light  and  dark  air.  This 
one  air  revolved,  grinding  round  and  round.  When  it  ground  quickly 
much  sediment  was  compressed,  which,  hai'ing  no  means  of  exit,  coagulated 
and  formed  the  earth  in  the  centre.  Tlie  subtle  portion  of  the  air  then 
became  lieaven  and  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  which  unceasingly  revolve  on 
the  outside.  The  earth  is  in  the  centre  and  motionless ;  it  is  not  below  the 
centre. 

Heaven  revolving  without  ceasing,  day  and  night  also  revolve,  and  hence 
the  earth  is  exactly  in  the  centre.  If  heaven  should  stand  still  for  one  mo- 
ment, then  the  earth  must  fall  down  ;  but  heaven  revolves  quickly,  and  hence 
much  sediment  is  coagulated  in  the  centre.  The  earth  is  the  sediment  of  the 
air;  and  Iience  it  is  said,  the  light,  piu-e  air  became  heaven,  the  heavy,  muddy 
air  became  earth. 

At  the  beginning  of  heaven  and  earth,  before  chaos  was  divided,  I  tliink 
there  were  only  two  things — fire  and  water  ;  and  the  sediment  of  the  water 
formed  tlie  earth.  When  one  ascends  a  height  and  looks  down,  the  crowd  of 
hills  resemble  the  waves  of  the  sea  in  appearance  :  the  water  just  flowed  like 
this.  I  know  not  at  what  period  it  coagulated.  At  first  it  was  very  soft,  but 
afterward  it  coagulated  and  became  hard.  One  asked  whether  it  resembled 
sand  thrown  up  by  the  tide  ?  He  replied.  Just  so ;  the  coarsest  sediment  of 
the  water  became  earth,  and  the  purest  portion  of  the  fire  became  wind,  thunder, 
liglitning,  sun,  and  stars. 

Before  chaos  was  divided,  the  yin-ytdifi,  or  liglit-dark  air,  was  mixed  up 
and  dark,  and  when  it  divided  the  centre  formed  an  enormous  and  most  bril- 
liant opening,  and  the  two  'c  or  principles  were  established.  Shao  Kang-tsieh 
considers  one  liundred  and  twenty-nine  thousand  six  hundred  years  to  be  a 
yyn,  or  kalpa;  then,  before  this  ])eriod  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-nine  thou- 
sand six  hundred  years  there  was  anotlier  opening  and  spreading  out  of  the 
world  ;  and  before  tliat  again,  there  was  another  like  tlie  present  ;  so  tliat  mo- 
tion and  rest,  light  and  darknt^ss,  have  no  beginning.     As  little  things  sha<l''>w 


142  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

forth  great  things,   this  may   be  illustrated  by  the  revohitions   of  day   and 
night. 

Kang-tsieh  says,  Heaven  rests  upon  form,  and  earth  reclines  upon  air. 
Tlie  reason  why  he  repeats  this  frequently,  and  does  not  deviate  from  the  idea, 
is  lest  people  should  seek  some  other  place  beyond  heaven  and  earth.  There 
is  nothing  outside  heaven  and  earth,  and  hence  their  form  has  limits,  while 
their  air  has  no  limit.  Because  the  air  is  extremely  condensed,  therefore  it 
can  support  the  earth ;  if  it  were  not  so  the  earth  would  fall  down. ' 

A  third  belief  respecting  the  position  of  the  earth  in  the 
centre  of  tlie  universe  derives  great  sti-ength  in  the  opinion  of 
intelligent  natives  from  these  speculations  of  Chn  III.  His 
theory  considers  the  world  to  be  a  plane  surface,  straight, 
square,  and  large,  measuring  each  way  about  1,500  miles  (5,600 
li),  and  bounded  on  the  four  sides  by  the  four  seas.  The  sun 
is  estimated  to  be  about  4,000  miles  from  the  earth.  Another 
calculation  made  it  81,394  Zi,  and  a  third  216,T81|  li. 

One  thing  is  observable  in  these  fictions,  characteristic  of 
the  Chinese  at  the  present  day :  there  is  no  hierarchy  of  gods 
brought  in  to  rule  and  inhabit  the  world  they  made,  no  con- 
clave on  Mt.  Olympus,  nor  judgment  of  the  mortal  soul  by 
Osiris  ;  no  transfer  of  human  love  and  hate,  passions  and  hopes, 
to  the  powers  above ;  all  here  is  ascribed  to  disembodied  agen- 
cies or  principles,  and  their  works  are  represented  as  moving  on 
in  quiet  order.  There  is  no  religion,  no  imagination  ;  all  is  im- 
passible, passionless,  uninteresting.  It  ma}',  perhaps,  be  con- 
sidered of  itself  as  sensible  as  the  Greek  or  Egyptian  mythology, 
if  one  looks  for  nense  in  such  figments ;  but  it  has  not,  as  in  the 
latter  countries,  been  explained  in  sublime  poetry,  shadowed 
forth  in  gorgeous  ritual  and  magnificent  festivals,  repi-esented 
in  exquisite  sculptures,  nor  preserved  in  faultless,  inqjosing 
fanes  and  temples,  filled  with  ideal  creations.  P^or  this  reason 
it  appears  more  in  its  true  colors,  and,  when  compared  with 
theirs,  "  loses  discountenanced  and  like  folly  shows  " — at  least  to 
us,  who  can  examine  both  and  compare  them  with  the  truth. 

Their  pure  mythological  history  ends  with  the  ap})earance  of 
Fuh-hi,  and  their  chronology  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  long 
periods   antecedent,   varying  from  forty-five   to  five  hundred 


Canon  McClatchie's  Confucian  CoKiumjoiiy,  pp.  5:5-59. 


CHINESE   AND    WESTERN   CHRONOLOGY.  143 

tliousand  years.  These  periods  are,  however,  a  mere  twinkling 
compared  with  the  kulpas  of  the  Hindus,  whose  highest  era, 
called  the  Unspeakably  Inexpressible,  requires  four  million  four 
hundred  and  fifty-six  thousand  four  hundred  and  forty-eight 
cyphers  following  a  unit  to  represent  it.  If  the  epoch  of  Fuh-hi 
could  be  ascertained  with  any  probability  by  comparison  with  the 
history  of  other  nations,  or  with  existing  remains,  it  would  tend 
not  a  little  to  settle  some  disputed  chronological  points  in  other 
countries ;  but  the  isolation  of  the  Chinese  throughout  their 
whole  existence  makes  it  nearly  impossible  to  weave  in  the 
events  of  their  history  with  those  of  other  nations,  by  compar- 
ing and  verifying  them  with  biblical,  Egyptian,  or  Persian 
annals.  Perhaps  further  investigations  in  the  vast  regions  of 
Eastern  and  Central  Asia  may  bring  to  light  corroborative  testi- 
mony as  striking  and  unexpected  as  the  explorations  in  Mosul, 
Persepolis,  and  Thebes. 

The  accession  of  Fuh-  hi  is  placed  in  the  Chinese  annals  b.c. 
2852,'  and  with  him  commences  the  period  known  among  them 
as  the  "  highest  antiquity."  The  weight  of  evidence  which  the 
later  chronological  examinations  of  Hales  and  Jackson  have 
brought  to  bear  against  the  common  period  of  four  thousand  and 
four  years  prior  to  the  Advent,  is  such  as  to  cast  great  doubt  over 
its  authenticity,  and  lead  to  the  adoption  of  a  longer  period  in 
order  to  afPord  time  for  many  occurrences,  which  otherwise  would 
be  crowded  into  too  narrow  a  space.  Chinese  chi-onology,  if  it  be 
allowed  the  least  credit,  strongly  corroborates  the  results  of  Dr. 
Hales'  researches,  and  particularly  so  in  the  date  of  Fuh-hi's 
accession.  This  is  not  the  place  to  discuss  the  respective  claims 
of  the  two  eras,  but  by  reckoning,  as  he  does,  the  creation  to  be 
•live  thousand  four  hundred  and  eleven  years,  and  the  deluge 
three  thousand  one  hundred  and  fifty -five  years,  before  the  Ad- 
vent, we  bring  the  commencement  of  ancient  Chinese  history 
three  hundred  and  three  years  subsequent  to  the  deluge,  forty- 
seven  before  the  death  of  Xoah,  and  about  three  centuries 
before  the  confusion  of  tongues.     If  we  suppose  that  the  ante- 


'  Or  3322,  according  to  Dr.  Legge,  whose  date  has  been  used  elsewhere  in 
this  work,  and  has  probably  quite  as  much  authority  as  the  one  above. 


144  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

diliivians  possessed  a  knowledge  of  the  geography  of  the  world, 
and  that  ^'oah,  regarding  himself  as  the  monarch  of  the  whole, 
divided  it  among  his  descendants  before  his  death,  there  is 
nothing  improbable  in  the  further  supposition  that  the  progen- 
itors of  the  black-haired  race,  and  t)thers  of  the  house  and 
lineage  of  Sliem,  found  their  way  from  the  valley  of  the 
Euphrates  across  the  defiles  and  steppes  of  Central  Asia,  to  the 
fertile  plains  of  China  before  the  end  of  the  third  diluvian  cen- 
tury. Whether  the  surface  of  the  world  was  the  same  after 
the  cataclysm  as  before  does  not  aifect  this  point ;  there  was 
ample  time  for  the  multiplication  of  the  species  with  the  bless- 
ing promised  by  God,  sufficient  to  form  colonies,  if  there  was 
time  enough  to  increase  to  such  a  multitude  as  conspired  to 
build  the  tower  of  Babel. 

The  views  of  Dr.  Legge,  that  the  present  Chinese  descend 
from  settlers  who  came  through  Central  Asia  along  the  Tarim 
Valley  and  across  the  Desert  into  Kansuh,  about  b.c.  2200, 
and  settled  around  the  elbow  of  the  Yellow  liiver,  under  the 
leadership  of  Yao,  Shun,  Yu,  and  others,  are  very  reasonable. 
These  settlers  found  the  land  at  that  time  occupied  with  tribes, 
whom  they  partly  merged  with  themselves  or  drove  into  moun- 
tain recesses  in  Kweichau,  where  some  of  their  descendants  per- 
haps still  remain.  These  earlier  tribes  may  have  furnished  the 
names  and  reigns  prior  to  Yao,  and  the  later  Chinese  annalists 
incorporated  them  into  their  own  histoi-ies,  taking  everything 
in  early  times  as  of  course  belonging  to  the  U  imn,  or  '  ])lack- 
liaired  race.'  The  lapse  of  a  millennium  between  the  Deluge 
and  Yao  allows  plenty  of  time  for  several  successive  emigra- 
tions from  Western  and  Central  Asia  into  the  inviting  plains 
of  China,  which,  through  the  want  of  a  written  language  o>* 
the  destruction  of  records,  have  come  down  to  us  in  misty, 
doubtful  legends. 

Fuli-hi  and  his  seven  successors  are  stated  to  have  reigned 
seven  hundred  and  forty-seven  years,  averaging  ninety-three 
each.  Those  who  follow  Usher  consider  these  monarchs  to  be 
Chinese  travesties  of  the  eight  antediluvian  patriarchs;  and 
Marquis  d'TTrban  has  gone  so  far  as  to  write  what  he  calls  the 
Antediluvian  History  ^y  CV/Y'/ic/,  collecting  all  the  notices  his- 


THE   EIGHT    EAT^LY    MONAlirifS.  145 

tory  affords  of  tlieir  acts.  The  common  clii-onology  brings  tlic 
delude  about  tliirteen  years  after  the  accession  of  Yao  and  the 
death  of  Shmi  (the  last  of  the  eight),  b.c.  2205,  or  twenty-live 
years  after  the  confusion  of  tongues.  According  to  Hales,  the 
last  epoch  is  one  hundred  and  twelve  years  before  the  call  of 
Abraham,  and  these  eight  Chinese  monarchs  are  therefore  con- 
temporaries of  the  patriai'chs  who  lived  between  Shem  and 
Abraham,  commencing  with  Salah  and  ending  with  Xahor. 
The  duration  of  their  reigns,  moreover,  is  such  as  would  bear 
the  same  proportion  to  ages  of  five  hundred  years,  which  their 
contemporaries  lived,  as  the  present  average  of  twenty  and 
twenty -five  years  does  to  a  life  of  sixty.  The  Assyrian  tablets, 
deciphered  by  George  Smith,  contain  a  reference  to  the  twenty- 
eighth  centui-y  n.c,  as  the  founding  of  that  monarchy ;  which 
is  a  notice  of  more  value  as  a  chronological  epoch  than  any- 
thing in  Chinese  annals,  indeed,  and  may  help  to  countenance 
a  date  that  had  before  1»een  regarded  as  mythological. 

Supposing  that  the  descendants  of  Shem,  Ham,  and  Japheth, 
knowing  from  their  fathei's  and  grandfather,  that  the  void 
world  was  before  them,  began  to  colonize  almost  as  soon  as  they 
began  to  form  families,  three  centuries  would  not  be  too  long  a 
time  for  some  of  them  to  settle  in  China,  perhaps  offsetting 
from  Elam  and  Asshur,  and  other  descendants  of  Shem  in 
Persia.  The  capital  of  Fuh-hi  slightly  indicates,  it  may  be 
thouo;ht,  their  route  through  Central  Asia  across  the  Desert  to 
Kiayli  kwan  in  Kansuh,  and  then  down  the  Yellow  River  to 
the  Great  Plain  near  Kaifung.  But  these  suppositions  are  only 
by  the  way,  as  is  also  the  suggestion  that  teaching  of  fishing 
and  grazing,  the  regulation  of  times  and  seasons,  cultivation  of 
nnisic,  and  establishment  of  government,  etc.,  compare  well 
enough  with  the  duties  that  might  reasonably  be  supposed  to 
belong  to  the  founder  of  a  colony  and  his  successors,  and  subse- 
quently asci'ibed  to  them  as  their  own  inventions.  The  long 
period  allotted  to  human  life  at  that  date  would  allow  these 
arts  and  sciences  to  take  root  and  their  memory  to  remain  in 
popular  legends  until  subsequent  historians  incorporated  them 
into  their  v\'ritings.  The  Chinese  annalists  fill  up  the  reigns  of 
these  chief?,  down  to  the  time  of  Yao,  with  a  series  of  inven 


146  THE  MIDDLE  KINGDOM. 

tions  and  improvements  in  the  arts  of  life  and  good  government, 
sufficient  to  bring  society  to  that  degree  of  comfort  and  order  they 
suppose  consonant  with  the  character  of  the  monarchs.  The 
earliest  records  of  the  Chinese  correspond  niucli  too  closely  with 
their  present  character  to  receive  full  belief ;  but  they  present  an 
appearance  of  probability  and  naturalness  not  possessed  by  the 
early  annals  of  Greece.  Xo  one  contends  for  their  credibility 
as  history,  but  they  are  better  than  the  Arabian  Xights. 

The  commencement  of  tlie  sexagenary  cycle'  in  the  sixty- 
first  year  of  Ilwangtfs  reign  (or  u.c.  2037),  five  hundred  and 
eighteen  years  after  the  deluge,  eighty-two  years  after  the  death 
of  Arphaxad,  and  about  that  time  before  the  confusion  of 
tongues,  is  worthy  of  notice.  The  use  of  the  ten  horary  characters 
applied  to  days  in  order  to  denote  their  chronological  sequence 
dates  from  the  reign  of  Yu  in  the  twentieth  century  b.c,  and 
there  are  other  passages  in  the  Shu  KIikj  showing  similar  ap- 
plication. Sz'ma  Tsien's  history  now  contains  the  first  attempt 
to  arrange  the  years  in  cycles  of  sixty  ;  but  he  cannot  fairly  be 
claimed  as  the  inventor  of  this  system.  lie  might  almost  as 
well  be  regarded  as  the  inventor  of  his  Avhole  annals,  for  all 
the  materials  out  of  which  he  compiled  them  have  now  per- 
ished except  the  canonical  books.  The  mention  of  the  indi- 
vidual Xao  the  Great,  M-ho  invented  it,  and  the  odd  date  of  its 
adoption  in  the  middle  of  a  reign,  do  not  weaken  the  alleged 
date  of  its  origin  in  the  minds  of  those  who  are  inclined  to  take 
a  statement  of  this  kind  on  its  own  basis. 

Three  reigns,  averaging  eighty  years'  duration,  intervened  be- 
tween that  of  Hwangti  and  Yao,  whose  occupants  were  elected 
by  the  people,  much  as  were  Shemgar,  Jephthah,  and  cttlier 
judges  in  Israel,  and  probably  exercised  a  similar  sway.  The 
reigns  and  characters  of  Yao  and  Shun  have  been  immortalized 
by  Confucius  and  Mencius ;  whatever  was  their  i-eal  history, 
those  sages  showed  g]-eat  sagacity  in  going  back  to  those  re- 
mote times  for  models  and  fixing  u]ion  a  pei-iod  neither  fabu- 
lous nor  certain,  one  which  preventel  alike  the  cavils  of  scepti- 
cism and  the  appearance  of  complete  fabrication, 

^  Journal  Asiatique,  Avril,  183G,  p.  394. 


THl:  DELUGE   OF   YAO.  147 

A  tremendous  deluge  occurred  during  the  reign  of  Yao,  b.c. 
2293,  caused,  it  is  said,  hy  the  overflowing  of  tlie  rivers  in  the 
north  of  China.     Those   who  place  the  Xoachic  dehige  b.c. 
2348  regard  this  as  only  a  different   version  of  that  event ; 
Klaproth,  who  favors  the  Septuagint  chronology,  says  that  it  is 
nearly  synchronous  with  the  deluge  of  Xisutlirus,  b.c.  2297,  a 
name  derived,  as  is  reasonably  inferred  by  George  Smith,  from 
the  Assyrian  name  Ilasisadra,  the  ancient  hero  who  survived 
the  deluge.     The  record  of  this  catastrophe  in  the  Shu  King  is 
hardly  applicable  to  an  overwhelming  flood  :  "  The  Emperor 
said.  Oh !  chief  of  the  four  mountains,  destructive  in  their  over- 
throw are  the  waters  of  the  inundation.     In  their  vast  extent 
they  embrace  the  mountains  and  overtop  the  hills,  threatening 
the  heavens  with  their  floods,  so  that  the  inferior  people  groan 
and  murmur.     Is  there  a  capable  man  to  whom  I  can  assign 
the  correction  of  this  calamity  ?  "  '     They  presented  Kwan  as  a 
proper  man,  but  he  showed  his  inefficiency  in  laboring  nine 
years  without  success  to  drain  off  the  waters.     Yao  was  then 
advised  to  employ  Shun,  who  called  in  Yu,  a  son  of  Kwan,  to 
his  aid,  and  the  floods  were  assuaged  by  deepening  the  beds 
of  the  rivers  and  opening  new  channels.     These  slight  notices 
hardly  comport  with  a  flood  like  the  Xoachic  deluge,  and  are 
with  much  greater  probability  referred  to  an  overflow  or  a 
change  in  the  bed  of  the  Yellow  River  from  its  present  course 
into  the  Gulf  of  Pechele  through  Chihli  northeast,  to  its  re- 
cent one  along  the  lowlands  of  Kiangsu.     The  weight  of  topo- 
graphical evidence,   combined   with    the  strong   chronological 
argument,  the  discussions  in  council  said  to  have  taken  place 
regarding  the  disaster,  and  the  time  which  elapsed  before  the 
region  was  drained,  all  pre-suppose  and  indicate  a  partial  inun- 
dation, and  strengthen  the  assumption  that  no  traces  of  the 
Deluge  exist  in  the  histories  of  the  Chinese.     In  our  view  of 
the  chronology  of  the  Bible,  as  compared  with  the  Chinese,  it 
requires  a  far  greater  constraint  upon  these  records  to  bring 
them  to  refer  to  that  event,  than  to  suppose  they  allude  to  a 
local  disaster  not  beyond  the  power  of  remedy. 


'  Legge's  Shu  King^  p.  24,  Hongkong,  1867. 


148 


THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 


The  series  of  chieftains  down  to  tlie  accession  of  Yu  may 
liere  be  recapitulated.  The  entirely  fabulous  period  ends  with 
Sui-jin,  and  legendary  liistoiy  commences  with  Fuh-ln',  who 
with  four  of  his  smccessors  (Nos.  2,  3,  7,  and  8)  are  commonly 


known  as  the  Five  Sovereigns, 
follows : 


Their  names  and  reigns  are  as 


Names. 

Years 
reigned. 

Began 

B.C. 

other  Events. 

1 

2 
3 

Fuh-hi 

Shinmmg 

Hwanafti 

115 
140 
100 

84 
78 
78 
102 
50 

2852 
2737 
21597 
2597 
3513 
3435 
2357 
2255 

The  Deluge,  B.C.  3155. 
Death  of  Noah,  B.C.  2805. 

4 
5 
«5 

7 
8 

Shauliau    

Chwenhiih 

Kuh 

Yao 

Shun 

Death  of  Arphaxad,  2715. 
Death  of  Slicm,  2555. 
Rise  of  Eyv])tian  monarchy,  2450. 
Rise  of  Babyl«iiian       "           2300. 
Abraham's  bii'tli,  2153. 

The  records  in  the  ^hii  Kin<j  of  Yao,  Shun,  and  Yu  the 
Great  (b.c.  2205)  are  longer  than  those  of  any  other  persons 
who  lived  prior  to  Abraham.  The  chronicle  repi'esents  the 
merits  of  Y^u  to  have  been  first  e.xhibited  in  i-educing  the 
waters  and  dividing  the  country  into  nine  regions,  and  as  lie 
liad  assisted  Shun  in  his  government  durinii;  his  lifetime,  he 
was  unanimously  called  to  the  vacant  dignity,  and  became  the 
founder  of  the  Ilia  dynasty.  Allowing  that  the  records  of 
these  times  and  people  are  brief  and  disjointed,  and  many 
things  in  them  impossible  to  reconcile,  still  they  are  superior  to 
the  absurd  tales  describing  the  formation  of  some  other  ancient 
States,  and  should  not  be  ridiculed  as  trivial  or  rejected  as 
fabulous.  The  great  advances  made  in  settling  obscure  points 
in  early  history,  by  the  success  in  deciphering  records  brought 
to  light  in  Western  Asia,  lead  to  more  respect  for  what  we 
possess  in  Eastern  Asia,  rather  than  to  reject  the  fragmentary 
records  remaining.  No  one  regards  them  as  trustworthy,  like 
the  clay  tablets  exhumed  at  Xineveh,  but  if  Abraham  found 
the  Egyptians  to  be  living  under  a  i-egular  guvci'iimcnt  not  one 
hundred  and  fifty  years  after  this,  and  Danuiscus,  Babylon, 
Erech,  and  other  cities  were  then  old,  no  one  need  be  imwilling 
to  give  the  Chinese  a  line  of  monarchs,  and  a  p()[)ulation  quito 


THE    RECORDS   OF    YAO   AXD    YU.  149 

Buflficient  to  have  deepened  tlie  cliannel  of  a  river  or  raised 
dikes  to  restrain  it.  The  glorious  reigns  and  spotless  charac- 
ters of  these  three  sovereigns  are  looked  upon  by  the  Chinese 
with  much  the  same  feelings  of  veneration  that  the  Jews  re- 
gard their  three  patriarchs ;  and  to  have  had,  or  to  have  imagined, 
such  progenitors  and  lieroes  is,  to  say  the  least,  as  much  to  their 
credit  as  the  Achilles,  Ulysses,  and  llomulus  of  the  Greeks  and 
llomans,  A  curious  analogy  can  also  be  traced  between  the 
scheming  Ulysses,  warlike  liomulus,  and  methodical  Yao,  and  the 
subsequent  character  of  the  three  great  nations  they  represent. 

Chinese  historians  supply  many  details  regarding  the  conduct 
of  Yu  and  Kieh  Kwei,  the  first  and  last  princes  of  the  house  of 
Ilia,  all  the  credible  particulars  of  which  are  taken  from  the 
Book  of  Records  and  the  Bauihoo  Annah.  Dr.  Legge  candidly 
weighs  the  arguments  in  respect  to  the  eclipse  mentioned  in  the 
Y^uli  C/ilng,  and  gives  his  opinion  as  to  its  authenticity,  even 
if  it  cannot  yet  be  certainly  referred  to  the  year  b.c.  2154.  One 
such  authentic  notice  lends  strer.gth  to  the  reception  of  many 
vague  statements,  which  are  more  likely  to  be  the  relics  of  fuller 
documents  long  since  lost  than  the  fabrications  of  later  writers, 
such  as  were  the  Decretals  of  Isidore  in  the  Middle  Ages.  In 
giving  a  full  translation  of  the  Bamhoo  Books  in  the  prolego- 
mena of  the  Sh  u  Klng^  Dr.  Legge  has  shown  one  of  the  sources 
of  ancient  Chinese  liistory  outside  of  that  work.  There  were 
many  other  works  accessible  to  Sz'ma  Tsien,  nearly  four  cen- 
turies before  they  were  discovered  (a.d.  279),  when  he  wrote 
his  Annals.  Pan  Ku  gives  a  list  of  the  various  books  recovered 
after  the  death  of  Tsin  Chi  Ilwangti,  amounting  in  all  to  thir- 
teen thousand  two  hundred  and  nineteen  volumes  or  chapters 
contained  in  six  huudi-ed  and  twenty  different  works.  Well 
does  Pauthier  speak  of  the  inestimable  value  which  a  similar 
catalogue  of  the  extant  literature  of  Greece  and  Pome  at  that 
epoch  (b.(\  100)  would  now  be. 

One  of  the  alleged  records  of  the  reign  of  Yu  is  an  inscrip- 
tion traced  on  the  rocks  of  Ivau-lau  shaii,  one  of  the  peaks  of 
Mount  llano;  in  Ilunan,  relatinjij  to  the  inundation.  It  con- 
tfiins  seventy-seven  charactei's  only,  and  Amiot,  who  regarded 
it  as  genuine,  has  given  its  sense  as  follows : 


150  TIIK   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

The  venerable  Emperor  said,  Oli  I  aid  and  councillor  !  Who  will  help  me 
in  administiM-ing  my  affairs  V  The  great  and  little  islets  (the  inhabited  places) 
even  to  their  summits,  the  abodes  of  the  beasts  and  birds,  and  all  beings  are 
widely  inundated.  Advise,  send  back  the  waters,  and  raise  the  dikes.  For  a 
long  time,  J  have  quite  forgotten  my  family  ;  I  repose  on  the  top  of  the  moun- 
tain Yoh-lu.  By  prudence  and  my  labors,  I  have  moved  the  spirits ;  I  know 
not  the  hours,  but  repose  myself  only  in  my  incessant  labors.  The  mountains 
Hwa,  Yoh,  Tai,  and  Ilang,  have  been  the  beginning  and  end  of  my  enter- 
prise ;  when  my  labors  were  completed,  I  offered  a  thanksgiving  sacrifice  at 
the  solstice.  My  affliction  has  ceased  ;  the  confusion  in  nature  has  disap- 
peared ;  the  deep  currents  coming  from  the  south  flow  into  the  sea ;  clothes 
can  now  be  made,  food  can  be  prepared,  all  kingdoms  will  be  at  peace,  and 
we  can  give  ovirselves  to  continual  joy. ' 

Since  Amiot's  time,  however,  further  opportunities  have  of- 
fered for  more  tliorongh  inquiry  into  this  relic  by  foreigners, 
and  the  results  of  their  researches  throw  much  doubt  upon  its 
authenticity,  though  they  do  not  altogether  destroy  it.  In  the 
Introduction  to  the  S/iu  King,  Dr.  Legge  discusses  the  value 
of  this  tablet  among  other  early  records  of  that  reign,  and 
comes  to  the  conclusipn  that  it  is  a  fabrication  of  the  Han 
dynasty,  if  not  later.  The  poet  Han  Yu  (a.d.  800)  gave  it 
wide  notoriety  by  his  verses  about  its  location  and  nature ;  but 
when  he  was  there  he  could  not  iind  it  on  the  peak,  and  cited 
only  a  Taoist  priest  as  having  seen  it.  More  than  three  centu- 
ries afterward  Chu  Hi  M^as  equally  unsuccessful,  and  his  opinion 
that  it  was  made  by  the  priests  of  that  sect  has  had  nnich 
weight  with  his  countrymen.  It  was  not  till  one  Ho  Chi  wont 
to  Mount  Hang,  about  a.d.  1210,  and  took  a  copy  of  the  inscrip- 
tion from  the  stone  then  in  a  Taoist  temple,  that  it  was 
actually  seen  ;  and  not  till  about  1510,  that  Chang  Ki-wrm, 
another  antiquary  of  Hunan  province,  published  his  copy  in 
the  form  now  generally  accepted.  In  1660  one  Mao  Tsang- 
kien  again  found  the  tablet  on  the  summit  of  Kau-lau,  but 
reached  it  with  nnich  difficulty  by  the  help  of  ladders  and 
hooks,  and  found  it  so  broken  that  the  inscription  could  not 
be  made  out.     A  reduced  fae-siitnle  of  Mao's  copy  is  given  by 

'  Pauthier,  Lit  Chine,  p.  53;  J.  Hager's  Inscription  of  Yv,  Paris,  1802; 
Legge's  Sim  Kinr/,  pp.  G7-74  ;  TrdiisdctimiH  of  flic  X.  C.  Br:  Ji.  A.  Soc,  No. 
v.,  1809,  pp.  78-84;  Journal  Aniaiiqiu',  18G7,  Tome  X.,  jjp.  197-337. 


THE  TABLET   OF   YU.  161 

Dr.  Legge,  whose  translation  differs  from  Amiot's   in  some 
particulars. 

I  received  theirords  of  i\\9  Emperor,  saying,  "  Ah  \  Associate  helper,  aiding 
noble  !  The  islands  and  islets  ma/  now  be  aseended,  thut  were  doors  for  the 
birds  and  beasts.  Tou  devoted  your  person  to  the  great  overflowings,  and 
with  the  daybreak  yon  rose  up.  Long  were  you  abroad,  forgetting  your 
family  ;  you  lodged  at  the  mountain's  foot  as  in  a  hall ;  your  wisdom  schemed ; 
your  body  was  broken  ;  your  heart  was  all  in  a  tremble.  You  went  and 
sought  to  produce  order  and  settlement.  At  Hwa,  Yoh,  Tai,  and  Hang,  by 
adopting  the  principle  of  dividing  tlie  tcaters,  your  undertakings  were  com- 
pleted. With  the  remains  of  a  taper,  you  offered  your  pure  sacrifice.  There 
were  entanglement  and  obstruction,  being  swamped,  and  removals.  The 
southern  river  flows  on  its  course  ;  for  ever  is  the  provision  of  food  made 
sure  ;  the  myriad  States  enjoy  repose  ;  the  beasts  and  birds  are  for  ever  fled 
away." 

The  characters  in  which  this  tablet  is  written  are  of  an  ancient 
tadpole  form,  and  so  difficult  to  read  that  grave  doubts  exist  as 
to  their  proper  meaning — ^and  even  as  to  which  of  two  or 
three  forms  is  the  correct  one.  Since  the  copy  of  Mao  was 
taken,  the  Manchu  scholar  Iv wan-wan,  when  Governor-General 
of  Liang  Hu  in  1868,  erected  a  stone  tablet  at  Wu-chang,  in 
the  Pavilion  of  the  Yellow  Stork,  upon  the  eminence  overlook- 
ing the  Yangtsz'.  This  he  regarded  as  a  true  copy  of  the 
authentic  Yu  Pal,  or  '  Tablet  of  Yu.'  A  fac-slmile  of  this 
tablet,  and  of  another  rubbing  from  a  stone  now  existing  at  the 
foot  of  Mount  Hang  (which  is  alleged  to  be  an  exact  repro- 
duction of  the  original  on  its  top),  was  published  by  W.  H. 
Medhurst  in  the  A^.  C.  Asiatic  Society  Journal  for  1869.  A 
comparison  of  these  three  will  give  the  reader  an  idea  of  the 
difficulties  and  doubts  attending  the  settlement  of  the  credi- 
bility of  this  inscription.  A  living  native  writer  quoted  by  Mr. 
Medhurst  says  that  the  earliest  notice  of  the  tablet  is  by  Tsin 
Yung  of  the  Tang  dynasty,  about  a.d.  TOO,  from  which  he  in- 
fers that  the  people  of  the  time  of  Tung  must  have  seen  the 
rock  and  its  inscription.  lie  regards  the  latter  as  consisting  of 
fairy  characters,  utterly  unreadable,  and  therefore  all  attempts 
to  decipher  them  as  valueless  and  misleading. 

Amid  so  many  conflicting  opinions  among  native  scholars, 
the  verdict  of  foreigners  may  safely  await  further  discoveries. 


152  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

and  the  day  wlien  competent  observers  can  examine  these  local- 
ities and  tablets  for  themselves.  Without  exaggerating  the 
importance  and  credibility  of  the  S/tu,  K'nvj  and  otiier  ancient 
Chinese  records,  thej'  can  be  received  as  the  writings  of  a  very 
remote  period  ;  and  while  their  claims  to  trustworthiness  would 
be  fortified  if  more  intimations  had  been  given  of  the  manner 
in  which  they  were  kept  dniing  the  long  period  antecedent  to  the 
era  of  Confucius,  they  still  deserve  a  more  respectful  consider- 
ation than  some  modern  writers  are  disposed  to  allow  them. 
For  instance,  Davis  remarks:  "  Yu  is  described  as  nine  cubits  in 
height,  and  it  is  stated  that  the  skies  rained  gold  in  those  days, 
which  certainly  (as  Dr.  Morrison  observes)  lessens  the  credit  of 
the  history  of  this  period."  Xow,  without  laying  too  nuich 
stress  upon  the  record,  or  the  objections  against  it,  this  height 
is  but  little  more  than  that  of  Og  of  Bashan,  even  if  we  adopt 
the  present  length  of  the  cubit  fourteen  and  one-tenth  inches, 
English  ;  and  if  Zv'w,  here  called  <j<)ld,  be  translated  metal  (which 
it  can  just  as  well  be),  it  may  be  a  notice  of  a  meteoric  shower  of 
extraordinary  duration.  Let  these  venerable  'writings  be  in- 
vestigated in  a  candid,  cautious  manner,  weighing  their  internal 
evidence,  and  comparing  their  notices  of  those  remote  periods 
as  much  as  they  can  be  \vith  those  of  other  nations,  and  they 
will  illustrate  ancient  history  and  customs  in  no  slight  degree. 
Mr.  Murray  has  given  a  synopsis  f i-om  Mailla  of  what  is  re- 
corded of  the  Ilia  dynasty,  which  will  fairly  exhibit  the  matter 
of  (^hinese  history.  It  is  here  introduced  somewhat  abridged, 
with  dates  inserted. 

The  accession  of  Yu  (B.C.  2205)  forms  a  romarkable  era  in  Chinese  history. 
The  throne,  which  hitherto  liad  been  more  or  less  ek'ctive,  became  from  this 
period  hereditary  in  the  eldest  son,  with  only  those  occasional  and  violent  in- 
terrujitions  to  which  every  despotic  government  is  liable.  The  national  an- 
nals, too,  assume  a  more  regular  and  autlientic  shape,  the  reigns  of  the 
sovereigns  being  at  the  same  time  reduced  to  a  probable  duration. 

Yu  justly  acquired  a  lasting  veneration,  but  it  was  chietly  by  his  labors 
under  his  two  i)redecessors.  When  he  himself  ascended  the  throne,  age  had 
already  overtaken  him  ;  still  the  lustre  of  his  government  was  supported  by 
able  councillors,  till  it  closed  with  bis  life  at  the  end  of  seven  years.  Many  of 
the  grandees  wisheil,  according  to  former  practice,  to  raise  to  the  throne 
Pi-yih,  his  first  minister,  and  a  person  of  distinguished  merit;  but  regard  for 
the  father,  in  this  case,  was  strengthened  by  the  excellent  ijualities  of  his  son 


EARLY   HISTORY    OF   TUi:   TIIA    DYNASTY.  153 

Ki,  or  Ti  Kf  (/.<?.,  the  Emperor  Ki),  and  even  Pi-yih  insisted  that  the  prince 
should  be  preferred  (2197).  Hi.s  reign  of  nine  years  was  only  disturbed  by  the 
rebellion  of  a  turbulent  subject,  and  he  was  succeeded  (2188)  by  his  son,  Tai 
Kaug.  But  this  youth  was  devoted  to  pleasure  ;  music,  wine,  and  hunting 
entirely  engrossed  his  attention.  The  Chinese,  after  enduring  him  for  twenty- 
nine  years,  dethroned  him  (2159),  and  his  brother,  Chung  Kaug,  was  nomi- 
nated to  succeed,  and  lield  th:>  reins  of  government  for  thirteen  years  with  a 
vigorous  liand.  He  was  followed  l  /  his  son,  Siang  (2140),  who,  destitute  of 
the  energy  his  situation  required,  gave  liimself  up  to  the  advice  of  his  minis- 
ter Yeh,  and  was  by  him,  in  connection  with  his  accomplice,  Ilantsu,  declared 
incapable  of  reigning.  The  usurper  ruled  for  seven  years,  when  he  was 
Idlled  ;  and  the  rightful  monarch  collected  his  adherents  and  gave  battle  to 
Ilantsu  and  the  son  of  Yeh  in  the  endeavor  to  regain  his  throne.  Siang  was 
completely  defeated,  and  lost  both  liis  crown  and  life  ;  the  victors  immediate- 
ly marched  to  the  capital,  and  made  so  general  a  massacre  of  the  family  that 
they  believed  tlie  name  and  race  of  Yu  to  be  for  ever  extinguished. 

'J'he  Empress  Min,  however,  managed  to  escape,  and  tied  to  a  remote  city, 
where  she  brought  forth  a  son,  called  Shau  Kang  ;  and  the  better  to  conceal 
his  origin,  she  employed  him  as  a  shepherd  boy  to  tend  flocks.  Reports  of 
the  existence  of  such  a  youth,  and  his  occupation,  at  length  reached  the  ears 
of  Hantsu,  who  sent  orders  to  bring  him,  dead  or  alive.  The  royal  widow  then 
placed  her  son  as  under-cook  in  the  liousehold  of  a  neighboring  governor, 
where  the  lad  soon  distinguished  himself  by  a  spirit  and  temper  so  superior  to 
this  humble  station,  that  the  master's  suspicions  were  roused,  and  obliged  him 
to  disclose  his  name  and  birth.  The  officer,  being  devotedly  attached  to  the 
house  of  Yu,  not  only  kept  the  secret,  but  watched  for  an  opportunity  to  re- 
instate him,  and  meanwhile  gave  him  a  small  government  in  a  secluded  situa- 
tion, which  he  prudently  administered.  Yet  he  was  more  than  thirty  years 
old  before  the  governor,  by  engaging  other  chiefs  in  his  interest,  could  assemble 
such  a  force  as  might  justify  the  attempt  to  make  head  against  tlie  usurper. 
The  latter  hastily  assembled  his  troops  and  led  them  to  tlie  attack,  but  was 
defeated  and  taken  prisoner  by  the  young  prince  Chu  himself ;  and  Shau 
Kang,  with  his  mother,  returned  with  acclamations  to  the  capital.  His  reign 
is  reckoned  to  have  been  sixty-one  years'  duration  in  the  chronology  of  the 
time,  which  includes  the  usurpation  of  forty  years  of  Hantsu. 

The  country  was  ably  governed  by  Shau  Kang,  and  also  liy  his  son,  Chu 
(2057),  who  ruled  for  seventeen  yearr: ;  but  the  succeeding  sovereigns,  in  many 
instances,  abandoned  themselves  to  indolence  and  pleasure,  and  brought  the 
kingly  name  into  contempt.  From  Hwai  to  Kieh  Kwei,  a  space  of  two  hundred 
and  twenty -two  years,  between  B.C.  2040  and  1818,  few  records  remain  of  the 
nine  sovereigns,  whose  bare  names  succeed  each  other  in  the  annals.  At  length 
the  throne  was  occupied  by  Kieh  Kwei  (1G18),  ..  prince  who  is  represented  as 
having,  in  connexion  with  his  consort,  Mei-hi,  practised  ','very  kind  of  violence 
and  extortion,  in  order  to  accumulate  treasure,  which  they  spent  in  unbridled 
voluptuousness.  They  formed  a  large  ])ond  of  wine,  deep  enough  to  float  a  boat, 
at  which  three  thousand  men  drank  at  once.  It  was  surrounded,  too,  by  pyramids 
of  delicate  viands,  which  no  one,  liowever,  was  alloweil  to  taste,  till  he  had  first 
intoxicated  himself  out  of  the  lake.    The  drunken  quarrels  which  ensued  wer« 


154  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

their  favorite  amusempiit.  In  tlic  intrrior  o''  the  jialaci'  Die  vilest  orgies  were 
celebrated,  and  the  venerable  ministers,  wlio  attempted  to  remonstrate  against 
these  excesses,  were  either  put  to  deatlx  or  exiled.  The  people  were  at  once 
indignant  and  grieved  at  such  crimes,  which  threatened  the  downfall  of  the 
dynasty ;  and  the  discarded  statesmen  put  themselves  under  the  direction  of 
the  wise  I  Yin,  and  advised  Chingtang,  the  ablest  of  their  number,  and  a  de- 
scendant of  Hwangti,  to  assume  the  reins  of  government,  assuring  him  of  their 
support.  He  with  reluctance  yielded  to  their  solicitations,  and  assembling  a 
force  marched  against  Kieh  Kwei,  who  came  out  to  meet  him  at  the  head  of  a 
numerous  army,  but  fled  from  the  contest  on  seeing  tlie  defection  of  his  troops, 
and  ended  his  days  in  despicable  obscurity,  after  occupying  the  throne  lifty- 
two  years. ' 

Chinese  annals  are  generally  occupied  in  this  way ;  the  Em- 
peror and  his  ministers  fill  the  whole  field  of  historic  vision ; 
little  is  recorded  of  the  condition,  habits,  arts,  or  occupations  of 
the  people,  who  are  merely  considered  as  attendants  of  the  mon- 
arch, which  is,  in  truth,  a  feature  of  the  ancient  records  of 
nearly  all  countries  and  people,  Monarchs  controlled  the  chron- 
icles of  their  reigns,  and  their  own  vanity,  as  well  as  their  ideas 
of  government  and  authority  led  them  to  represent  the  people 
as  a  mere  background  to  their  own  stately  dignity  and  acts. 

The  Shang  dynasty  began  b.c.  1760,  or  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty  years  before  the  Exodus,  and  maintained  an  unequal  sway 
over  the  feudal  States  composing  the  Empire  for  a  period  of  six 
hundred  and  forty-four  years.  Its  first  monarch,  Chingtang,  or 
Tang  the  Successful,  is  described  as  having  paid  religious  worship 
to  Shangti,  under  which  name,  perhaps,  the  true  God  was 
intended.  On  account  of  a  severe  drought  of  seven  years' 
duration,  this  monarch  is  reported  to  have  prayed,  saying, 
'■'  1  the  child  Li  presume  to  use  a  dark  colored  victim,  and 
announce  to  thee,  O  Shang-tien  Ilao  ('High  Heaven's  Ruler'). 
I«[ow  there  is  a  great  drought,  and  it  is  right  I  should  be  held 
responsible  for  it.  I  do  not  know  but  that  I  have  offended 
the  powers  above  and  below."  AVith  regard  to  his  own  con- 
duct, he  blamed  himself  in  six  particulars,  and  his  words 
were  not  ended  when  the  rain  descended  copiously. 

The  fragmentary  records  of  this  dynasty  contained  in  the 
Shu  King  are  not  so  valuable  to  the  student  who  wishes  merely 


'Hugh  Murray,  China,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  51-55  (edition  of  1843), 


TIIK   SIIAXa   DYNASTY.  155 

to  learn  the  succession  of  luoiiarclis  in  tliose  (l:ijs,  as  to  one  who 
inquires  what  were  the  principles  on  which  they  ruled,  wliat 
were  the  polity,  the  religion,  the  jurisdiction,  and  the  checks  of 
the  Chinese  government  in  those  remote  times.  The  regular 
records  of  those  days  will  never  he  recovered,  hut  the  preser- 
vation of  the  hist  two  parts  of  the  Shic  Kiiuj  indicates  their 
existence  by  fair  inference,  and  encourages  those  who  try  to  re- 
construct the  early  annals  of  China  to  give  full  value  even  to 
slight  fragments.  But  these  parts  have  been  of  great  service  to 
the  people  since  they  were  written,  in  teaching  them  by  precept 
and  example  on  what  the  prosperity  of  a  State  was  founded,  and 
how  theii-  rnlers  could  bring  it  to  ruin.  In  these  respects  there 
are  no  ancient  works  outside  of  the  Bible  w^ith  which  they  can 
at  all  be  compared.  The  later  system  of  examination  has  given 
them  an  unparalleled  intluonce  in  molding  the  national  character 
of  the  Chinese.  Of  the  eleven  chapters  now  remaining  all  are 
occupied  more  or  less  with  the  relative  duties  of  the  prince  and 
rulers,  enforcing  on  each  that  the  w-elfare  of  all  was  bound  up 
with  their  faithfulness.  One  quotation  will  give  an  idea  of 
their  instructions.  "  Order  your  affairs  by  righteousness,  order 
your  heart  by  propriety,  so  shall  you  transmit  a  grand  example 
to  posterit3\  I  have  heard  the  saying.  He  who  finds  instructors 
for  himself  comes  to  the  supreme  dominion  ;  he  wlft>  says  that 
others  are  not  equal  to  himself  comes  to  ruin.  He  who  likes  to 
ask  becomes  enlarged  ;  he  who  uses  only  himself  becomes  small. 
Oh !  he  who  would  take  care  for  his  end  must  be  attentive  to 
his  beginning.  There  is  establishment  for  the  observers  of  pro- 
priety, and  overthrow  for  the  blinded  and  wantonly  indifPerent. 
To  revere  and  honor  the  way  of  Heaven  is  the  way  ever  to 
preserve  the  favoring  regard  of  Heaven."  ' 

The  chronicles  of  the  Shang  dynasty,  as  gathered  from  the 
Bamhoo  Books  and  other  later  records,  resemble  those  of  the  Hia 
in  being  little  moi-e  than  a  mere  succession  of  the  names  of  the 
sovereigns,  interspersed  here  and  there  with  notices  of  some 
remarkable  events  in  the  natural  and  political  world.  Luxurious 
and  despised  princes  alternate  with  vigorous  and  warlike  ones 

'Part  IV.,  Book  II.,  Chap.  IV.,  8-9.  • 


156  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

who  coiiiinaiuled  respect,  :uul  the  coiiditiunof  the  State measura.' 
bly  C'ori'espoiid.s  with  the  character  of  the  inonarchs,  the  feudal 
barons  soinetiines  increasing  in  power  and  territory  by  encroacli- 
iug  on  their  neighbors,  and  then  snitering  a  reduction  from  some 
new  State.  The  names  of  twenty-eight  princes  are  given,  the 
accounts  of  whose  reigns  are  indeed  fuller  than  those  of  the 
dukes  of  Edom  in  Genesis,  but  their  slight  notices  would  be 
more  interesting  if  the  same  confidence  could  be  reposed  in 
them. 

The  bad  sovereigns  occupy  more  room  in  these^fasti  than  the 
good  ones,  the  palm  of  wickedness  being  given  to  Chau-sin,  with 
whom  the  dynasty  ended.  The  wars  which  broke  out  during 
this  dynasty  were  numerous,  but  other  events  also  find  a  place, 
though  hardly  anything  which  throws  light  on  society  or  civil- 
ization. Droughts,  famines,  and  other  calamities  were  frequent 
and  attended  by  dreadful  omens  and  fearful  sights ;  this  fancied 
correlation  between  natural  casualties  and  political  convulsions 
is  a  feature  running  through  Chinese  history,  and  grows  out  of 
the  peculiar  position  of  the  monarch  as  the  vicegerent  of  heav- 
en. The  people  seem  to  have  looked  for  control  and  protec- 
tion more  to  their  local  masters  than  to  their  lord  paramount, 
ranging  themselves  under  their  separate  banners  as  they  weve 
bidden.  The  History  Made  Easy  speaks  of  the  twenty-fifth 
monarch,  Wu-yih  (e.g.  1198),  as  the  most  wicked  of  them  all. 
"  Having  made  his  images  of  clay  in  the  shape  of  human  beings, 
dignified  them  with  the  name  of  gods,  overcome  them  at  gam- 
bling, and  set  them  aside  in  disgrace,  he  then,  in  order  to  com- 
plete his  folly,  made  leathern  bags  and  filled  them  with  blood, 
and  sent  them  up  into  the  air,  exclaiming,  when  his  arrows  hit 
them  and  the  blood  poured  down,  '  I  have  shot  heaven,'  mean- 
ing, I  have  killed  the  gods." 

The  names  of  Chau-sin  and  Tan-ki  are  coupled  w'ith  those 
of  Kieh  and  Mi-hi  of  the  Ilia  dynasty,  all  of  them  synonymous 
in  the  Chinese  annals  for  tlie  acme  of  cruelty  and  licentiousness 
— as  are  those  of  Xero  and  Messalina  in  Koman  history.  Chau- 
sin  is  said  one  winter's  morning  to  have  seen  a  few  women 
walking  barelegged  on  the  banks  of  a  stream  collecting  shell- 
fish, and  ordered  their  legs  to  be  cut  off,  that  he  might  see  the 


CHAU-SIN — RISE   OF   TIFE   ClIAU   DYNASTY.  157 

marrow  of  persons  who  could  resist  cold  so  fearlessly.  The 
heart  of  one  of  his  reprovers  was  also  hrought  him,  in  order  to 
see  wherein  it  differed  from  that  of  cowardly  ministers.  The 
last  Booh  of  Shang  contains  the  vain  i-emonstrance  of  another 
of  them,  who  tells  his  sovereign  that  his  dynasty  is  in  the  con- 
dition of  one  crossing  a  large  stream  who  can  iind  neither  ford 
nor  bank.  Many  acts  of  this  natnre  alienated  the  hearts  of  the 
people,  nntil  Wan  wang,  the  leader  of  a  State  in  the  northwest 
of  China,  nnited  the  principal  men  against  his  misrule ;  hut 
dying,  bequeathed  his  crown  and  power  to  his  son,  Wu  wang. 
He  gradually  gathered  his  forces  and  met  Chau-sin  at  the  head 
of  a  great  army  at  Muli,  near  the  junction  of  the  rivers  Ki  and 
Wei,  north  of  the  Yellow  River  in  llonan,  where  the  defeat  of 
the  tyrant  was  complete.  Feeling  the  contempt  he  was  held  in, 
and  the  hopeless  struggle  before  him,  he  lied  to  his  palace  and 
burned  himself  with  all  his  treasures,  like  another  Sardanapalus, 
though  his  immolation  (in  b.o.  1122)  preceded  the  Assyrian's  by 
five  centuries. 

Wu  wang,  the  martial  king,  the  founder  of  the  Chan  dynasty, 
his  father.  Wan  wang,  and  his  brother,  Duke  Chan,  are  among 
the  most  distinguished  men  of  antiquity-  for  their  erudition, 
integrity,  patriotism,  and  inventions.  AViln  wang.  Prince  of 
Chan,  was  prime  minister  to  Tai-ting,  the  grandfather  of  Chau- 
sin,  but  was  imprisoned  for  his  fidelity.  His  son  obtained  his 
liberation,  and  the  sayings  and  acts  of  both  occupy  al)()ut  twenty 
books  in  Part  V.  of  the  Shu  King.  Duke  Chan  survived  his 
brother  to  become  the  director  and  support  of  his  nephew ;  his 
counsels,  occupying  a  large  part  of  the  history,  are  full  of  wisdom 
and  equity.  Book  X.  contains  his  warning  advice  about  drunken- 
ness, which  has  been  remarkably  influential  among  his  counti-v- 
men  ever  since.  Ko  period  of  ancient  Chinese  history  is  mora 
celebrated  than  that  of  the  founding  of  this  dynastv,  chieflv 
because  of  the  high  chai'acter  of  its  leading  men,  who  Avere 
regarded  by  Confucius  as  the  impersonations  of  everything  wise 
and  noble.  Wu  wang  is  represented  as  having  invoked  the 
assistance  of  Shangti  in  his  designs,  and,  when  he  was  success- 
ful, returned  thanks  and  offered  prayers  and  sacrifices.  He 
removed  the  capital  from  the  province  of  Honan  to  the  present 


158  THE   ISIIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

Si-ngan,  in  Shensi,  where  it  remained  for  a  long  period.  This 
prince  committed  a  great  political  blnnder  in  dividing  the  Em- 
pire into  petty  states,  thus  destroying  the  ancient  pure  monarchy, 
and  leaving  himself  only  a  small  portion  of  territory  and  power, 
which  were  (piite  insufficient,  in  the  hands  of  a  weak  prince,  to 
maintain  either  the  state  or  authority  due  the  ruling  sovereign. 
The  number  of  States  at  one  time  was  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five,  at  another  forty-one,  and,  in  the  time  of  Confucius,  about 
six  hundred  years  after  the  establishment  of  the  dynasty,  fifty- 
two,  some  of  them  large  kingdoms.  From  about  b.c.  7U0  the 
imperial  name  and  power  lost  the  allegiance  and  respect  of  the 
feudal  princes,  and  gradually  became  contemptible.  Its  nominal 
sway  extended  over  the  country  lying  north  of  the  ITangtsz 
kiang,  the  regions  on  the  south  being  occupied  by  tribes  of  whonj 
no  intelligible  record  has  been  preserved. 

The  duration  of  the  three  dynasties,  the  Ilia,  Shang,  and 
Chau,  comprises  a  long  and  obscure  period  in  the  history  of  the 
world,  extending  from  b.c.  2205  to  249,  from  the  time  when 
Terah  dwelt  in  (Jharran,  and  the  sixteenth  dynasty  of  Theban 
kings  ruled  in  Egypt,  down  to  the  reigns  of  Antiochus  Soter 
and  Ptolemy  Philadelphus  and  the  ti-anslation  of  the  Septuagint. 

I. — The  IliA  dynasty,  founded  by  Yu  the  Great,  existed  four 
Inmdred  and  thirty-nine  years,  down  to  n.o.  lT<!r>,  under  seven- 
teen monarchs,  the  records  of  whose  reigns  are  veiy  brief. 
Among  contemporary  events  of  importance  are  the  call  of 
Abraham,  in  the  year  b.c.  2003,  Jacob's  flight  to  Mesopotamia 
in  1016,  Joseph's  elevation  in  Egypt  in  1885,  and  his  father's 
arrival  in  1863. 

II. — The  SuANG  dynasty  began  Avith  Tang  the  Successful, 
and  continued  six  hundred  and  forty-four  years,  under  twenty- 
eight  sovereigns,  down  to  b.c.  1122.  This  period  was  char- 
acterized by  wars  among  I'ival  princes,  and  the  power  of  the 
sovereign  depended  chiefly  upon  his  personal  character.  The 
principal  contemporary  events  were  the  Exodus  of  the  Israelites 
in  1648,  tlieir  settlement  in  Palestine  in  1608,  judgeship  of 
Othniel,  1564  ;  of  Deborah,  1406  ;  of  Gideon,  1350 ;  of  Sam 
son,  1202 ;  and  death  of  Samuel  in  1122. 

III. — The  CuAU   dynasty  began  with  Wu  wang,  and   con 


CREDIBILITY    OF   THESE    EAULV    RECORDS.  159 

tinned  for  eight  hundred  and  seventy-three  years,  under  thirty- 
five  monarclis,  down  to  b.c.  249,  tlie  longest  of  any  recorded  in 
history.  The  sway  of  many  of  these  was  little  more  than 
nominal,  and  the  feudal  States  increased  or  diminished,  accord- 
ing to  the  vigor  of  the  monarch  or  the  ambition  of  the  princes. 
In  B.C.  770  the  capital  was  removed  from  Kao,  near  the  lliver 
Wei  in  Shensi,  to  Lohyang,  in  the  western  part  of  Honan  ; 
this  divides  the  house  into  the  Western  and  Eastern  Chan. 
The  contemporary  events  of  these  eight  centuries  are  too 
numerous  to  particularize.  The  accession  of  Saul  in  1110 ;  of 
David,  1070 ;  of  Rehoboam,  990  ;  taking  of  Troy,  1084  ;  of 
Samaria,  719  ;  of  Jerusalem,  586 ;  death  of  Nebuchadnezzar, 
501  ;  accession  of  Cyrus  and  return  of  the  Jews,  551 ;  battle  of 
Marathon,  490  ;  accession  of  Alexander,  235  ;  etc.  The  con- 
quest of  Egypt  by  Alexander  in  322  brought  the  thirty-first 
and  last  dynasty  of  her  native  kings  to  an  end,  the  first  of 
which  had  begun  under  Menes  about  b.c.  2715,  or  twenty-two 
years  after  the  supposed  accession  of  Shinnung. 

The  absence  of  any  great  remains  of  human  labor  or  art 
previous  to  the  Great  Wall,  like  the  Pj'i-amids,  the  Temple  of 
Solomon,  or  the  ruins  and  mounds  in  Syria,  has  led  many  to 
doubt  the  credibility  of  these  early  Chinese  records.  They  as- 
cribe them  to  the  invention  of  the  historians  of  the  llan  dynasty, 
working  up  the  scattered  relics  of  their  ancient  books  into  a 
readable  nari-ative,  and  therefore  try  to  bring  every  statement 
to  a  critical  test  for  which  there  are  few  facts.  The  analogies 
between  the  records  in  the  Shu  King  and  the  Aryan  myths 
are  skilfully  explained  by  Mr.  Kingsmill  by  reference  to  the 
meanings  of  the  names  of  persons  and  places  and  titles,  and  a 
connection  shown  which  has  the  merit  at  least  of  ingenuity  and 
beauty.  Almost  the  only  actual  known  relic  of  these  three 
dynasties  is  the  series  of  ten  stone  drums  [sMh  ktt)  now  in  the 
Confucian  temple  at  Peking.  They  were  discovered  about  a.d. 
600,  in  the  environs  of  the  ancient  capital  of  the  Chau  dynasty, 
and  have  been  kept  in  Peking  since  the  year  1126.  They  are 
irregularly  shaped  pillars,  from  eighteen  to  thirty-five  inches 
high  and  about  twentj^-eight  inches  across ;  the  inscriptions  are 
much  worn,  but  enough  remains  to  show  that  they  commemo- 


160  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

rate  a  great  hunt  of  Siien  wang  (b.c.  827)  in  the  I'cgion  where 
they  were  found.' 

AmohiT  the  feudal  States  under  the  house  of  Chau,  that  of 
Tsin,  on  the  northwest,  had  long  been  the  most  powerful,  occu- 
pying nearly  a  iifth  of  the  country,  and  its  inhabitants  forming 
a  tenth  of  the  whole  population.  One  of  the  princes,  called 
Chausiang  wang,  carried  his  encroachments  into  the  acknowl- 
edged imperial  possessions,  and  compelled  its  master,  Tungchau 
kiun,  the  last  monarch,  to  humble  himself  at  his  feet.  Although, 
in  fact,  master  of  the  whole  Empire,  he  did  not  take  the  title, 
but  left  it  to  his  son,  Chwangsiang  wang,  who  exterminated  the 
blood  royal  and  ended  the  Chau  dynasty,  yet  lived  only  three 
years  in  possession  of  the  supreme  power. 

The  son  carried  on  his  father's  successes  until  he  had  reduced 
all  the  petty  States  to  his  sway.  lie  then  took  the  name  of  Chi 
Hwangti  ('  Emperor  First')  of  the  Tsin  dynasty,  and  set  himself 
to  regulate  his  conquests  and  establish  his  authority  by  secur- 
ing to  his  subjects  a  better  government  than  had  been  experi- 
enced during  the  feudal  times.  He  divided  the  country  into 
thirty-six  provinces,  over  which  he  placed  governors,  and  went 
throughout  them  all  to  see  that  no  injustice  was  practised. 

This  monarch,  who  has  been  called  the  Napoleon  of  China, 
was  one  of  those  extraordinary  men  who  turn  the  course  of 
events  and  give  an  impress  to  subsequent  ages;  Ivlaproth  gives 
him  a  high  ciuiracter  as  a  prince  of  energy  and  skill,  but  native 
historians  detest  his  name  and  acts.  It  is  recorded  that  at  his 
new  capital,  Ilienyang,  on  the  banks  of  the  Ilwai,  he  constructed 
a  palace  exactly  like  those  of  all  the  kings  who  had  submitted 
to  him,  and  ordered  that  all  the  precious  furniture  of  each  and 
those  persons  who  had  inhabited  them  should  be  ti-ansported  to 
it,  and  everything  rearranged.  The  whole  occupied  an  innnense 
space,  and  the  various  parts  communicated  with  each  other  by 
a  magnificent  colonnade  and  gallery.  He  made  ])rogresses 
through  his  dominions  with  a  splendor  hitherto  unknown,  ac- 
companied by  officials  and  troops  from  all  parts,  thus  making 

'  Journrd  of  the  N.  C.  Branch  of  II.  A.  Society,  Vols.  VII.,  p.  137  ;  VIII.,  pp. 
23,  133.  In  tlie  last  paper,  by  Dr.  Bnshell,  translations  and  fac-similes  of  the 
inscriptions  are  givoii,  with  many  historical  uotictjs. 


TSIX   nil    IIWANGTI,    THE    '  EMPEROK    FIRST.'  IGl 

the  people  interested  in  each  otlier  and  consenting  to  liis  sway. 
He  also  built  public  edifices,  opened  roads  and  canals  to  facili- 
tate intercourse  and  trade  between  the  various  provinces,  and 
repressed  the  incursions  of  the  Iluns,  driving  them  into  the  wilds 
of  Mongolia.  In  order  to  keep  them  out  effectually,  he  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  extending  and  uniting  the  short  walls  which 
the  princes  of  some  of  the  Xortherii  States  had  erected  on  their 
frontier  into  one  grand  wall,  stretching  across  the  Empire  from 
the  sea  to  the  Desert.  This  gigantic  undertaking  was  completed 
in  ten  years  (b.c.  20-i),  at  a  vast  expense  in  men  and  material, 
and  not  until  the  family  of  its  builder  had  been  destroyed. 
This  mode  of  protecting  the  country,  when  once  well  begun, 
probably  commended  itself  to  the  nation.  It  is  impossible,  in- 
deed, to  imagine  otherwise  how  it  could  have  been  done,  for 
the  people  were  required  to  supply  a  quota  of  men  from  each 
place,  feed  and  clothe  them  while  at  work,  and  continue  this 
expense  until  their  portion  was  built.  Xo  monarch  could  have 
maintained  an  army  which  could  force  his  sul)jects  against  their 
\vill  to  do  such  a  work  or  carry  it  on  to  completion  after  his 
death.  It  is  one  of  the  incidental  proofs  of  a  great  population 
that  so  many  laborers  were  found.  However  ineffectual  it  was 
to  preserve  his  frontiers,  it  has  made  his  name  celebrated 
throughout  the  world,  and  his  dynasty  Tsin  has  given  its  name 
to  China  for  all  ages  and  nations.' 

The  vanity  of  the  new  monarch  led  him  to  endeavor  to  de- 
stroy all  records  written  anterior  to  his  own  reign,  that  he  might 
be  by  posterity  regarded  as  the  first  Emperor  of  the  Chinese 
race.  Orders  were  issued  that  every  book  should  be  burned, 
and  especially  the  writings  of  Confucius  and  Mencius,  explana- 
tory of  the  /Shu  King  upon  the  feudal  States  of  Chau,  whose 
remembrance  he  wished  to  blot  out.  This  strange  command 
was  executed  to  such  an  extent  that  many  of  the  Chinese  literati 
believe  that  not  a  perfect  copy  of  the  classical  works  escaped 
destruction,  and  the  texts  were  only  recovered  by  rewriting 
them  from  the  memories  of  old  scholars,  a  mode  of  reproduction 

'  Pautliier,  La  Chine,  pp.  30,  221  ;  Mem.  cone,  les  Chinois,  Tome  III.,  p. 

183. 


162  THE    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

that  does  not  appear  so  singular  to  a  Chinese  as  it  does  to  ua 
If  the  same  literary  tragedy  should  be  re-enacted  to-day,  thou- 
sands of  persons  might  easily  be  found  in  China  M'ho  could  re- 
write from  memory  the  text  and  commentary  of  their  nine 
classical  works.  "  Xevertheless,"  as  Ivlaproth  remarks,  "  they 
were  not  in  fact  all  lost :  for  in  a  country  where  writin":  is  so 
connnon  it  was  almost  impossible  that  all  the  copies  of  works 
universally  respected  should  be  destroyed,  especially  at  a  time 
when  the  material  on  which  they  were  written  was  very  durable, 
being  engraved  with  a  stylet  on  bamboo  tablets,  or  traced  upon 
them  with  dark-colored  varnish."  The  destruction  was  no  doubt 
as  neai'ly  complete  as  possible,  and  not  only  were  many  works 
entirely  destroyed,  but  a  shade  of  doubt  thereby  thrown  over 
the  accuracy  of  others,  and  the  records  of  the  ancient  dynasties 
rendered  suspicious  as  well  as  incomplete.  Not  only  were  books 
sought  after  to  be  destroyed,  but  nearly  live  hundred  literati 
were  buried  alive,  in  order  that  no  one  might  remain  to  re- 
proach, in  their  writings,  the  Emperor  First  with  having  com- 
mitted so  barbarous  and  insane  an  act. 

The  dynasty  of  Tsin,  set  up  in  such  cruelty  and  blood,  did 
not  long  survive  the  death  of  its  founder;  his  son  was  unable 
to  maintain  his  rule  over  the  half-subdued  feudal  chieftains, 
ftnd  after  a  nominal  reign  of  seven  years  he  was  overcome  by 
Liu  Pang,  a  soldier  of  fortune,  who,  having  been  employed  by 
one  of  the  chiefs  as  commander  of  his  forces,  used  them  to  sup- 
port his  own  authority  when  he  had  taken  possession  of  the 
capital.  Under  the  name  of  Kautsu  he  became  the  founder  of 
the  Han  dynasty,  and  his  accession  is  regarded  as  the  commence- 
ment of  modern  Chinese  history.  The  number  and  character 
of  its  heroes  and  literati  are  superior  to  most  other  periods,  and 
to  this  day  the  term  IIa)i-ts2\  or  '  Sons  of  Han,'  is  one  of  the 
favorite  names  by  which  the  Chinese  call  themselves. 

The  first  foui'teen  princes  of  this  dynasty  reigned  in  Shensi, 
but  Jvwangwu  removed  the  ca])ital  from  (^hang-an  to  Lohyang, 
as  was  done  in  the  Chau  dynasty  seven  centuries  b  f  :re,  the  old 
one  being  ruined.  During  the  reign  of  Ping  i  {or  'he  'Em- 
peror ]*eacc')  the  Prince  of  Peace,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  was 
boiii    in   Judea,    a   renuirkable   coincidence    wliich    has   often 


THE  HOUSE   OF   TTAN.  163 

attracted  notice.  During  the  reign  of  Ming  ti,  a.d.  65,  a  depu- 
tation was  sent  to  India  to  obtain  the  sacred  books  and  au- 
thorized teachers  of  Buddhism,  wliich  the  Emperor  intended  to 
publicly  introduce  into  China.  This  faith  had  already  widely 
spread  among  his  subjects,  but  henceforth  it  became  the  popular 
belief  of  the  Chinese  and  extended  eastward  into  Japan.  This 
monarch  and  his  successor,  Chang  ti,  penetrated  with  their  armies 
as  far  westward  as  the  Caspian  Sea,  dividing  and  overcoming  the 
various  tribes  on  the  confines  of  the  Desert  and  at  the  foot  of  the 
Tien  shan,  and  extending  the  limits  of  the  monarchy  in  that  direc- 
tion farther  than  they  are  at  present.  The  Chinese  sway  was 
maintained  with  varied  success  until  toward  the  third  century, 
and  seems  to  have  had  a  mollifying  effect  upon  the  nomads  of 
those  regions.  In  these  distant  expeditions  the  Chinese  heard  of 
the  Romans,  of  whom  their  authors  speak  in  the  highest  terms  : 
"  Everything  precious  and  adnnrable  in  all  other  countries,"  say 
they,  "comes  from  this  land.  Gold  and  silver  money  is  coined 
there;  ten  of  silver  are  worth  one  of  gold.  Their  merchants 
trade  by  sea  with.  Persia  and  India,  and  gain  ten  for  one  in  their 
traffic.  They  are  simple  and  upright,  and  never  have  two  prices 
for  their  goods  ;  grain  is  sold  among  them  very  cheap,  and  large 
sums  are  embarked  in  trade.  Whenever  ambassadors  come  to  the 
frontiers  they  are  provided  with  carriages  to  travel  to  the  capital, 
and  after  their  arrival  a  certain  number  of  pieces  of  gold  are  fur- 
nished them  for  their  expenses."  This  description,  so  character- 
istic of  the  shop-keeping  Chinese,  may  be  compared  to  many 
accounts  given  of  the  Chinese  themselves  by  western  authors. 
Continuing  the  resume  of  dynasties  in  order — 
lY. — The  TsiN  dynasty  is  computed  to  end  with  Chwangsiang 
by  the  authors  of  the  Illstonj  Made  Easy,  and  to  have  existed 
only  three  years,  from  b.c.  249  to  246. 

Y. — The  After  Tsin  dynasty  is  sometimes  joined  to  the  pre- 
ceding, but  Chi  riwangti  regarded  himself  as  the  fii-st  monarch, 
and  began  a  new  house,  wliich,  however,  lasted  only  forty-four 
years,  from  b.(\  246  to  202.  The  connnotions  in  the  farthest 
East  during  this  period  were  not  less  destructive  of  life  than 
the  wars  in  Europe  between  the  Carthaginians  and  Romans,  and 
the  Syrians,  Greeks,  and  Egyptians. 


164  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

VL,  YII.  The  Han  and  Eastern  Han  dynasties. — Liu  Pang 
took  the  title  of  Han  for  his  dj'nasty,  after  the  name  of  his 
principality,  and  his  family  swayed  the  Middle  Kingdom  from 
B.C.  2U2  to  A.u.  221,  under  twenty-six  monarchs.  The  Han 
dynasty  was  the  formative  period  of  Chinese  polity  and  institu- 
tions, and  an  instructive  parallel  can  be  drawn  between  the 
character  and  acts  of  the  Emperors  who  reigned  four  hundred 
years  in  China,  and  the  numerous  consuls,  dictators,  and  em- 
perors who  governed  the  Roman  Empire  for  the  same  period 
from  the  time  of  Scipio  Africanus  to  Ileliogabalus.  The  foun- 
der of  the  Han  is  honored  for  having  begun  the  system  of  com- 
petitive examinations  for  office,  and  his  successors.  Wan  ti, 
Wu  ti,  and  Ivwang-wu,  developed  literature,  commerce,  arts, 
and  good  government  to  a  degree  unknown  before  anywhere  in 
Asia.  In  the  West  the  Ilomans  became  tlie  great  vrorld  power, 
and  the  advent  of  Christ  and  establishment  of  His  church  within 
its  borders  only,  render  this  period  the  turning  epoch  of  prog- 
ress among  niankind. 

The  period  between  the  overthrow  of  the  Han  dynasty,  a.d. 
190,  and  the  establishment  of  the  Eastei-n  Tsin,  a.d.  317,  is 
one  of  the  most  interesting  in  Chinese  historj^,  from  the  variety 
of  characters  which  the  troubles  of  the  times  developed.  The 
distractions  of  this  period  are  described  in  the  Hi stori/ of  the 
Tliree  States,  but  this  entertaining  work  cannot  be  regarded  as 
much  better  than  a  historical  novel.  It  has,  however,  like 
Scott's  stories,  impressed  the  events  and  actors  of  those  days 
upon  the  popular  mind  more  than  any  history  in  the  language. 

VIII. — The  Aftkk  IIan  dynasty  began  a.d.  211,  and  con- 
tinned  forty-four  years,  under  two  princes,  to  a.d.  205.  The 
country  was  divided  into  three  principalities,  called  Wei,  Wu, 
and  Shuh.  The  first,  under  the  son  of  Tsao  Tsao,  ruled  the 
whole  northern  counti'y  at  Lohyang.  and  was  the  most  powerful 
of  them  for  about  forty  years.  The  second,  under  Sinn  Kien, 
occupied  the  eastern  provinces,  from  Shantung  and  the  Yellow 
River  down  to  the  mountains  of  Fuhkien,  holding  liis  court  at 
Nanking.  The  tliird,  under  Liu  Pi,  is  regarded  as  the  legiti- 
mate dynasty  from  his  affinity  with  the  Han ;  he  had  his  capi- 
tal at  Chingtu  fii,  in  Sz'chuen. 


r:6sume  of  the  dynasties.  165 

IX. — The  TsiN  dynasty  was  foimded  by  Sz'ma  Chao,  a  general 
in  the  employ  of  llau  of  tlie  last  house,  who  seated  himself  on 
the  throne  of  his  master  a.d.  265,  the  year  of  the  latter's  death. 
His  son,  Sz'ma  Yen,  took  his  place  and  extended  his  power  over 
the  whole  Empire  by  280.  The  inroads  of  the  Huns  and  internal 
commotions  were  fast  ]-educing  the  people  to  barbai'ism.  Four 
Emperors  of  this  house  held  their  sway  at  Lohyang  during  iif ty- 
two  years,  till  a.d.  317.  The  Iluns  maintained  their  sway  in 
Shensi  until  a.d.  352,  under  the  designations  of  the  Ilan  and 
Chau  dynasties.  It  is  related  of  Liu  Tsung,  one  of  this  barbaric 
race,  that  he  built  a  great  palace  at  Chang-an,  where  he  gathered 
a  myriad  of  the  lirst  subjects  of  his  kingdom  and  lived  in 
luxury  and  magnificence  quite  unknown  before  in  China.  Among 
his  attendants  was  a  body-guard  of  elegantly  dressed  women, 
many  of  whom  were  good  musicians,  which  accompanied  liirn 
on  his  progresses. 

X. — The  Eastern  Tsin  is  the  same  house  as  the  last,  but 
Yuen  ti  having  moved  his  capital  in  317  from  Lohyang  to 
Xanking,  his  successors  are  distinguished  as  the  Eastern  Tsin. 
Eleven  princes  reigned  during  a  period  of  one  hundred  and 
three  years,  down  to  a.d.  420.  Buddhism  was  the  chief  religion 
at  this  time,  and  the  doctrines  of  Confucius  were  highly  esteemed ; 
"  children  of  concubines,  priests,  old  women,  and  nurses  ad- 
ministered the  government,"  says  the  indignant  annalist.  At 
this  period  twelve  independent  and  opposing  kings  struggled 
for  the  ascendency  in  China,  and  held  their  ephemeral  courts  in 
the  north  and  west.  It  was  at  this  time  that  Constantino  moved 
the  capital  of  the  Iloman  Empii-e  in  328,  and  the  nations  of 
northern  Europe  under  Attila  invaded  Italy  in  410. 

XL — The  ScNG,  or  Xorthern  Sung  dynasty,  as  it  is  often 
called  to  distinguish  it  from  tlie  XXIId  dynasty  (a.d.  970),  is 
the  first  of  the  four  dynasties  known  as  the  JVan-peh  C/iao,  or 
'  South-north  dynasties,'  which  preceded  the  Sui.  It  was  founded 
by  Liu  Yu,  who  commanded  the  armies  of  Tsin,  and  gradually 
subdued  all  the  opposing  States.  Displeased  at  the  weakness 
of  his  master,  Xgan  ti,  he  caused  him  to  be  strangled,  and 
placed  his  brother,  Kung  ti,  upon  the  throne,  who,  fearing  a  like 
fate,  abdicated  the  empty  crown,  and  Liu  Yu  became  monarch 


166  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

under  tiie  name  of  Kaiitsu,  A.n.  420.  Eight  princes  held  the 
throne  till  a.d.  479,  many  of  them  monsters  of  ernelt}',  and  soon 
cut  off,  when  Sian  Tau-cliing,  Duke  of  Tsi,  the  prime  minister, 
recompensed  them  as  their  ancestor  had  those  of  Tsin. 

XII.  Tsi  dynasty. — The  new  monarch  took  the  name  of  Kan 
ti,  or  '  High  Emperor,'  bnt  enjoyed  his  dignity  only  four  years. 
Four  princes  succeeded  him  at  iS'anking,  the  last  of  wdiom,  Ilo 
ti,  was  besieged  in  his  capital  by  a  faithless  minister,  assisted 
by  the  pi'ince  of  Liang,  who  overthrew  the  dynasty  a.d.  502, 
after  a  duration  of  twenty-three  years. 

XIII.  LiAKG  dynasty. — The  first  Emperor,  Wu  ti,  reigned 
forty-eight  years,  and  reduced  most  of  his  opponents ;  his  do- 
minions are  described  as  being  mostly  south  of  the  Yangtsz' 
River,  the  Wei  ruling  the  regions  north  of  it.  Wu  ti  did  much 
to  restore  literature  and  tlie  study  of  Confucius ;  envoys  from 
India  and  Persia  also  came  to  his  court,  and  his  just  sway  allowed 
the  land  to  recruit.  In  his  latter  days  he  w^as  so  great  a  de- 
votee of  Buddhism  that  he  retired  to  a  monastery,  like  Charles 
Y.,  but  being  persuaded  to  resume  his  crown,  employed  his  time 
in  teaching  those  doctrines  to  his  assembled  courtiers.  Three 
successors  occupied  the  throne,  the  last  of  whom,  King  ti,  Avas 
killed  A.D.  557,  after  surrendering  himself,  by  the  general  of 
the  troops,  wdio  then  seized  the  crown. 

XIY.  Chin  dynasty. — Three  brothers  reigned  most  of  the 
time  this  house  held  its  sway.  During  this  period  and  that  of 
the  three  preceding  families,  the  Ilunnish  kingdom  of  Wei 
ruled  the  northern  parts  of  C^hina  from  a.d.  380  to  534,  under 
eleven  monarchs,  when  it  was  violently  separated  into  the  East- 
ern and  Western  Wei,  and  a  third  one  called  Chau,  which  ere 
long  destro\'ed  the  last  AVci  at  ('hang-an  and  occupied  northwest 
China.  It  is  probable  that  the  intercoui-se  between  China  and 
other  parts  of  Asia  was  more  extensive  and  complete  during 
the  Wei  dynasty  than  at  any  other  period.  Its  sovereigns  had 
preserved  peaceful  rehitions  with  their  ancestral  seats,  and  with 
tlie  ti-ibes  beyond  Lake  Baikal  and  the  Obi  River  to  the  North 
Sea.  Trade  seems  to  have  flourished  throughout  the  regions 
lying  between  the  Caspian  Sea  and  Corea,  and  tlie  records  of 
this  period  present  accounts  of  the  State  in  this  vast  tract  to  be 


THE   SUI    AND   TANO    DYNASTIES.  I67 

found  nowhere  else.  One  of  these  works  referred  to  by  Rc- 
nriiisat  is  the  report  of  officers  sent  by  Tai-wii  during  liis  reign 
to  travel  through  his  dominions  (424-451)  and  give  full  accounts 
of  them. 

One  of  the  sovereigns  of  Chan,  Wu  ti  (a.d.  561-572),  had 
given  his  daughter  in  marriage  to  Yang  Kien,  the  Prince  of  Sui, 
one  of  his  ministers,  who,  gradually  extending  his  influence, 
took  possession  of  the  throne  of  his  master  Tsiiig  ti  in  580.  In 
a  few  years  he  restored  order  to  a  distracted  land  by  bringing 
the  several  States  under  his  sway  and  reuniting  all  China  under 
his  hand  a.d.  589,  after  it  had  been  divided  nearly  four  cen- 
turies. 

XV.  Sui  dynasty. — The  founder  of  this  house  has  left  an  en- 
during name  in  Chinese  annals  by  a  survey  of  his  dominions  and 
division  of  them  into  interdependent  vhau^  klun,  and  hleii^  with 
corresponding  officers,  an  arrangement  which  lias  ever  since 
existed.  lie  patronized  letters  and  commerce,  and  tried  to  in- 
troduce the  system  of  caste  from  India.  After  a  vigorous  reign 
of  twenty-four  years  he  was  killed  by  his  son  Yang  ti,  who 
carried  on  his  father's  plans,  and  during  the  fourteen  years  of 
his  reign  extended  the  frontiers  through  the  Tarim  Yalley  and 
down  to  the  Southern  Ocean.  His  murder  by  one  of  his  generals 
was  the  signal  for  several  ambitious  men  to  rise,  but  the  Prince 
of  Tang  aided  tlie  son  to  rule  for  a  year  or  two  till  he  was  re- 
moved, thus  bringing  the  Sui  dynasty  to  an  end  after  thirty-nine 
years,  but  not  before  its  two  sovereigns  had  taught  their  subjects 
the  benefits  of  an  undivided  sway. 

XYI.  Tang  dynasty. — This  celebrated  line  of  princes  began 
its  sway  in  peace,  and  during  the  two  hundred  and  eightj'-sevcn 
years  (018  to  90S)  they  held  the  throne  China  was  probably  the 
most  civilized  country  on  earth  ;  the  darkest  days  of  the  West, 
when  Europe  was  wrapped  in  the  ignorance  and  degradation  of 
the  Middle  Ages,  formed  the  brightest  era  of  the  East.  They 
exercised  a  humanizing  effect  on  all  the  surrounding  countries, 
and  led  their  inhabitants  to  see  the  benefits  and  understand  the 
management  of  a  government  where  the  laws  were  above  the 
officers.  The  people  along  the  southern  coast  were  completely 
civilized  and  incorporated  into  the  Chinese  race,  and  mark  the 


168  THE    .MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

cliange  by  always  calling  themselves  Tang  Jin,  or  '  Men  of 
Tang/  An  interesting  work  on  the  trade  and  condition  of 
China  at  this  time  is  the  AMihar-al-Syn  oual-Hind,  or  '  Obser- 
vations on  China  and  India,'  by  two  Arab  travellers  to  those 
lands  in  the  years  851  and  878,  compiled  by  Abu  Zaid  and 
translated  by  lieinaud  in  1845.'  Li  Shi-mii],  the  son  of  Li  Ynen 
the  founder  of  this  dynasty,  may  be  regarded  as  the  most  ac- 
complished monarch  in  the  Chinese  annals — famed  alike  for  his 
wisdom  and  nobleness,  his  conquests  and  good  government,  his 
temperance,  cultivated  tastes,  and  patronage  of  literary  inen. 
AVhile  still  Prince  of  Tang  he  contributed  greatly  to  his  father's 
elevation  and  to  the  extension  of  his  sway  over  the  regions  of 
Central  Asia.  When  the  house  of  Tang  was  fully  acknowl- 
edged, and  the  eleven  rival  States  which  had  started  up  on  the 
close  of  the  house  of  Sui  had  been  overcome,  the  capital  was 
removed  from  Lohyang  back  to  Chang-an,  and  everything  done 
to  compose  the  disordered  country  and  reunite  the  distracted 
State  under  a  reo-ular  and  vigorous  administration.  Feeline: 
himself  unequal  to  all  the  cares  of  his  great  office,  Li  Yuen, 
known  as  Kau-tsu  Shin  Yao  ti  (lit.  '  High  Progenitor,  the  Di- 
vine Yao  Emperor '),  resigned  the  j^ellow  in  favor  of  his  son, 
who  took  the  style  of  Chlng  hioan  {'  Pure  Observer ')  for  his 
reign,  though  his  posthumous  title  is  Tai-tsung  Wan-w^i  ti  ('  Our 
Exalted  Ancestor,  the  Literary-Martial  Emperor '),  a.d.  627, 
and  still  further  extended  his  victorious  arms.  One  of  his  first 
acts  was  to  establish  schools  and  institute  a  s^'^stem  of  literary 
examinations ;  he  ordered  a  complete  and  accurate  edition  of 
all  the  classics  to  be  published  under  the  supervision  of  the 
most  learned  men  in  the  Empire,  and  honored  the  memory  of 
Confucius  with  special  ceremonies  of  respect.  Extraordinary 
pains  were  taken  to  prepare  and  preserve  the  historical  records 
of  former  days  and  draw  up  full  annals  of  the  recent  dynasties ; 
these  still  await  the  examination  of  western  scholars. 

lie  constructed  a  code  of  laws  for  the  direction  of  his  high 
officers  in  their  judicial  functions,  and  made  progresses  through 

'  Chinese  Repository,  Vol.  I.,  p.  6;  Reinaud,  Relations  des  Voyages,  2  Vols.. 
Paris,  1845.     Yule,  CatJiay  and  the  Way  Thithtr,  Introd.,  p.  cii. 


TAI-TSLTN(J,    FOUNDER   OF   THE   HOUSE   OF   TAXG.     169 

lii.s  doiniiiions  to  inspect  the  condition  of  the  people.  During 
liis  reign  the  limits  of  the  Enipii-e  were  extended  over  all  the 
Turkisli  tribes  lying  west  of  Kiinsuh  and  south  of  the  Tien 
shan  as  far  as  the  Caspian  Sea,  which  were  placed  nnder  four 
satrapies  or  residences,  those  of  Kuche,  Pisha  or  Khoten,  Ila- 
rashar,  and  Kashgar,  as  their  names  are  at  present.  West  of  the 
last  many  smaller  tribes  submitted  and  rendered  a  partial  sub- 
jection to  the  Emperor,  who  arranged  them  into  sixteen  govern- 
ments under  the  management  of  a  governor-general  over  theii- 
own  chieftains.  His  frontiers  reached  from  the  borders  of 
Persia,  the  Caspian  Sea,  and  the  Altai  of  the  Kirghis  steppe, 
along  those  mountains  to  the  north  side  of  Gobi  eastward  to 
the  Inner  Iling-an.  Sogdiana  and  part  of  Khorassan,  and  the 
regions  around  the  llindu-kush,  also  obeyed  him.  The  rulers 
of  Xipal  and  Magadha  or  Bahar  in  India  sent  their  salutations 
by  their  ambassadors,  and  the  Greek  Emperor  Theodosius  sent 
an  envoy  to  Si-ngan  in  643  carrying  presents  of  rubies  and 
emeralds,  as  did  also  the  Persians.  The  IS^estorian  missionaries 
also  presented  themselves  at  court.  Tai-tsung  received  them 
with  respect,  and  heard  them  rehearse  the  leading  tenets  of 
their  doctrine  ;  he  ordered  a  temple  to  be  erected  at  his  capital, 
and  had  some  of  their  sacred  books  translated  for  his  examina- 
tion, though  there  is  no  evidence  now  remaining  that  any  por- 
tion of  the  Bible  was  done  into  Chinese  at  this  time. 

Near  the  close  of  his  life  Tai-tsung  undertook  an  expedition 
against  Corea,  but  the  conquest  of  that  country  was  completed 
by  his  son  after  his  death.  A  sentiment  has  been  preserved  at 
this  time  of  his  life  which  he  uttered  to  his  sons  while  sailing 
t)n  the  River  Wei :  "'  See,  my  children,  the  waves  which  lloat  our 
fragile  bark  are  able  to  submerge  it  in  an  instant ;  know  as- 
suredly that  the  people  are  like  the  waves,  and  the  Emperor  like 
this  fragile  bark."  During  his  reign  his  life  was  attempted 
several  times,  once  by  his  own  son,  but  he  was  preserved  from 
these  attacks,  and  died  after  a  reign  of  twenty-three  years, 
deeply  lamented  by  a  grateful  people.  The  Chinese  accounts 
state  that  the  foreign  envoys  resident  at  his  court  cut  off  their 
hair,  some  of  them  disfigured  their  faces,  bled  themselves,  and 
sprinkled  the  blood  around  the  bier  in  testimony  of  their  grief. 


170  THE   -MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  truth  in  this  respect,  many  proofs 
exist  of  the  distinguished  character  of  this  monarch,  and  that 
the  high  reputation  he  enjoyed  during  his  lifetime  was  a  just 
tribute  to  his  excellences,  lie  will  favorably  compare  with 
Akbar,  Marcus  Aurelius,  and  Kanghi,  or  with  Charlemagne  and 
llarun  Al  Ilaschid,  who  came  to  their  thrones  in  the  next  cen- 
tury. ^ 

Tai-tsung  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Kau-tsung,  whose  indolent 
imbecility  appeared  the  more  despicable  after  his  father's  vigor, 
but  his  reign  fills  a  large  place  in  Chinese  history,  from  the  ex- 
traordinary career  of  his  Empress,  Wn  Tsih-tien,  or  AVu  hao 
('  Empress  "Wu ')  as  she  is  called,  who  by  her  blandishments  ob- 
tained entire  conti'ol  over  him.  The  character  of  this  woman 
has,  no  doubt,  suifered  much  from  the  bad  reputation  native 
historians  have  given  her,  but  enough  can  be  gathered  from 
their  accounts  to  show  that  with  all  her  cruelty  she  understood 
how  to  maintain  the  authority  of  the  crown,  repress  foreign  in- 
vasions, quell  domestic  sedition,  and  provide  for  the  wants  of 
the  people.  Introduced  to  the  harem  of  Tai-tsung  at  the  age  of 
fourteen,  she  was  sent  at  his  death  to  the  retreat  where  all  his 
women  were  condemned  for  the  rest  of  their  days  to  honorable 
imprisonment.  While  a  member  of  the  palace  Kau-tsung  had 
been  charmed  with  her  appearance,  and,  having  seen  her  atone 
of  the  state  ceremonies  connected  with  the  ancestral  worship, 
bi'ought  her  back  to  the  palace.  His  queen,  Wang-shi,  also 
favored  his  attentions  in  order  to  draw  them  off  from  another 
rival,  but  AV^u  Tsih-tien  soon  (obtaining  entire  sway  over  the 
moiuirch,  united  both  women  against  her  ;  she  managed  to 
fill  the  principal  offices  with  her  friends,  and  by  a  series  of 
manonivres  supplanted  each  in  turn  and  became  Empress.  One 
means  she  took  to  excite  suspicion  against  Wang-shi  was,  on 
occasion  of  the  birth  of  her  first  child,  after  the  Empress  had 
visited  it  and  before  Kau-tsung  came  in  to  see  his  offspring,  to 
strangle  it  and  charge  the  crime  upon  her  Majesty,  which  led 
to  her  trial,  degradation,  and  impi-isonment,  and  ere  long  to  her 
death. 

As  soon  as  she  became  Emj)ress  (in  O,"),")),  Wu  began  gradually 
to  assume  more  and  moi'e  authority,  until,  long  before  the  Em- 


THE   EMPRESS    WU   TSIH-TIEN.  171 

peror's  death  in  684,  she  engrossed  tlie  whole  management  of 
affairs,  and  at  his  demise  opeidy  assumed  the  reins  of  govern- 
ment, wliich  slie  wielded  for  twenty-one  years  with  no  weak 
hand.  Her  generals  extended  the  limits  of  the  Empire,  and  her 
officers  carried  into  effect  her  orders  to  alleviate  the  miseries  of 
the  people.  Her  cruelty  vented  itself  in  the  nnirder  of  all 
who  opposed  her  will,  even  to  her  own  sons  and  relatives  ;  and 
her  pride  was  rather  exhibited  than  gratified  by  her  assuming  the 
titles  of  Queen  of  Heaven,  Holy  and  Divine  Ttuler,  Holy  Mother, 
and  Divine  Sovereign.  When  she  was  disabled  by  age  her  son, 
Chung-sung,  supported  by  some  of  the  first  men  of  the  land, 
asserted  his  claim  to  the  throne,  and  by  a  palace  conspiracy  suc- 
ceeded in  removing  her  to  her  own  apartments,  where  she  died 
aged  eighty-one  years.  Her  character  has  been  blackened  in 
native  histories  and  popular  tales,  and  her  conduct  held  up  as 
an  additional  evidence  of  the  evil  of  allowing  women  to  meddle 
with  governments.' 

A  race  of  twenty  monarchs  swayed  the  sceptre  of  the  house 
of  Tang,  but  after  the  demise  of  the  Empress  Wu  Tsih-tien 
none  of  them  equalled  Tai-tsung,  and  the  Tang  dynasty  at  last 
succumbed  to  ambitious  ministers  lording  over  its  imbecile 
sovereigns.  In  the  reign  of  IHuen-tsung,  about  the  year  722, 
the  population  of  the  Fifteen  Provinces  is  said  to  have  been 
52,884,818.  The  last  three  or  four  Em])erors  exhibited  the  usual 
marks  of  a  declining  house — eunuchs  or  favorites  promoted  by 
them  swayed  the  realm  and  dissipated  its  resources.  At  last, 
Li  TsQen-chung,  a  general  of  Chau-tsung,  whom  he  had  aided 
in  quelling  the  eunuchs  in  904,  rose  against  his  master,  destroyed 
him,  and  compelled  his  son,  Chau-siuen  ti,  to  abdicate,  a.d.  907. 

XYH.  After  Liang  dynasty. — The  destruction  of  the  famous 
dynasty  loosened  the  bonds  of  all  government,  and  nine  sepa- 
rate kings  struggled  for  its  provinces,  some  of  whom,  as  Apki 
over  the  Kitan  in  the  north-east,  succeeded  in  founding  kingdoms. 
The  Prince  of  Liang,  the  new  Emperor,  was  unable  to  extend 
his  sway  beyond  the  provinces  of  Honan  and  Shantung.    After 

'  Chinese  Repository,  Vol.  III.,  p.  543  ;  Canton  MisceUany,  No.  4,  1831,  pp 
24Gfif. 


172  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

a  short  reign  of  six  years  lie  was  killed  by  liis  brother,  Liang 
Chn-tien,  who,  on  his  part,  fell  under  the  attack  of  a  Turkish 
general,  and  ended  this  dynasty,  a.d.  923,  after  a  duration  of 
sixteen  years. 

XVIII.  Aftek  Tang  dynasty. — The  conqueror  called  himself 
(Jhwang-tsung,  and  his  dynasty  Tang,  as  if  in  continuation  of 
that  line  of  princes,  but  this  mode  of  securing  popularity  was 
unsuccessful.  Like  Pertinax,  Aurelian,  and  others  of  the  Ro- 
man emperors,  he  was  killed  by  his  troops,  who  chose  a  succes- 
sor, and  his  grandson,  unable  to  resist  his  enemies,  burned  him- 
self in  his  palace,  a.d.  930,  thus  ending  the  weak  dynasty  after 
thirteen  years  of  struggle. 

XIX.  After  Tsin  dynasty. — The  Kitan  or  Tartars  of  Liau- 
timg,  who  had  assisted  in  the  overthrow  of  the  hist  dynasty, 
compelled  the  new  monarch  to  subsidize  them  at  his  accession, 
A.D.  93G,  by  ceding  to  them  sixteen  cities  in  Chihli,  and  promis- 
ing an  annual  tiibute  of  three  hundred  thousand  pieces  of  silk. 
This  disgraceful  submission  has  ever  since  stigmatized  Tien-fuh 
('  Heavenly  Happiness  ')  in  the  eyes  of  native  historians.  IBs 
nephew  who  succeeded  him  is  known  as  Chuh  ti  (the  '  Carried- 
away  Emperor '),  and  was  i-emoved  in  9J:7  by  those  who  put 
Iiim  on  the  throne,  thus  ending  the  meanest  house  which  ever 
swayed  the  black-haired  people. 

XX.  AFrKu  Hax  dynasty. — The  Tartars  now  endeavored  to 
subdne  the  whole  country,  but  were  repulsed  by  Liu  Clii-yuen, 
a  loyal  general  who  assumed  the  yellow  in  947,  and  called  his 
dynasty  after  the  renowned  house  of  Han  ;  he  and  his  son  held 
sway  four  years,  till  a.d.  951,  and  then  were  cut  olf. 

XXI.  Afti:u  Chau  dynasty. — Ko  Wei,  the  successful  aspi- 
rant to  the  throne,  maintained  his  seat,  but  died  in  thi'ee  years, 
leaving  his  power  to  an  adopted  son,  Shi-tsung,  whose  vigorous 
rule  consolidated  his  still  unsettled  sway.  His  early  death  and 
the  youth  of  his  son  decided  his  generals  to  bestow  the  sceptic 
upon  the  lately  appointed  tutor  to  tlie  monarch,  which  closed 
the  After  Chau  dynasty  a.d.  900,  after  a  bi-ief  duiation  of  nine 
years.  He  was  honored  with  a  title,  and,  like  Richard  ( h'omwell, 
allowed  to  live  in  quiet  till  his  death  in  973,  a  fact  creditable  to 
the  new  monarch.     These  short-lived  houses  between  a.d.  907- 


THE   WU   TAI,    on   FIVE   DYNASTIES.  173 

9G0  are  known  in  Chinese  history  as  the  Wu  tai,  or  '  Five 
Dynasties.'  AVhile  they  stiiiggled  for  supremacy  in  the  valle\- 
of  the  Yellow  Iliver,  the  regions  south  and  west  were  portioned 
among  seven  houses,  who  ruled  them  in  a  good  degree  of  security. 
Fuhkien  was  held  l)y  the  King  of  Min,  and  Kiaiignan  by  the 
King  of  Wu ;  the  regions  of  Sz'chuen,  Xganhwui,  and  Kansuh 
were  held  by  generals  of  note  in  the  service  of  Tang  ;  another 
general  held  Kwangtung  at  Canton  through  two  or  three  reigns  ; 
aiid  another  exercised  sway  at  Kingchau  on  the  Yangtsz'  Kiver. 
It  is  needless  to  mention  them  all.  During  this  period  Europe 
M'as  distracted  by  the  wars  of  the  Xormans  and  Saracens,  and 
learning  there  was  at  a  low  ebb. 

XXIL— SrxG  dynasty  began  A.D.  9TU,  and  maintained  its  power 
over  the  whole  Empire  for  one  hundred  and  fifty-seven  years,  till 
A.D.  1127.  The  mode  in  which  its  founder,  Chan  Kwang-yun,  was 
made  head  of  the  State,  reminds  one  of  the  way  in  which  the 
Pmetorian  guards  sometimes  elevated  their  chiefs  to  the  throne  of 
the  Caisars.  After  the  military  leaders  had  decided  upon  their 
future  sovereign  they  sent  messengers  to  announce  to  him  his  new 
honor,  who  found  him  drunk,  and  "before  he  had  time  to  reply 
the  yellow  robe  was  already  thrown  over  his  person."  At  the 
close  of  his  reign  of  seventeen  years  the  provinces  had  mostly  sub- 
mitted to  his  power  at  Kaifnng,  but  the  two  Tartar  kingdoms  of 
Liau  and  Jlia  remained  independent.  This  return  to  a  central- 
ized govei'nment  proves  the  unity  of  the  Chinese  people  at  this 
time  in  their  own  limits,  as  well  as  their  inability  to  induce  their 
neighbors  to  adopt  the  same  system  of  government.  The  suc- 
cessors of  Tai-tsu  of  Sling  had  a  constant  struggle  for  existence 
with  their  adversaries  on  the  north  and  west,  the  Liau  and  Ilia, 
whose  recent  taste  of  power  under  the  last  two  dynasties  had 
shown  them  their  opportunity.  On  the  return  of  prosperity  under 
his  brother's  reign  of  twenty-two  years,  the  former  institutions 
and  political  divisions  were  restored  throughout  the  southern  half 
of  the  Empire ;  good  government  was  secured,  aided  by  able 
generals  and  loyal  ministers,  and  the  rebels  everywhere  quelled. 
Chin-tsung  was  the  third  sovereign,  and  his  reign  of  forty-one 
years  is  the  brightest  portion  of  the  house  of  Sung.  The  kings 
of  Ilia  in  Kansuh  acknowledged  themselves  to  be  his  tributaries, 


174  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

but  he  bought  a  cowardly  peace  with  the  Liau  on  the  north-east. 
During  his  reign  and  that  of  his  son,  Tin-tsung,  a  violent  con- 
troversy arose  among  the  literati  and  officials  as  to  tlie  best 
mode  of  conducting  the  government.  Some  of  them,  as  Sz'ma 
Kwang  the  historian,  contended  for  the  maintenance  of  the  old 
principles  of  the  sages.  Others,  of  whom  Wang  i^gan-shi  was  the 
distinguished  leader,  advocated  reform  and  change  to  the  entire 
overthrow  of  existing  institutions.  For  the  first  time  in  tlie  his- 
tory of  China,  two  political  parties  peacefully  struggled  for 
supremacy,  each  content  to  depend  on  argument  and  truth  for 
the  victory.  The  contest  soon  grew  too  bitter,  however,  and  the 
accession  of  a  new  monarch,  Shin-tsung,  enabled  AVang  to  dis- 
possess his  opponents  and  manage  State  affairs  as  he  pleased. 
After  a  trial  of  eight  or  ten  years  the  voice  of  the  nation  restored 
the  conservatives  to  power,  and  the  radicals  were  banished  be- 
yond the  fi'ontier.  A  discussion  like  this,  involving  all  the 
cherished  ideas  of  the  Chinese,  brought  out  deep  and  acute 
inquiry  into  the  nature  and  uses  of  things  generally,  and  the 
Avriters  of  this  dynasty,  at  the  head  of  Avhom  was  Cliu  Hi, 
made  a  lasting  impression  on  the  national  mind. 

The  two  sons  of  Shin-tsung  were  unable  to  oppose  the  northern 
hordes  of  Liau  and  Ilia,  except  by  setting  a  third  aspirant  against 
both.  These  were  the  Niu-chih  or  Kin,'  the  ancestors  of  the 
present  Man'chus,  who  carried  away  llwui-tsung  as  a  captive  in 
1125,  and  his  son  too  the  next  year,  pillaging  Lohyang  and 
possessing  themselves  of  the  region  north  of  the  Yellow  Kiver. 
This  closed  the  Northern  Sung.  The  Kin  established  themselves 
at  Peking  in  1118,  whence  they  were  driven  in  1235  by  Genghis 
Khan,  and  fled  back  to  the  ancestral  haunts  on  the  Songari  and 
Liau  Itivers, 

XXIII. — Southern  Sung  dynasty  forms  part  of  the  preceding, 
for  Kao-tsung,  the  brother  of  the  last  and  ninth  monarch  of  the 
weakened  house  of  Northern  Sung,  seeing  his  capital  in  ruins, 
fled  to  Nanking,  and  soon  after  to  the  beautiful  city  of  llang- 
chau  on  the  eastern  coast  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tsientang  Kiver. 

'  Two  graves  of  the  Kin  monarchs  exist  on  a  hill  west  of  Fangshan  hien, 
fifty  miles  sonth-west  of  Peking;  tliey  were  repaired  by  Kanghi.  Dr.  Busliell 
visited  them  in  1870. 


THE  NORTHERN  AND  SOUTHERN  SUNG.       175 

Nanking  was  pillaged  by  the  Kin,  but  Ilangeliau  was  too  far  for 
tliem.  It  gradually  grew  in  size  and  strength,  and  became  a 
famous  capital.  Kao-tsung  resigned  in  liG2,  after  a  reign  of 
tliirty-SiX  years,  and  survived  his  abdication  twenty-four  years. 
The  next  Emperor  was  Iliao-tsung,  who  also  resigned  the  yellow 
to  Kwang-tsung,  his  son,  and  he  again  yielded  it  to  his  son  Ning- 
tsung.  This  last,  in  his  distress,  called  the  rising  Mongols  into  his 
service  in  1228  to  help  against  the  Kin.  The  distance  from  the 
northern  frontier,  wdiere  the  Mongols  were  flushed  with  their 
successes  over  the  Tangouth  of  Ilia  at  Kinghia  in  1226,  was  too 
far  for  them  to  aid  Xing-tsung  at  this  time.  He  was,  however, 
relieved  from  danger  to  himself,  and  the  Mongols  deferred  their 
intentions  for  a  few  years.  From  this  date  for  about  fifty  years 
the  Sung  grew  weaker  and  weaker  under  the  next  five  sover- 
eigns, until  the  last  scion,  Ti  Ping,  was  drowned  with  some  of 
his  courtiers,  one  of  whom,  clasping  him  in  his  arms,  jumped 
from  the  vessel,  and  ended  their  life,  dignity,  and  dynasty  to- 
gether. It  had  lasted  one  hundred  and  fifty-two  years  under 
nine  raonarchs,  who  showed  less  ability  than  those  of  Northern 
Sung,  and  were  all  nnich  inferior  as  a  whole  to  the  house  of  Tang. 
Their  patronage  of  letters  and  the  arts  of  peace  was  nnaccom- 
])anied  by  the  vigor  of  their  predecessors,  for  they  were  unwill- 
ing to  leave  the  capital  and  risk  all  at  the  head  of  their  troops. 
It  is  the  genius  and  piiilosophy  of  its  scholars  that  has  made  the 
Sung  one  of  the  great  dynasties  of  the  Middle  Kingdom. 

XXIV. — The  YuKN  dynasty  was  the  first  foreign  sway  tc 
which  the  Sons  of  IJan  had  submitted;  their  resistance  to  the 
army,  which  gradually  overran  the  country,  was  weakened,  how- 
ever, by  treachery  and  desultory  tactics  until  the  national  spirit 
w'as  frittered  away.  During  the  interval  between  the  capture  of 
Peking  by  Genghis  and  the  final  extinction  of  the  Sung  dynast}', 
the  whole  population  had  become  somewhat  accustomed  to 
Mongol  rule.  Having  no  organized  government  of  their  own, 
these  khans  were  content  to  allow  the  Chinese  the  full  exercise 
of  their  own  laws,  if  peace  and  taxation  were  duly  upheld. 
Kublai  had  had  ample  opportunity  to  learn  the  character  of  liis 
new  subjects,  and  after  the  death  of  Mangu  khan  in  1260  and  his 
own  establishment  at  Peking  in  1261,  he  in  fifteen  years  brought 


176  THE    MIDDLE    KIXGDOM. 

his  vast  dominions  under  a  nietliodical  sway  and  developed  their 
resources  more  than  ever.  Though  faihng  in  his  attempt  to  eon 
(pier  Japan,  ho  enlai'ged  elsewhere  liis  vanisliing  frontiei'S  (hiring 
liis  Hfe  till  they  could  neither  be  dehned  nor  governed.  His 
patronage  of  merit  and  scholarship  proves  the  good  results  of 
his  tu*:elage  in  China,  while  the  short-lived  glory  of  his  adminis- 
tration in  other  hands  chielly  proved  what  good  material  he 
had  to  work  with  in  China  in  comparison  with  his  own  race.' 
He  was  a  vigorous  and  magnificent  prince,  and  had,  moreover, 
the  advantage  of  having  his  acts  and  splendor  related  by  Marco 
Polo — a  chronicler  worthy  of  his  subject.  The  Grand  Canal, 
which  was  deepened  and  lengthened  during  his  reign,  is  a  last- 
ing token  of  his  sagacity  and  eidightened  policy.  An  inter- 
esting monument  of  this  dynasty,  erected  in  1315,  is  the  gat^ 
way  in  the  Kii-yung  kwan  (pass)  of  the  Great  Wall  north  of 
Peking.  Upon  the  interior  of  this  arch  is  cnt  a  Buddhist  charm 
in  six  different  kinds  of  character — Mongolian,  Chinese,  Oigour, 
antifjue  Devanagari,  Niu-chih,  and  Tibet  m.'' 

After  the  Grand  Khan's  death  the  ]^[ongols  retained  their 
power  under  the  reign  of  Ching-tsung,  or  T'imur  khan,  a  grandson 
of  Kublai,  and  Wu-tsung,  or  Genesek  khan,'  a  nephew  of  the  for- 
mer, but  their  successors  met  \vith  opj^osition,  or  were  destroyed 
by  treachery.  The  offices  were  also  filled  with  Mongols,  without 
any  regard  to  the  former  mode  of  conferring  rank  according 
to  literary  qualifications,  and  the  native  Chinese  began  to  be 
thoroughly  dissatisfied  M'ith  a  sway  in  which  they  had  no  pai-t. 
The  last  and  eleventh,  named  Ching-tsung,  or  Tohan-Timur, 
came  to  the  throne  at  the  age  of  thirteen,  iind  gave  himself  up 
to  pleasure,  his  eunuchs  and  ministers  dividing  the  possessions 
and  offices  of  the  Chinese  among  themselves  and  their  adherents. 
This  conduct  aroused  his  subjects,  and  Chu  Vuen-cluing,  a  ple- 
beian by  birth,  and  formerly  a  i)riest,  raised   the  standard  of 


'See  'Remusa.t,' JVbuvemix  Melanges,  Tomes  I.,  p.  437;  TI.,  pp.  64,  88,  and  SO- 
OT, for  a  series  of  notices  concerning  the  Mongol  generalii  and  liistor}'. 

'Compare  Wylie  in  the  R.  A.  Sor.  Join;,  Vol.  V.  (N.S  ),  i>.  14;  Fergusson, 
Hint.  Ind.  iind  Kitxt.  Airhittrtiirc,  p.  708  ;  YuU^^'s  Polo,  I.,  pp.  '28,  400. 

^  This  should  be  Kaishaii-kuUuk  klian,  caUed  Kdi-mnrj  in  (Jhinese.  Remusat, 
Nouveaux  MelanycH,  Tome  II.,  j)p.  1-4. 


<iATEWAY    OF   THE    YUEN    UYNASTV,    KL-YUNti   KWAN,    OKEAT    WALL 


THE    Sin'REMACY    OF   THE    MONGOLS.  177 

revolt,  and  finally  expelled  the  Mongols,  a.d.  136S,  after  a  dura- 
tion of  eighty-nine  yeai's.' 

Like  most  of  the  preceding  dynasties,  the  new  one  established 
itself  on' the  misrule,  luxury,  and  weakness  of  its  predecessors; 
the  people  submitted  to  a  vigorous  rule,  as  one  which  exhibited 
the  true  exposition  of  the  decrees  of  Heaven,  and  npheld  its 
laws  and  the  harmony  of  the  universe ;  while  a  weak  sovereign 
plainly  evinced  his  usurpation  of  the  "  divine  utensil  "  and  un- 
fitness for  the  post  by  tlie  disorders,  famines,  piracies,  and 
insurrections  which  afflicted  the  mismanaged  State,  and  which 
were  all  taken  by  ambitious  leaders  as  evidences  of  a  change  in 
the  choice  of  Heaven,  and  reasons  for  their  carrying  out  the  new 
selection  which  had  fallen  on  them.  Amid  all  the  revolutions 
in  China,  none  have  been  founded  on  principle  ;  they  were  mere 
mutations  of  masters,  attended  with  more  or  less  destruction  of 
life,  and  no  better  appreciation  of  the  rights  of  the  subject  or 
the  powers  of  the  rulers,  Xor  without  some  knowledge  of  the 
high  obligations  man  owes  his  Maker  and  himself  is  it  easy  to 
see  whence  the  sustaining  motive  of  free  religious  and  political 
institutions  can  be  derived. 

XXY.  The  MixG,  i.e.,  '  Bright  dynasty.' — The  character  of 
Ilungwu,  as  Chu  Yuen-chang  called  his  reign  on  his  accession, 
has  been  Avell  drawn  by  Remusat,  who  accords  him  a  high  rank 
for  the  vigor  and  talents  manifested  in  overcoming  his  ene- 
mies and  cementing  his  power.  He  established  his  capital 
at  banking,  or  the  '  Southern  Capital,'  and  after  a  reign  of 
thirty  years  transmitted  the  sceptre  to  his  grandson,  Kienwtin, 
a  youth  of  sixteen.  Yungloh,  his  son,  dissatisfied  with  this  ar- 
rangement, overcame  his  nephew  and  seized  the  crown  after 
five  years,  and  moved  the  capital  back  to  Peking  in  1403.  This 
prince  is  distinguished  for  the  code  of  laws  framed  under  his 
auspices,  which  has,  with  some  modifications  and  additions, 
ever  since  remained  as  the  basis  of  the  administi-ation.  During 
the  reign  of  Kiahtsing  the  Portuguese  came  to  China,  and  in  that 
of  Wanleih,  about  1580,  the  Jesuits  gai-ned  an  entrance  into  the 

'  One  of  the  causes  of  their  easy  overthrow  is  stated  to  have  been  the  enor- 
mous robbery  of  the  people  by  the  lavish  issue  of  paper  money,  which  at  last 
became  worthless. 


178  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

country.  In  his  time,  too,  the  Niu-cliih,  or  Kin,  whom  Gen* 
ghis  liad  driven  away  in  1235,  again  became  numerous  and 
troublesome,  and  took  possession  of  the  northern  frontiers. 
The  first  chieftain  of  the  Manchus  who  attained  celebrity  was 
Tienming,  who  in  1618  published  a  manifesto  of  his  designs 
against  the  house  of  Ming,  in  which  he  announced  to  Heaven 
the  seven  things  he  was  bound  to  revenge.  These  consisted  of 
petty  oppressions  upon  persons  passing  the  frontiers,  assisting 
his  enemies,  violating  the  oath  and  treaty  of  peace  entered  intc 
between  the  two  rulers,  and  killing  his  envoys.  The  fierce  no- 
mad had  already  assumed  the  title  of  Emperoi-,  and  "  vowed  to 
celebrate  the  funeral  of  his  father  with  the  slaughter  of  two 
hundred  thousand  Chinese."  Tienming  overran  the  north-east- 
ern parts  of  China,  and  committed  unsparing  cruelties  upon  the 
people  of  Liautung,  but  died  in  1627,  before  he  had  satisfied 
his  revenge,  leaving  it  and  his  army  to  his  son  Tientsung. 

The  Chinese  army  fought  bravely,  though  unsuccessfully, 
against  the  warlike  Manchus,  whose  chief  not  only  strove  to 
subdue,  but  endeavored,  by  promises  and  largesses,  to  win  the 
troops  from  their  allegiance.  The  apparently  audacious  attempt 
of  this  small  force  to  subdue  the  Chinese  was  assisted  by  nu- 
merous bodies  of  rebels,  who,  like  wasps,  sprung  up  in  various 
parts  of  the  country,  the  leaders  of  each  asserting  his  claims  to 
the  throne,  and  all  of  them  i-endering  their  common  country  an 
easier  prey  to  the  invader.  One  of  them,  called  Li  Tsz'-ching, 
attacked  Peking,  and  the  last  Emperor  Hwai-tsung,  feeling  that 
he  had  little  to  hope  for  after  the  loss  of  his  capital,  and  had 
already  estranged  the  affections  of  his  subjects  by  his  ill  con- 
duct, first  stabbed  his  daughter  and  then  hung  himself,  in  1643, 
and  ended  the  house  of  Ming,  after  two  hundred  and  seventy- 
six  years.  The  usurper  received  the  submission  of  most  of  the 
eastern  provinces,  but  the  Chinese  general.  Wu  San-kwei,  in 
connnand  of  the  army  on  the  north,  refused  to  acknowledge  him, 
and,  making  peace  with  the  Manchus,  invoked  the  aid  of  Tsung- 
teh  in  asserting  the  cause  of  the  rightful  claimant  to  the  throne. 
This  was  willingly  agreed  to,  and  the  united  army  marched  to 
Peking  and  speedily  entei-cd  the  capital,  which  the  rebel  chief 
had  left  a  heap  of  ruins  when  he  took  away  his  booty.      The 


TTIE   :\IINrr   DYNASTY.  ^79 

Manchus  now  declared  themselves  the  rulers  of  the  Empire,  but 
their  chief  dying,  his  son  Shunchi,  who  at  the  age  of  six  suc- 
ceeded his  father  in  16-1-t,  is  regarded  as  the  Urst  Emperor; 
his  uncle,  Aina-wang,  ruled  and  reorganized  the  administration 
in  his  name. 

XXVI.  The  TsiNG,'  i.e.^  '  Pure  dynasty.' — During  the  eigh- 
teen years  he  sat  upon  the  throne  Shunchi  and  his  officers  sub- 
dued most  of  the  northern  and  central  provinces,  but  the  mar- 
itime regions  of  the  south  held  out  against  the  invaders,  and 
one  of  the  leaders,  by  means  of  his  fleets,  carried  devastation 
along  the  whole  coast.  The  spirit  of  resistance  was  in  some 
parts  crushed,  and  in  others  exasperated  by  an  order  for  all 
Chinese  to  adopt  as  a  sign  of  submission  the  Tartar  mode  of 
shaving  the  front  of  the  head  and  braiding  the  hair  in  a  long 
queue.  Those  M'ho  gave  this  order,  as  Davis  remarks,  must 
have  felt  themselves  very  strong  before  venturing  so  far  upon 
the  spirit  of  the  conquered,  and  imposing  an  outward  universal 
badge  of  surrender  upon  all  classes  of  the  people.  "  Mar.y  are 
the  changes  which  may  be  made  in  despotic  countries,  without 
the  notice  or  even  the  knowledge  of  the  larger  portion  of  the 
community ;  but  an  entire  alteration  in  the  national  costume 
affects  every  individual  equally,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest, 
and  is  perhaps  of  all  others  the  most  open  and  degrading  mark 
of  conquest."  This  order  M'as  resisted  by  many,  who  chose  to 
lose  their  heads  rather  than  part  with  their  hair,  but  the  man- 
date was  gradually  enforced,  aud  has  now  for  about  two  centu- 
ries been  one  of  the  distinguishing  marks  of  a  Chinese,  though 
to  this  day  the  natives  of  Fuhkien  near  the  seaboard  wear  a 
kerchief  around  their  head  to  conceal  it.  The  inhabitants  of 
this  province  and  of  Kwangtung  held  out  the  longest  against 
the  invaders,  and  a  vivid  account  of  their  capture  of  Canton, 
Kovember  20, 1650,  where  the  adherents  of  the  late  dynasty  had 
intrenched  themselves,  has  been  left  us  by  Martini,  an  eye- 
witness. Some  time  after  its  subjugation  a  brave  man,  Ching 
Chi-hmg,   harassed  them  by  his   fleet ;    and   his   son,    Ching 


'  For  the  origin  of  the  Manchus  see  Klaproth,  Memoires  sur  VAsie,  Tome  I., 
p.  441. 


180  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

("]iirio:-kniiir,  or  Koxiiiiia,  molested  the  coast  to  fiicli  a  dcijiee 
that  the  Emperor  Kanghi,  in  1665,  ordered  all  the  people  to  re- 
tire three  leagues  inland,  in  order  to  prevent  this  heroic  man 
from  reaching  them.  This  command  was  generally  obeyed, 
and  affords  an  instance  of  the  singular  nnxture  of  power  and 
weakness  seen  in  many  parts  of  Chinese  legislation  ;  for  it 
might  be  supposed  that  a  government  which  could  compel  its 
maritime  subjects  to  leave  their  houses  and  towns  and  go  into 
the  country  at  great  loss,  might  have  easily  armed  and  equipped 
a  fleet  to  have  defended  those  towns  and  homes.  Koxinga, 
finding  himself  unable  to  make  any  serious  impression  upon 
the  stability  of  the  new  government,  went  to  Formosa,  drove 
the  Dutch  out  of  Zealandia,  and  made  himself  master  of  tho 
island.' 

Shunchi  died  in  1661  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Kanghi/ 
who  was  eight  years  old  at  his  accession,  and  remained  under 
guardians  till  he  was  fourteen,  when  he  assumed  the  reins  of 
government,  and  swayed  the  power  vested  in  his  liands  with  a 
prudence,  vigor,  and  success  that  have  rendered  him  more  cele- 
brated than  almost  any  other  Asiatic  monarch.  It  was  in  1661 
that  Louis  XIY.  had  assumed  the  sovereignty  of  France  at  al)out 
the  same  age,  and  for  fifty -four  years  the  reigns  of  these  two 
monarchs  ran  paralleL  During  Kanghi's  unusually  long  reign 
of  sixty-one  years  (the  longest  in  Chinese  annals,  except  Taimao 
of  the  Shang  dynasty,  b.c.  1637-1562),  he  extended  his  domin- 
ions to  the  borders  of  Kokand  and  Badakshan  on  the  west,  and 
to  the  confines  of  Tibet  on  the  south-west,  simplifying  the  ad- 
ministration and  consolidating  his  power  in  every  part  of  his 
vast  dominions.  To  his  regulations,  perhaps,  are  mainly  owing 
the  unity  and  peace  which  the  Empire  has  exhibited  for  more 
than  a  century,  and  which  has  ])roduced  the  impression  abroad 
of  the  unchangeableness  of  Chinese  institutions  and  charac- 
ter.    This  may  be  ascribed,  chiefly,  to  his  indefatigable  applica- 

'  Compare  tho  interesting  translation  from  a  Chinese  record  of  the  capture 
of  Fort  Zealandia,  by  H.  E.  Ilobson,  Journal  of  JV.  C.  Br.  /?.  A.  Society,  Xo. 
XL,  Art.  L,  1876. 

-  Rimusat,  Nouveaiu  Mehinges,  Tome  II.,  pp.  21-44  :  Bouvet,  FAfe  of  Kany 
hi;  Gutzlaff,  Life  of  Kanghi. 


THE   MANCIIUS— THE   EMPEROP.   KAXOIlf.  181 

tion  to  all  affairs  of  State,  to  his  judgment  and  penetration  in 
the  choice  of  officers,  his  economy  in  regard  to  himself  and 
liberal  magnificence  in  everything  that  tended  to  the  good  of 
his  dominions,  and  liis  sincere  desire  to  promote  the  happiness 
of  his  people  bv  a  steady  and  vigorous  execution  of  the  laws 
and  a  continual  watchfulness  over  the  conduct  of  his  hiirh  offi- 
cers.  These  qualities  have  perhaps  been  unduly  extolled  hy 
his  foreign  friends  and  biographers,  the  liomish  missionaries, 
and  if  their  expressions  arc  taken  in  their  strictest  sense,  as  we 
understand  them,  they  do  elevate  him  too  high.  lie  is  to  be 
compared  not  with  Alfred  or  AVilliam  III.  of  England,  Louis  IX. 
or  Henry  TV.  of  France,  and  other  European  kings,  hut  with 
other  Chinese  and  Asiatic  princes,  few  of  whom  equal  him. 
The  principal  events  of  his  long  reign  are  the  conquest  of  the 
Eleuths.  and  subjugation  of  several  tribes  lying  on  the  north  and 
south  of  the  Tien  shan  ;  an  embassy  across  the  Kussian  Posses- 
sions in  1713  to  the  khan  of  the  Tourgouth  Tartars,  prepara- 
tory to  their  return  to  the  Chinese  territory ;  the  settlement  of 
the  northern  frontier  between  himself  and  the  czar,  of  which 
Gerbillon  has  given  a  full  account ;  the  survey  of  the  Empire  by 
the  Romish  missionaries  ;  and  the  publication  of  a  great  the- 
saurus of  the  language.  In  many  things  he  showed  himself 
liberal  toward  foreigners,  and  the  country  was  thrown  open  to 
their  commerce  for  many  years. 

His  son  Yungching  succeeded  in  1T22,  and  is  regarded  by 
many  natives  as  superior  to  his  father.  He  endeavored  to  sup- 
press Christianity  and  restore  the  ancient  usages,  which  had 
somewhat  fallen  into  desuetude  during  his  father's  sway,  ami 
generally  seems  to  have  held  the  sceptre  to  the  benefit  of  his 
subjects.  Yungching  is  regarded  as  an  usurper,  and  is  sr.id  to 
have  changed  the  figure  four  to  fourteen  on  the  billet  of  nomi- 
nation, himself  being  the  fourteenth  son,  and  the  fourth  being 
absent  in  Mongolia,  where  he  was  soon  after  arrested  and  im- 
prisoned, and  subsequently  died  in  a  palace  near  Peking ; 
whether  he  was  put  to  death  or  not  is  uncertain.  Kienlung  suc- 
ceeded Yungching  in  1736,  and  proved  himself  no  unworthy 
descendant  of  his  grandfather  Ivanghi ;  like  him  he  had  the 
singular  fortune  to  reign  sixty  years,  and  for  most  of   that 


182  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

period  in  peace'  Some  local  insurrections  disturbed  tlie  general 
trauquillirv,  pi-inci})ally  among  the  al)(»rigiiies  in  I-'ormosa  and 
Tvweiclian,  and  in  an  nnprovolved  attack  upon  IJirmali  his  armies 
sustained  a  signal  defeat  and  wei-e  obliged  to  retreat.  The  in- 
cursions of  the  Xipalese  into  Til)et  induced  the  Dalai  Lama  to 
apply  to  him  for  assistance,  and  in  doing  so  he  contrived  to  es- 
tablish a  guardianship  over  the  whole  country,  and  place  bodies 
of  troops  in  all  the  important  positions,  so  that  in  effect  lie 
annexed  that  vast  region  to  his  Empire,  but  continued  the  lamas 
in  the  internal  administration. 

During  his  long  reign  Xieidnng  exhausted  the  resources  of 
his  Empire  by  building  useless  edifices  and  keeping  up  large 
armies.  lie  received  embassies  from  the  liussians,  Dutch,  and 
English,  bv  which  the  character  of  the  ("hinese  and  the  nature  of 
their  country  became  better  known  to  western  nations.  These 
end)assies  greatly  strengthened  the  im|)ression  on  the  side  of  the 
Chinese  of  their  superiority  to  all  other  nations,  for  they  looked 
upon  them  as  a(;knowledgments  on  the  })art  of  the  governments 
Avho  sent  them  of  their  allegiance  to  the  court  of  Peking.  The 
presents  were  regarded  as  tribute,  the  ambassadors  as  deputies 
from  their  masters  to  acknowledge  the  su]')reniacy  of  the  Em- 
peror, and  the  requests  they  made  for  trade  as  rather  another  form 
of  receiving  presents  in  return  than  a  mutual  arrangement  for  a 
trade  equally  beneficial  to  both.  Ivienlung  abdicated  the  throne 
in  favor  of  his  fifth  son  and  retired  with  the  title  of  S'fjwe/Jie 
Km/peroi\  while  liis  son,  Kiaking,  had  that  of  Enq)eror. 

The  character  of  this  prince  was  dissolute  and  superstitious, 
and  his  reign  of  twenty- five  years  was  much  disturbed  by  secret 
combinations  against  the  government  and  by  insurrections*  and 

'  His  character  and  enthusiasm  for  literary  pursuits  merit,  on  the  whole,  the 
lines  inscribed  by  the  Roman  Catholic  missionaries  beneath  his  portrait  in  the 
Memoircs  cone,  leu  Ghinois : 

Occup  ■  sans  relache  a  touts  les  soins  divers 

D'lin  gouvcrncment  qu'on  admire, 
Le  i)lus  gran<l  potentat  qui  soit  dans  I'univors 
Et  le  mcillcur  l(>ttr6  qui  soit  dans  son  Empire. 
'  Among  the  most  serious  of  these  was  the  revolt  oP  the  Peh  lien  kiao.     Zr<- 
tres  EfHpirdcx,  Tome  III.,  pp.   201-29S,  ;55;5,  879,  etc.     In  1789  the  ladronea 
infested  the  southern  coasts.     //>.,  Tome  II.,  p.  493. 


THE   llEIGNS   OF   KIEXLUNG    AND   TAUKWANG.         ]83 

pirates  in  and  al)Out  the  Empire.  A  conspiracy'  against  him 
broke  out  in  tlie  pahice  in  1813,  where  he  was  for  a  time  in 
some  danger,  but  was  rescued  by  the  courage  of  his  guard  and 
family ;  one  of  liis  sons,  Mien-ning,  was  designated  as  his  suc- 
cessor for  liis  bravery  on  this  occasion.  A  fleet  of  about  six- 
hundred  piratical  junks,  under  Ching  Yih  and  Chang  Pan,  in- 
fested the  coasts  of  Kwangtung  for  several  years,  and  were  at 
last  put  down  in  ISIO  by  the  provincial  government  taking 
advantage  of  internal  dissensions  between  the  leaders.  The 
principal  scene  of  the  exploits  of  this  fleet  was  the  estuary  of 
the  Pearl  lliver,  whose  numerous  harbors  and  chaimels  afforded 
shelter  and  escape  to  their  vessels  when  pursued  by  the  impe- 
rialists, while  the  towns  upon  the  islands  were  plundered  and 
the  inhabitants  killed  if  they  resisted.  The  internal  govern- 
ment of  this  audacious  band  was  ascertained  by  two  Englishmen, 
Mr.  Turner  and  Mr.  Glasspoole,  who  at  different  times  fell  into 
their  hands  and  were  obliged  to  accompany  them  in  their  ma- 
rauding expeditions.  To  so  great  a  height  did  they  proceed 
that  the  governor  of  Canton  went  to  Macao  to  reside,  and  en- 
tered into  some  arrangements  with  the  Portuguese  for  assistance 
in  suppressing  them.  The  piratical  fleet  was  attacked  and  block- 
aded for  ten  days  by  the  combined  forces,  but  without  much 
damage ;  there  was  little  prospect  of  overcoming  them  had  not 
rivalry  between  the  two  leaders  gone  so  far  as  to  result  in  a 
severe  engagement  and  loss  on  both  sides.  The  conquered  pi- 
rate soon  after  made  his  peace  with  the  government,  and  the 
victor  shortly  afterward  followed  the  same  course.  The  story 
of  those  disturbed  times  to  this  day  affords  a  fj-equent  subject 
for  the  tales  of  old  people  in  that  region,  and  the  same  waters 
are  still  infested  by  the  "  foam  of  the  sea,''  as  the  Chinese  term 
these  freebooters. 

The  reign  of  Kiaking  ended  in  1820 ;  by  the  Emperor's  will 
his  second  son  was  appointed  to  succeed  him,  and  took  the  style 
Taukwang.  lie  exhibited  more  energy  and  justice  than  his 
father,  and  his  efl^orts  purified  the  administration  by  the  per^ 
sonal  supervision  taken  of  their  leading  membei's.  His  reign 
was  marked  by  many  local  insurrections  and  disasters  in  one 
quarter  or  another  of  his  vast  dominions.     A  rebellion  in  Tur- 


184  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

kestan  in  1S28  was  attended  with  great  cruelty  and  treachery  on 
tlie  part  of  the  Chinese,  and  its  leader,  Jehangir,  was  murdered, 
in  v^iolation  of  the  most  solenm  promises.  An  insurrection  in 
Formosa  and  a  rising  among  the  mountaineers  of  Kwangtung, 
in  1830-32,  were  put  down  more  by  money  than  by  force,  but 
as  peace  is  both  the  end  and  evidence  of  good  government  in 
China,  the  authorities  are  not  very  particular  how  it  is  brought 
about. 

The  rapid  increase  of  opium-smoking  among  his  people  led 
to  many  efforts  to  restrain  this  vice  by  prohibitions,  penalties, 
executions,  and  other  means,  but  all  in  vain.  The  Emperors 
earnestness  was  stimulated  by  the  death  of  his  three  eldest  sons 
from  its  use,  and  the  falling  off  of  the  revenue  by  smuggling 
the  pernicious  drug.  In  1837-38  the  collective  opinion  of  the 
highest  officials  was  taken  after  hearing  their  arguments  for 
legalizing  its  importation  ;  it  was  resolved  to  seize  the  dealers  in 
it.  The  acts  of  Commissioner  Lin  resulted  in  the  war  with 
Great  Britain  and  the  opening  of  China  to  an  extended  inter- 
course with  other  nations.  Defeated  in  his  honest  efforts  to 
protect  his  people  against  their  bane,  the  Emperor  still  fulfilled 
Ids  treaty  obligations,  and  died  in  1850,  just  as  the  Tai-ping  re- 
bellion broke  out. 

His  fourth  son  succeeded  him  under  the  style  of  Hienfung, 
but  without  his  father's  earnestness  or  vigor  when  the  State 
required  the  highest  qualities  in  its  leader.  The  devastations 
of  the  rebels  laid  waste  the  southern  half  of  the  Empire,  and 
their  approach  to  Peking  in  1853  was  paralyzed  by  tioods  and 
want  of  supplies  more  than  by  the  imperial  troops.  A  second 
war  with  Great  Britain,  in  1858-60,  completely  broke  down  the 
seclusion  of  China,  and  at  its  conclusion  an  inglorious  reign  of 
eleven  years  ended  at  Jeh-ho  in  August,  1860.  His  only  son 
succeeded  to  the  throne  at  the  age  of  five  years,  under  the  style 
of  Tungchi ;  the  government  being  under  the  control  of  two 
Empress-regents  and  Prince  Kung,  his  uncle.  During  his  reign 
of  twelve  years  the  vigor  of  the  new  authoi'ities  succeeded  in 
completely  quelling  the  Tai-ping  rebellion,  destroying  the  Mo- 
hammedan rising  in  Yunnan  and  Kansidi,  and  opening  up 
diplomatic  intercourse  with  the  Treaty  Powers.     Just  as  the 


IIEIGNS    AND   EVENTS   OF   RECENT   YEARS.  185 

Emperor  l)e<;un  to  exercise  his  authoi'ity,  lie  died  in  JamuuT, 
1875,  without  issue.  The  vacant  "utensil"  has  been  filled  by 
the  appointment  of  his  cousin,  a  boy  of  four  yeai's,  whose  reii^n 
was  styled  Kwangsii.  Affairs  continue  to  be  conducted  by 
the  same  regency  as  before,  now  still  more  conversant  with  the 
new  relations  opening  uj)  with  other  lands.  The  real  Enipress- 
ilowager,  or  Tioig  Kung^  died  April  IS,  1881. 

So  far  as  can  be  judged  from  the  imperfect  data  of  native 
historians  of  former  days,  compai'ed  with  the  observations  of 
foreigners  at  present,  there  is  little  doubt  that  this  enormous 
population  has  been  better  governed  by  the  Manchus  than  under 
the  princes  of  the  Ming  dynasty;  there  has  been  more  vigor  in 
the  administration  of  government  and  less  palace  favoritism 
and  intrigue  in  the  appointment  of  officers,  more  security  of 
life  and  property  from  the  exactions  of  local  authorities,  bands 
of  robbers,  or  processes  of  law ;  in  a  word,  the  Manchu  sway 
has  well  developed  the  industry  and  resources  of  the  country, 
of  which  the  population,  loyalty,  and  content  of  the  people  are 
the  best  evidences. 

The  sovereigns  of  the  Ming  and  Tsing  dynasties,  being  more 
frequently  mentioned  in  history  than  those  of  former  princes, 
are  here  given,  with  the  length  of  their  reigns.  For  conven- 
ience of  reference  a  table  of  the  dynasties  is  appended,  taken 
from  the  author's  SijllabiG  Dlctionanj  of  the  Chinese  Language. 
In  this  list,  compiled  from  a  Chinese  work  (the  Digest  of  the 
Reigns  of  Emperors  and  Kings\  the  Tsin  and  After  Tsin  dy- 
nasties are  joined  in  one  (No.  4),  making  a  total  of  twenty-six 
dynasties.' 

The  whole  number  of  acknowledged  sovereigns  in  the  twenty- 
six  dynasties,  according  to  the  recei\ned  Chinese  chronology, 
from  Yu  the  Great  to  Kwangsii,  is  238,  or  246  commencing  with 
Fuh-hi ;  by  including  the  names  of  some  ursurpers  and  mori- 
bund claimants,  the  first  number  is  increased  to  250.  From  Yu 
the  Great  lo  th-^  accession  of  Kwangsii  (b.c.  2205  to  a.d.  1875) 
is  4,080  years,  which  gives  to  each  dynasty  a  duration  of  157 


'  Compare  the  Chinese  Chronological  Tables  by  W.  P.  Mayers  in  N.  C  Br. 
R.  A.  S.  Journal,  No.  IV.,  Art.  VIII. ,  1867. 


186 


THE  MIDDLE  KINGDOM. 


Kwoh  Hiao, 

or 
Reigiiing  Title. 


Miao  Hiao, 

or 

Temple  Title. 


Began  'Length 

I      to      I      of 
I  Reign.  Reign. 


Contemporary  Monarchs. 


1.  Hungwu 

2.  Kieiiwan.  . . . 

3.  Yungloh  . . . . 

4.  Hunglii 

5.  Siuentih 

6.  Chingtung  . . 

7.  Kingtai 

8.  Chinghwa. . . 

9.  Hungchi 

10.  Chingtih.... 

11.  Kiahtsing. . . 
1;2.  Lungking... 
i:!.  Wanleih  .... 

14.  Taichang  .. . 

15.  Tienki 

16.  Tsungching . 

1.  Shunchi'  ... 

.'.   Kanghi 

".  Yimgching . . 
.  Kienlung  . . . 
i.  Kiaking 

6.  Taukwaiig.. 

7.  Hienf  uiig  . . . 

■S.  Tungchi 

.).  Kwangsii  -  . . 


Taitsu 

Kienwan  ti  . . , 

Taitsnng 

Jintsung 

Siuentsung.  . . . 
Yingtsung  . . . , 

Kingti , 

Hientsung  . . . , 
Hiaut.suiig  . . . , 

VVutsung 

Shi'tsung 

Muhtsung. ... 

Shintsung 

Kwangtsung  . 

Hitsung , 

Hwaitsung. . . 


Chang  hwaiigti. 
Jin  hwangti  . . . 
Hien  hwangti . . 
8hun  hwangti. . 
Jui  hwangti . . . . 
Ching  hwangti  . 
Hien  hwangti  . . 


1368 
1398 
1403 
1425 
1426 
1436 
1457 
1465 
1488 
1506 
1522 
1567 
1573 
1620 
1621 
1638 

1644 
1()62 
1723 
1736 
1796 
1821 
1851 
1862 
1875 


30 
5 

22 

1 

10 

21 

8 

23 

18 

16 

45 

6 

47 

1 

7 

16 

18 
61 
13 
60 
25 
30 
11 
12 


Tamerlane,  Richard  II.,  Robert  II. 
Manuel-Paleologus,  Henrj'  IV.  of  Eng. 
Jame.s  I.,  Henry  V.,  Martin  V. 

\  Amuratli  II., Henry  VI.,  Charles  VII. 

'(      Albert  II.,  Cosmo  de  Medicis. 
James  II.,  Fred.  III.  of  Aus.,  Nich.  V. 
Mahomet  II  ,  Edward  IV.,  SixtuslV. 
JamesIII.  ,Ferd.  and  Isabella, Lonis  XI. 
Bajazet  II.,  James  IV.,  Henry  VII. 
James  V.,  Henry  VIII.,  Charles  V. 
Solyman  II.,^lary,  Philip  II.,  Henry  IL 
yelim  II.,  Klizabeth,  Cregory  111. 
James  I.,  Henry  IV.,  Louis  XIII. 
Othman  II.,  Philip  IV.,  Gregory  XV. 
Amurath  IV.,  Charles  I.,  Urban  VIII 
Innocent  X.,  Frederick  the  Great. 

Mahomet  IV.,  Cromwell.  Louis  XIV. 
Charles  II.,  Clement  IX..  Sobioskv. 
Mahomet  V.,  George  II..  Lonis  XV. 
Osman  III.,  George  III.,  Clement  XIV 
Seiim  III.,  Napoleon,  Fred.  Wm.  II. 
Mahmoud,  George  IV.,  Louis  XVIII. 
Mahmond,  Victoria,  Louis  XVIII. 
I  Napoleon  III.,  Alexander  II. 


Dynasty. 


1.  Hla 

2.  Shang 

3.  Chau 

4.  Tsin 

r).  Han 

6.  East  Han  . . , 

7.  After  Han. 

8.  T.sin , 

9.  East  Tsin  . , 

10.  Sung 

11.  Tsi 

12.  Liang 

13    Chin 

14.  Sui 

15.  Tang 

16.  After  Liang 

17.  After  Tang 

18.  After  T.sin. 

19.  After  Han. 

20.  After  Chau 

21.  Sung 

22.  South  Sung 

23.  Yuen 

24.  Ming 

25.  Tsing 


Number  of  Sovereigns. 


Began.    Ended.   Duration 


Seventeen,  averaging  26  jears  to  each  mon- 
arch's reign 

Twenty-eight,  averaging  23  years 

Thirtj'-  four,  averaging  253.j  years 

Two,  one  reigning  37  years,  the  second  3  years. 

Fourteen,  averaging  163,.,  years 

Twelve,  averaging  16'^  years 

Two,  one  reigning  2,  the  other  41  years 

Four,  averaging  1 4}{  years 

Eleven,  averaging  about  9J^  years 

Eight,  averaging  7}£  years 

Five,  averaging  4%  years 

Four,  one  48  years,  and  thiee  together  7  years. 

Five,  averaging  about  6 ' .,  years 

Three,  one  reigning  16,  another  12,  and  another 
2  years . . . : 

Twenty,  averaging  1 43^  years 

Two.  one  8  and  one  7  years 

Four,  averaging  33^  years 

Two,  one  7  ami  one  3  years 

Two,  one  3  years,  another  1  year 

Three,  averaging  3  years 

Nine,  averaging  183^2  years 

Nine,  averaging  17  years 

Nine,  averaging  \)%  years  

Sixteen,  averaging  1 7  years 

Eight  up  to  1875,  averaging  nearly  30  years  . . 


B.C. 

;3205 

1766 

1122 

255 

206 


221 

265 

323 

420 

4791 

5021 

557 

589  I 

620  i 

907 

923 

936 

947 

951 

960 

1127 

1280 

1368 

1644 


n.c. 

1766 

1122 

255 

206 

.D.  25 

231 

264 

322 

419 

478 

502 

556 

589 

619 
907 
923 
936 
946 
951 
960 
1127 
1280 
1368 
1644 


439 

644 

807 

40 

231 

196 

43 

57 

106 

58 

23 

54 

32 

30 

287 

16 

13 

10 

4 

9 

167 

153 

88 

276 


'  ShuiK^hi  and    the  four  fiiUowinpr  monarchs  are  namwd    in    Manchu,  Chidzuoldimbiikh6,   Elkhe 
taitin,  ivhowaligiisDMii  tob,  Abkai  wekhiyekhu,  and  Siiichunga  fungchuii,  respectively. 
'^  Kwangsu  was  born  August  14,  1871. 


TABLES   OF   M0NARCTI3   AND   DYNASTIES.  ]y7 

years,  and  to  eacli  moiiarcli  an  average  of  17]  years.  From  Wu 
wang's  accession  to  Kwangsii  is  2,1>UT  years,  giving  an  avei-age 
of  125  years  to  a  dynasty  and  151  toeacli  sovereign.  From  the 
days  of  Menes  in  Egypt,  n.c.  2710  to  331,  Manetlio  reckons  31 
dynasties  and  378  kings,  wliicli  is  about  77  years  to  each  family 
and  G^  to  each  reign.  In  Enghmd  tlie  34  sovereigns  from 
William  I.  to  Victoria  (a.d.  lOGO  to  1837)  averaged  22|  years 
each;  in  Israel,  the  23  kings  from  Saul  to  Zedekiah  averaged 
22  years  during  a  monarchy  of  50 7  years. 


CHAPTER  XYIIL 

RELIGION   OF   THE   CHINESE. 

As  results  must  have  their  proportionate  causes,  one  wishes 
to  know  what  are  the  reasons  for  the  remarkable  duration  of 
the  Chinese  people.  Why  hav^e  not  their  institutions  fallen  into 
decrepitude,  and  this  race  given  place  to  others  during  the  forty 
centuries  it  claims  to  have  existed  ?  Is  it  owing  to  the  geo- 
graphical isolation  of  the  land,  which  has  prevented  other 
nations  easily  reaching  it  ?  Or  have  the  language  and  literature 
unified  and  upheld  the  people  whom  they  have  taught  ?  Or, 
lastly,  is  it  a  religious  belief  and  the  power  of  a  ruling  class 
working  together  which  has  brouglit  about  the  security  and 
freedom  now  seen  in  this  thrifty,  industi-ions,  and  practical 
people?  Probably  all  these  causes  have  conduced  to  this  end, 
and  our  present  object  is  to  outline  what  seems  to  have  been 
their  mode  of  operation. 

The  position  of  tlieir  country  has  tended  to  separate  them 
from  other  Asiatic  races,  even  from  very  early  times.  It  com- 
pelled them  to  work  out  their  own  institutions  without  any 
hints  or  modifying  interference  from  abroad.  They  seem,  in 
fact,  to  have  had  no  neighbors  of  any  importance  until  about 
the  Christian  era,  up  to  which  time  they  occupied  chiefly  the 
basin  of  the  Yellow  River,  or  the  nine  northern  provinces  as  the 
Empire  is  now  divided.  Till  about  b.c.  220  feudal  States  covered 
this  I'egion,  and  tlieir  quarrels  only  ended  by  their  subjection  to 
Tsin  Chi  Ilwangti,  or  the  'Emperor  First,'  whose  strong  hand 
molded  the  people  as  he  led  them  to  value  security  and  yield  to 
just  laws.  He  thus  prepared  the  way  for  the  Emperors  Wan 
ti  (B.C.  179-1.50)  and  Wu  ti  (b.c.  140-86),  of  the  Han  dynasty, 
to  consolidate,  dui-ing  their  long  reigns  of  twenty-nine  and  fifty- 
four  years,  their  schemes  of  good  government. 


ISOLATION   OF   THE   CHINESE   EMPIRE.  189 

The  four  northern  provinces  all  lie  on  the  south-eastern  slope 
of  the  vast  plateau  of  Central  Asia,  the  ascent  to  which  is  con- 
fined to  a  few  passes,  leading  nj)  live  or  six  thousand  feet  through 
mountain  defiles  to  the  sterile,  bleak  plains  of  Gobi.  This  deso- 
late region  has  always  given  subsistence  to  wandering  nomads, 
and  enough  to  enable  traders  to  cross  its  o;i'assv  M'astes.  When 
their  numbers  increased  they  burst  their  borders  in  periodical 
raids,  ravaging  and  weakening  those  M'hom  they  were  too  few  to 
conquer  and  too  ignorant  to  govern.  The  Chinese  were  too  un- 
warlike  to  keep  these  tribes  in  subjection  for  long,  and  never 
themselves  colonized  the  i-egion,  though  the  attempt  to  ward  off 
its  perpetual  menace  to  their  safety,  by  building  the  Great  Wall 
to  bar  out  their  enemies,  proves  how  they  had  learned  to  dread 
them.  Yet  this  desert  waste  has  proved  a  better  defense  for 
China  against  armies  coming  from  the  basin  of  the  Tarini 
Kiver  than  the  lofty  mountains  on  its  west  did  to  ancient  Persia 
and  modern  Russia.  It  was  easier  and  more  inviting  for  the 
Scythians,  Iluns,  Mongols,  and  Turks  successively  to  push  their 
arms  westward,  and  China  thereby  remained  intact,  even  when 
driven  within  her  own  borders. 

The  western  frontiers,  between  the  Kiayil  Pass  in  Kansuh, 
at  the  extreme  end  of  the  Great  Wall,  leading  across  the  coun- 
try south  to  the  island  of  Hainan,  are  too  wild  and  rough  to  be 
densely  inhabited  or  easily  crossed,  so  that  the  Chinese  have 
always  been  unmolested  in  that  direction.  To  invade  the  east- 
ern sides,  now  so  exposed,  the  ancients  had  no  fleets  powerful 
enough  to  attack  the  Middle  Kingdom ;  and  it  is  only  within 
the  present  century  that  armies  carried  by  steam  have  threat- 
ened her  seaboard. 

The  Chinese  have,  therefore,  been  shut  out  by  their  natural 
defenses  from  both  the  assaults  and  the  trade  of  the  dwellers  in 
India,  Tibet,  and  Central  Asia,  to  that  degree  which  would 
have  materially  modified  their  civilization.  The  external  influ- 
ences which  have  molded  them  have^  been  wholly  religious, 
acting  through  the  persistent  labors  of  Buddhist  missionaries 
from  India.  These  zealous  men  came  and  went  in  a  ceaseless 
stream  for  ten  centuries,  joining  the  caravans  entering  the  north- 
western marts  and  ships  trading  at  southern  ports. 


190a  THE   MIDDLE   KIXGDOM. 

In  addition  to  this  geographical  isolation,  the  language  of 
the  Cliinese  has  tended  still  more  to  separate  them  intellectually 
from  their  fellow-men.  It  is  not  strange,  indeed,  that  a  sym- 
bolic form  of  wj-iting  should  have  arisen  among  them,  for  the 
Egyptians  and  Mexicans  exhibit  other  fashions  of  ideographic 
writing,  as  well  as  its  caprices  and  the  difficulty  of  extending  it. 
But  its  long-continued  use  by  the  Chinese  is  hardly  less  remark- 
able than  the  pi'oof  it  gives  of  their  independence  of  other 
people  in  mental  and  political  relations.  Outside  nations  did 
not  care  to  study  Chinese  l)ooks  through  such  a  medium,  and 
its  possessoi's  had,  without  intending  it,  shut  themselves  out  of 
easy  interchange  of  thought.  This  shows  that  they  could  not 
have  had  much  acquaintance  in  early  times  with  any  alphabetic 
writing  like  Sanscrit  or  Assyrian,  for  it  is  almost  certain  that, 
in  that  case,  they  would  soon  have  begun  to  alter  their  ideo 
graphs  into  syllables  and  letters  as  the  Egyptians  did ;  while 
the  manifest  advantages  of  the  phonetic  over  the  symbolic 
principle  would  have  gradually  insured  it:j  triumph.  In  that 
case,  howevei",  the  rivah'ies  of  feudal  States  would  have  resulted, 
as  in  Euro])e,  in  the  formation  of  different  languages,  and  per- 
haps prevented  the  growth  of  a  great  Chinese  race.  In  Jajmi: 
and  Corea  the  struggle  between  symbols  and  sounds  has  long 
existed,  and  two  written  languages,  the  Cliinese  and  a  derivel 
demotic,  are  now  used  side  by  side  in  each  of  those  kingdoms. 

Tills  isolation  has  had  its  disadvantageous  effects  on  the 
people  thus  cut  off  from  their  fellows,  but  the  results  now  seen 
could  not  otherwise  have  been  attained.  Their  literary  teiulen- 
cies  could  never  have  attained  the  strength  of  an  institution  if 
they  had  been  surrounded  by  more  intelligent  nations ;  nor 
would  they  have  tilled  the  land  to  such  a  degree  if  they  had 
been  forced  to  constantly  defend  themselves,  or  had  imbibed 
the  lust  of  conquest.  Either  of  these  conditions  would  probably 
have  brought  their  own  national  life  to  a  premature  close. 

Isolation,  however,  is  merely  a  potential  factor  in  this  ques- 
tion. It  does  not  by  itself  account  for  that  life  nor  furnish  the 
reasons  for  its  uniformity  and  endurance.  These  must  be 
sought  for  in  the  moral  and  social  teachino:s  of  their  sages  and 
great  rulers,  who  have  been  leaders  and  counsellors,  and  in  the 


ITS  PEOPLE  UNAFFECTED  BY  FOREIGN  THOUGHT.  101 

cliaracter  of  the  political  institutions  which  have  grown  out  of 
those  teachings.     A  comparison  of  their  national  characteristics 
with  those  of  other  ancient  anU  modern  people  shows  four  strik-     , 
ing  contrasts  and  deductions.     The  Chinese  may  be  regarded   "^  "^X  j 
as  the  only  pagan  nation  which   has  maintained    democratic     "•^'^  -'^- 
habits  under  a  purely  despotic  theoiy  of  govermnent.     This 
government  has  respected  the  rights  of  its  subjects  by  placing 
them  under  the  protection  of  law,  with  its  sanctions  and  tribu-  ~"-^-^-a,^;_ 
iials,  and  nuxking  the  sovereign  amenable  in  the  popular  mind  -^i-^T-,^.,.^ 
for  the  continuance  of  his  sway  to  the  approval  of  a  higher  ^^ 
Power  able  to  punish  him.    Lastly,  it  has  prevented  the  doniina-         ^f* 
tion  of  all  feudal,  hereditary,  and  priestly  classes  and  interests  by 
making  the  tenure  of  officers  of  government  below  the  throne 
chiefly  depend  on  their  literary  attainments.     Kot  a  trace  of 
Judaistic,  Assyrian,  or  Persian  customs  or  dogmas  appears  in 
Chinese  books  in  such  definite  form  as  to  suggest  a  western 
origin.    All  is  the  indio-enous  outcome  of  native  ideas  and  habits. 
The  real  religious  belief  and  practices  of  a  heathen  people  are 
hard  to  describe  intelligibly  to  those  who  have  not  lived  among 
them.    Men  naturally  exercise  much  freedom  of  thought  in  such 
matters,  and  feel  the  authority  of  their  fellow-men  over  their 
minds  irksome  to  bear  ;  and  though  it  is  comparatively  easy  to 
depict  their  religious  ceremonies  and  festivals,  their  real  belief 
— that  which  constitutes  their  religion,  their  trust  in  danger  and 
guide  in  doubt,  their  support  in  sorrow  and  hope  for  future  I'c 
ward — is  not  rpiickly  examined  nor  easily  described.    The  want 
of  a  well  understood  and  acknowledged  standard  of  doctrine, 
and  the  degree  of  latitude  each  one  allows  himself  in  his  ob- 
servance of  rites  or  belief  in  dogmas,  tends  to  confuse  the  in- 
quirer ;  while  his  own  diverse  views,  liis  imperfect  knowledge, 
and  misapprehension  of  the  eifect  which  this  tenet  or  that  cere- 
mony has  upon   the  heart  of  the  worshipper,  contribute  still 
further  to  embarrass  the  subject.    This,  at  least,  is  the  case  with 
the  Chinese,  and  notwithstanding  what  has  been  -written  upon 
their  religion,  no  one  has  very  satisfactorily  elucidated  the  true 
nature  of  their  belief  and  the  intent  of  their  ritual.    The  reason 
is  owing  partly  to  the  indefinite  ideas  of  the  people  themselves 
upon  the  character  of  their  ceremonies,  and  their  consequent 


192  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

inability  to  give  a  clear  notion  of  them ;  partly  also  to  the 
variety  of  observances  found  in  distant  parts  of  the  country,  and 
the  discordant  opinions  entertained  by  those  belonging  to  the 
same  sect ;  so  that  what  is  seen  in  one  district  is  sometimes 
utterly  unknown  in  the  next  province,  and  the  opinions  of  one 
man  are  laughed  at  by  another. 

Before  proceeding  with  the  present  outline  two  negative  fea- 
tni'es  of  Chinese  religion  deserve  to  be  noticed,  which  distinguish 
it  from  the  faith  of  most  other  heathen  nations.  These  are 
the  absence  of  human  sacrifices  and  the  non- deification  of  vice. 
The  prevalence  of  human  offerings  in  almost  all  ages  of  the 
world,  and  among  nations  of  different  degrees  of  civilization,  not 
only  widely  separated  in  respect  of  situation  and  power,  but 
flourishing  in  ages  remote  from  each  other,  and  having  little  or  no 
mutual  influence,  has  often  been  noticed.  Human  sacrifices  are 
offered  to  this  day  in  some  parts  of  Asia,  Africa,  and  Polynesia, 
which  the  extension  of  Christian  instruction  and  power  has,  it 
is  to  be  hoped,  greatly  reduced  and  almost  accomplished  the  ex- 
tinction of  ;  but  no  clear  record  of  the  sacrificial  innnolation  of 
man  by  his  fellow,  "offering  the  fruit  of  his  body  for  the  sin 
of  his  soul,"  has  been  found  in  Cliinese  annals  in  such  a  shape 
as  to  carry  the  conviction  that  it  formed  part  of  the  belief  or 
})ractice  of  the  people — although  the  Scythian  custom  of  bury- 
ing the  servants  and  horses  of  a  deceased  prince  or  chieftain 
with  him  was  perhaps  observed  before  the  days  of  Confucius, 
and  may  have  been  occasionally  done  since  his  time.  This  fea- 
ture, negative  though  it  be,  stands  in  strong  contrast  with  the 
appalling  destruction  of  human  life  for  religious  reasons,  still 
existing  among  the  tribes  of  Western  and  Central  Africa,  and 
recorded  as  having  been  sanctioned  among  Aztecs  and  Egyp- 
tians, Hindus  and  Carthaginians,  and  other  ancient  nations,  not 
excepting  Syrians  and  Jews,  Greeks  and  Romans. 

The  other,  and  still  more  remarkable  trait  of  Chinese  idolatry, 
is  that  there  is  no  deification  of  sensuality,  which,  in  the  name 
of  religion,  could  shield  and  countenance  those  licentious  rites 
and  orgies  that  enervated  the  minds  of  worshippers  and  polluted 
their  hearts  in  so  many  other  pagan  countries.  No  Aphrodite 
or  Lakshmi  occurs  in  the  list  of  Chinese  goddesses  ;  no  weeping 


VICE   NEYEE   SAXCTIFTED.  193 

for  Thaiiinmz,  no  exposure  in  the  temple  of  Mylitta  or  obscene 
rites  of  tlie  Durga-puja,  have  ever  been  required  or  sanctioned 
by  Chinese  priests ;  no  nautch  girls  as  in  Indian  temples,  or  cour- 
tesans as  at  Corinth,  are  kept  in  their  sacred  buildings.  Their 
speculations  upon  the  dual  powers  of  the  yln  and  yang  have  never 
degenerated  into  the  vile  worship  of  the  linya  and  yonl  of  the 
Hindus,  or  of  Amun-kem,  as  pictured  on  the  ruins  of  Thebes. 
Although  they  are  a  licentious  people  in  word  and  deed,  the 
Chinese  have  not  endeavored  to  lead  the  votaries  of  pleasure, 
falsely  so  called,  further  down  the  road  of  ruin,  by  making  its 
path  lie  through  a  temple  and  trying  to  sanctify  its  acts  by  pnt- 
ting  them  under  the  protection  of  a  goddess.  Nor  does  their 
mythology  teem  with  disgusting  relations  of  the  amours  of 
their  deities  ;  on  the  contrary,  like  the  Romanists,  they  exalt  and 
deify  chastity  and  seclusion  as  a  means  of  bringing  the  soul  and 
body  nearer  to  the  highest  excellence.  Vice  is,  in  a  great 
degree,  kept  out  of  sight,  as  well  as  out  of  religion,  and  it  may 
be  safely  said  tluit  no  such  significant  sign  as  has  been  uncovered 
at  Pompeii,  with  the  inscription  IIlc  habitat  felioitas,  was  ever 
exhibited  in  a  Chinese  city. 

To  these  traits  of  Cliinese  character  may  be  added  the  pre- 
servative features  of  their  regard  for  parents  and  superiors  and 
their  general  peaceful  industry.  If  there  be  any  connection 
between  the  former  of  these  virtues  and  the  promise  attached 
to  the  fifth  commandment,  "  That  thy  days  may  be  long  in  the 
land  which  the  Lord  thy  God  giveth  thee,"  then  the  long  dura- 
tion of  the  Cliinese  people  and  Empire  is  a  stupendous  monument 
of  the  good  effects  of  even  a  partial  obedience  to  the  law  of  God, 
by  those  who  only  had  it  inscribed  on  their  hearts  and  not 
written  in  their  hands. 

The  last  point  in  the  Chinese  polity  which  has  had  great  niflu- 
ence  in  preserving  it  is  the  religious  beliefs  recognized  by  the 
people  and  rulers.  There  are  thi-ee  sects  [san  klao),  which  are 
usually  called  Confucianism,  Buddhism,  and  Taoism,  or  Ration- 
alism ;  the  first  is  a  foreign  term,  and  vaguely  denotes  the  belief 
of  the  literati  generally,  including  the  State  religion.  These 
three  sects  do  not  interfere  with  each  other,  however,  and  a  man 
may  worship  at  a  Buddhist  shrine  or  join  in  a  Taoist  festival 
Vol.  II.— 13 


194  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

wliile  he  accepts  all  the  tenets  of  Confucius  and  worships  him 
on  State  occasions ;  much  as  a  lawyer  in  England  may  attend  a 
Quaker  meeting  or  the  Governor  of  a  State  in  America  may  be 
a  Methodist  minister.  In  China  there  is  no  generic  term  for 
religion  in  its  usual  sense.  The  word  I'kio,  which  means  '  to 
teach,'  or  'doctrines  taught,'  is  applied  to  all  sects  and  associa- 
tions having  a  creed  or  ritual ;  the  ancestral  worship  is  never 
called  a  Mao,  for  everybody  observes  that  at  home  just  as  much 
as  he  obeys  his  parents ;  it  is  a  duty,  not  a  sect. 

Xo  religious  system  has  been  found  among  the  Chinese  which 
taught  the  doctrine  of  atonement  by  the  shedding  of  blood ;  an 
argument  in  favor  of  their  antiquity.  The  State  religion  of 
China  has  had  a  remarkable  history  and  antiquity,  and,  though 
modified  somewhat  during  successive  dynasties,  has  retained  its 
main  features  during  the  past  three  thousand  years.  The  sim- 
plicity' and  purity  of  this  w^orship  have  attracted  the  notice  of 
irjany  foreigners,  who  have  disagreed  on  various  points  as  to  its 
nature  and  origin.  Their  discussions  have  brought  out  sundry 
most  interesting  details  respecting  it ;  and  whoever  has  visited 
the  great  Altar  and  Temple  of  Heaven  at  Peking,  where  the 
Emperor  and  his  courtiers  worship,  must  have  been  impressed 
with  its  simple  grandeur.  What  \vas  the  precise  idea  connected 
svith  the  words  tien,  'heaven,'  and  hirang  tien,  'imperial 
heaven,'  as  they  were  used  in  ancient  times,  is  a  very  difficult 
point  to  determine ;  the  worship  rendered  to  them  was  probably 
of  a  mixed  sort,  the  material  heavens  being  taken  as  the  most 
sublime  manifestation  of  the  power  of  their  Maker,  whose 
character  was  then  less  obscured  and  unknown  than  in  after 
times,  when  it  degenerated  to  Sabianism. 

These  discussions  are  not  material  to  the  present  subject,  and 
it  is  only  needful  to  indicate  the  main  results.  The  prime  idea 
in  this  worship  is  that  the  Emperor  is  Tien-tsz\  or  '  Son  of 
Heaven,'  the  coordinate  with  Heaven  and  Earth,  from  whom  he 
directly  derives  his  right  and  power  to  rule  on  earth  among\ 
mankind,  the  One  Man  who  is  their  vicegerent  and  the  third  of 
the  trinity  {san  tsai)  of  Heaven,  Earth,  and  Man.  With  these 
ideas  of  his  exalted  position,  he  claims  the  homage  of  all  his 
fellow-men.       He  cannot  properly  devolve  on  any  other  mortal 


THE   8TATK    KKLKilOX    OF    CIIIXA.  195 

his  functions  of  their  high  priest  to  offer  the  oblations  on  the 
altars  of  Heaven  and  Earth  at  Peking  at  the  two  solstices,  lie 
is  not,  therefore,  a  despot  bj  mere  power,  as  other  rulers  are, 
but  is  so  in  the  ordinance  of  nature,  and  the  basis  of  his  authority 
is  divine.  lie  is  accountable  personally  to  his  two  superordinate 
powers  for  its  record  and  result.  If  the  people  suffer  from 
pestilence  or  famine  he  is  at  fault,  and  must  atone  by  prayer, 
sacrifice,  and  reformation  as  a  disobedient  son.  One  defect  in 
all  human  governments — a  sense  of  responsibility  on  the  part  of 
rulers  to  the  God  who  ordains  the  powers  that  be — has  thus  been 
partly  met  and  supplied  in  China.  It  has  really  been  a  check, 
too,  on  their  tyranny  and  extortion ;  for  the  very  books  which 
contain  this  State  ritual  intimate  the  amenability  of  the  sovereign 
to  the  Powers  who  appointed  him  to  rule,  and  hint  that  the  peo- 
ple will  rise  to  vindicate  themselves.  The  officials,  too,  all 
springing  from  the  people,  and  knowing  their  feelings,  hesitate 
to  provoke  a  wrath  which  has  swept  away  thousands  of  their 
number. 

The  objects  of  State  worship  are  chiefly  things,  although  per- 
sons are  also  included.  There  are  three  grades  of  sacrifices,  the 
great,  medlinn,  and  inferior,  the  last  collectively  called  klun  sz\ 
or  '  the  crowd  of  sacrifices.'  The  objects  to  which  the  great 
sacrifices  are  offered  are  only  four,  viz.:  t'ten,  the  heavens  or  sky, 
called  the  imperial  concave  expanse  ;  t'l,  the  earth,  likewise 
dignified  with  the  appellation  imperial ;  tai  Triiao,  or  the  great 
temple  of  ancestors,  wherein  the  tablets  of  deceased  monarchs 
of  this  dynasty  are  placed  ;  and,  lastly,  the  t^hii  t-n/i,  or  gods  of 
the  land  and  grain,  the  special  patrons  of  each  dynasty.  The 
tablets  representing  these  four  great  objects  are  placed  on  an 
equality  by  the  present  monarchs,  which  is  strong  presumptive 
proof  that  by  tien  is  now  meant  the  material  heavens. 

The  medium  sacrifices  are  offered  to  nine  objects:  The  sun, 
or  "  great  light,"  the  moon,  or  "  night  light,"  the  manes  of  the 
emperors  and  kings  of  former  dynasties,  Confucius,  the  ancient 
patrons  of  agriculture  and  silk,  the  gods  of  heaven,  earth,  and 
the  cyclic  year.  The  first  six  have  separate  temples  erected  for 
their  worship  in  Peking.  The  inferior  herd  of  sacrifices  are 
offered  to  the  ancient  patron  of  the  healing  art  and  the  innu- 


196  THE   MIDDLE   KIXGDOM. 

merable  spirits  of  deceased  pliilanthropists,  eminent  statesmen, 
martyrs  to  virtue,  etc.;  clouds,  rain,  wind,  and  tlnnider;  the 
five  celebrated  mountains,  four  seas,  and  four  rivers;  famous 
hills,  great  watercourses,  flags,  triviaj,  gods  of  cannon,  gates, 
queen  goddess  of  earth,  tlie  north  pole,  and  many  other  things. 
The  State  religion  has  been  so  far  corrupted  from  its  ancient 
simplicity,  as  given  in  the  Shic  King  and  Li  K'i,  as  to  include 
gods  terrestrial  and  stellar,  ghosts  infernal,  flags,  and  cannon,  as 
well  as  idols  and  tablets,  the  efiigies  and  mementoes  of  deified 
persons. 

The  personages  who  assist  the  Emperor  in  his  worship  of  the 
four  superior  objects,  and  perform  most  of  the  ceremonies, 
belong  to  the  Imperial  Clan  and  the  Board  of  Rites;  but  while 
they  go  through  with  the  ceremony,  he,  as  pontifex  maxinnis^ 
refuses  to  pay  the  same  homage  that  he  demands  of  all  who 
approach  him,  and  puts  off  these  superior  Powers  with  three 
kneelings  and  nine  profound  bows.  When  he  is  ill,  or  in  his 
minority,  these  services  are  all  forborne,  for  they  cannot  properly 
l)e  done  by  a  substitute.  When  he  worships  Heaven  he  wears 
robes  of  a  blue  color,  in  allusion  to  the  sky;  and  when  he  wor- 
ships earth  he  puts  on  yellow  to  represent  the  clay  of  this 
earthly  clod ;  so,  likewise,  he  wears  red  for  the  sun  and  pale 
white  for  the  moon.  The  princes,  nobles,  and  officers  who  assist 
are  clad  in  their  usual  court  dresses,  but  no  priests  or  women 
are  admitted.  The  worship  of  Yuenfi,  the  goddess  of  silk,  is 
alone,  as  we  have  seen,  conducted  by  the  Empress  and  her  court. 
The  temple  of  the  sun  is  east,  and  that  of  the  moon  west  of  the 
city,  and  at  the  eqninoxes  a  regulus,  or  prince  of  the  Impei'ial 
Clan,  is  commissioned  to  perform  the  requisite  ceremonies  and 
oft'er  the  appointed  sacrifices. 

The  winter  solstice  is  the  great  day  of  this  State  worship. 
The  Emperoi-  goes  from  his  palace  the  evening  before,  draM-n 
by  an  elephant  in  his  state  car  and  escorted  by  about  two  thou- 
sand grandees,  princes,  musicians,  and  attendants,  down  to  the 
Tem})le  of  Tlcaveii.  The  cortege  passes  out  by  the  southern 
road,  reaching  the  Ching  Yang  Gate,  opened  only  for  his  Ma- 
jesty's use,  and  through  it  goes  on  two  miles  to  the  Tien  Tan. 
ile  first  repairs   to  the    Chai  Ktmg,  or  '  Palace  of  Fasting,' 


WORSHIP    OF    IIKAVEX    BY    THE    KMFEKOR.  197 

where  he  prepares  himself  by  lonely  meditation  for  his  duty ; 
"  for  the  idea  is  that  if  there  be  not  pious  thoughts  in  his 
mind  the  spirits  of  the  unseen  will  not  come  to  the  sacrifice." 
To  assist  him  he  looks  at  a  copper  statue,  arraj-ed  like  a  Taoist 
priest,  whose  mouth  is  covered  by  three  fingers,  denoting  silence, 
while  the  other  hand  bears  a  tablet  inscribed  with  '  Fast  three 
days.'  When  the  worship  commences,  and  all  the  officiating 
attendants  are  in  their  places,  the  animals  are  killed,  and  as  the 
odor  of  their  burning  flesh  ascends  to  convey  the  sacrifice  to  the 
gods,  the  Emperor  begins  the  rite,  and  is  directed  at  every  step 
by  the  masters  of  ceremonies.  The  worship  to  Heaven  is  at 
midnight,  and  the  numerous  poles  around  the  great  altar,  and 
the  fires  in  the  furnaces  shedding  their  glare  over  the  marble 
terraces  and  richly  dressed  assembly,  render  this  solemnity  most 
striking.' 

The  hierophants  in  this  worship  of  nature,  so  lauded  by  some 
infidels,  are  required  to  prepare  themselves  for  the  occasion  by 
fasting,  ablutions,  change  of  garments,  separation  from  their 
wives  and  pleasurable  scenes,  and  from  the  dead ;  "for  sickness 
and  death  defile,  while  banqueting  dissipates  the  mind  and  un- 
fits it  for  holding  communion  with  the  gods."  The  sacrifices 
consist  of  calves,  hares,  deer,  sheep,  or  pigs,  and  the  offerings 
of  silks,  grain,  jade,  etc.  Xo  garlands  are  placed  on  the  victim 
when  its  life  is  taken,  nor  is  the  blood  sprinkled  on  any  partic- 
ular spot  or  article.  "  The  idea  is  that  of  a  banquet ;  and  when 
a  sacrifice  is  performed  to  the  supreme  spirit  of  Heaven,  the 
honor  paid  is  believed  by  the  Chinese  to  be  increased  by  invit- 
ing other  guests.  The  Emperors  invite  their  ancestors  to  sit  at 
the  banquet  with  Shangti.  A  father  is  to  be  honored  as  heaven, 
and  a  mother  as  earth.  In  no  way  could  more  perfect  revei'- 
ence  be  shown  than  in  placing  a  father's  tablet  on  the  altar  with 
that  of  Shangti."  To  these  remarks  of  Dr.  Edkins  explanatory 
of  this  union  of  the  objects  worshipped,  it  may  be  added  that  the 
Emperors  regard  their  predecessors  of  every  dynasty  as  still  in- 
vested with  power  in  Hades,  and  therefore  invoke  their  blessing 
and  presence  by  sacrifice  and  prayers. 

'  Compare  the  frontispiece  of  Volume  I. ;  also  ibid. ,  p.  76. 


198  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

The  statutes  annex  penalties  of  fines  or  blows  in  various  de 
grees  of  punishment  in  case  of  informality  or  neglect,  but  "in 
tliese  penalties  there  is  not  the  least  allusion  to  any  displeasure 
of  the  things  or  beings  worshipped  ;  there  is  nothing  to  be 
feared  but  man's  wrath — nothing  but  a  forfeiture  or  a  fine." 
Heavier  chastisement,  however,  awaits  any  of  the  common  peo- 
ple or  the  unauthorized  w'ho  should  presume  to  state  their 
wants  to  high  Heaven  or  worship  these  objects  of  imperial 
adoration ;  strangulation  or  banishment,  according  to  the  de- 
merits of  the  case,  would  be  their  retribution.  The  ignob'de 
vulyus  may  worship  stocks  and  stones  in  almost  any  form  they 
please,  but  death  awaits  them  if  they  attempt  to  join  the  Son 
of  Heaven,  the  Vicegerent  of  Heaven  and  Earth,  in  his  adora- 
tions to  the  supposed  sources  of  his  power.' 

In  his  capacity  of  Vicegerent,  High  Priest,  and  Mediator  be- 
tween his  subjects  and  the  higher  Powers,  there  are  many  points 
of  similarity  between  the  assumptions  of  the  Emperor  and  of 
the  Pope  at  Rome.  The  idea  the  Chinese  have  of  heaven 
seems  to  be  pantheistic,  and  in  worshipping  heaven,  earth,  and 
terrestrial  gods  they  mean  to  include  and  propitiate  all  supe- 
rior powers.  If,  as  seems  probable,  the  original  idea  of  Shangti, 
as  it  can  be  imperfectly  gleaned  from  early  i-ecords,  was  that  of 
a  supreme  Intelligence,  it  has  since  been  lost.  Of  this  worship, 
the  effects  in  China  upon  the  nation  have  been  both  positive 
and  negative.  One  of  the  nearative  influences  has  been  to  dwarf 
the  State  hierarchy  to  a  complete  nullity — to  prevent  the  growth 
of  a  class  which  could  or  did  use  the  power  of  the  monarchy 
to  sti-engthen  its  own  hold  upon  the  people  as  their  religious 
advisers,  and  on  the  government  as  a  necessary  aid  to  its  efii- 
ciency. 

Tlie  High  Priests  of  China  love  power  and  adulation  too  well 
to  share  this  worship  with  their  subjects,  and  in  engrossing  it 
entirely  they  have  escaped  the  political  evils  of  a  powerful  hie- 
rarchy and  the  people  the  combined  oppressions  of  a  church 

^  Chinese  'Repomtory ,  Vol.  III.,  pp.  49-5:?.  Dr.  J.  Edkins,  Rcl/'r/innfi  of  China, 
Chap.  II. ;  this  chapter,  on  Imperial  Worship,  gives  a  good  account  of  these  cere- 
monies. Legge's  NotioriH  of  the  Chinese  concerning  God  and  Spirits,  pp.  23-36» 
41-43,  for  the  forms  of  pra_)er  used 


NO   STATE   IIIEKARCIIY   IN   CHINA.  199 

and  State.  We  have  seen  that  tlie  popular  riglits  which  are 
so  plainly  taught  in  the  classics  have  been  inculcated  and  perpet- 
uated by  the  common  school  education  ;  we  shall  soon  see,  more- 
over, that  the  ancestral  worship  could  not  admit  the  interference 
of  priest,  altar,  or  sacrifice  outside  of  the  door-posts.  Yet  it  is 
probable  that  all  combined  would  have  been  too  weak  to  resist 
the  seductive  influence  of  a  hierarchy  in  some  form,  if  it  had  not 
been  that  the  Emperor  himself  would  yield  his  own  unapproach- 
able grandeur  to  no  man.  Being  everything  in  his  own  person, 
it  is  too  much  to  expect  that  he  is  going  to  vacate  or  reduce  his 
prerogative,  surrender  his  right  to  make  or  degrade  gods  of  every 
kind  for  his  subjects  to  M'orship,  weaken  his  own  prestige,  or  mor- 
tify the  pride  of  his  fellow-worshippers,  the  high  ministers  of 
State.  The  chains  of  caste  woven  in  India,  the  fetters  of  the  In- 
quisition forged  in  Spain,  the  silly  rites  practised  by  the  augurs 
in  old  Rome,  or  the  horrid  cruelties  and  vile  worship  once  seen 
in  Egypt  and  Syria — in  each  case  done  under  the  sanction  of  the 
State — have  all  been  wanting  along  the  Yellow  River,  and 
spread  none  of  their  evils  to  hamper  the  rule  of  law  in  China. 

This  State  religion  is,  therefore,  a  splendid  and  wonderful 
pageant ;  but  it  can  no  more  be  called  the  religion  of  the  Chi- 
nese than  the  teachings  of  Socrates  could  be  termed  the  faith 
of  the  Greeks.  It  is,  however,  intimately  connected  with  the 
Ju  klao,  or  '  Sect  of  the  Learned,'  commonly  called  Confucian- 
ists  by  foreigners,  because  all  its  members  and  priests  are 
learned  men  who  venerate  the  classical  writings.  It  is  some- 
what inappropriate  to  designate  the  Ju  Mao  a  religious  sect,  or 
regard  it  otherwise  than  as  a  comprehensive  term  for  those  who 
adopt  the  writings  of  Confucius  and  Chu  Hi  and  their  disci- 
ples. The  word  jtt  denotes  one  of  the  literati,  and  was  first 
adopted  a.d.  1150,  as  an  appellation  for  those  who  followed 
the  speculations  of  Chu  Hi  regarding  the  tal  I'ih,  or  '  Great 
Extreme.'  This  author's  comments  on  the  classics  and  his 
metaphysical  writings  have  had  greater  influence  on  his  coun- 
trymen than  those  of  any  other  person  except  Confucius  and 
Mencius ;  whose  works,  indeed,  are  received  according  to  his 
explanations. 

The  remarks  of  Confucius  upon  religious  subjects  were  very 


200  THE   MIDDLi:    KIX(;DO>r. 

few ;  lie  never  taught  the  duty  of  man  to  any  liiglier  power  than 
the  head  of  the  State  or  family,  though  he  supposed  liimself 
commissioned  by  heaven  to  restore  tlie  doctrine  and  usages  of 
the  ancient  kiugs.  lie  admitted  that  he  did  not  understand 
much  about  the  gods ;  that  tliey  were  beyond  and  above  the 
compreliension  of  man  ;  and  that  the  obligations  of  man  lay 
I'ather  in  doing  his  duty  to  his  relatives  and  society  than  in  wor- 
shipping spirits  unknown,  "Not  knowing  even  life,"  said  he, 
"  how  can  we  know  death  ? "  and  when  his  disciples  asked  him 
in  his  last  illness  whom  he  would  sacrifice  to,  he  said  he  had 
already  worshipped.  Chu  Hi  resolved  the  few  and  obscure  ref- 
erences to  Shangti  in  the  S/m  Ivlng  into  pure  materialism ; 
making  nature  to  begin  with  the  tal  I'lh,  cidlcd  pre7)iierjjrlnci2)e 
v/afe/'ui  by  the  French,  whicli  opei'ating  npon  itself  resolved 
itself  into  the  dual  powers,  the  i/ln.  and  yM>(/. 

Sir  John  Davis  compares  this  production  of  the  yin  and  yan^ 
to  the  masculo-feminine  principle  in  the  development  of  the 
mundane  egg  in  the  Egyptian  cosmogony,  and  quotes  an  extract 
showing  that  the  idea  was  entertained  among  the  Hindus,  and 
that  the  androgyn  of  Plato  was  only  another  form  of  this  myth. 
The  Chinese  have  also  the  notion  of  an  egg,  and  that  the  iai  k'lh 
was  evolved  from  it,  oi-  acted  like  the  process  of  hatching  going 
on  in  it,  though  it  may  be  that  with  them  the  introduction  of 
the  egg  is  more  for  the  sake  of  illustration  than  as  the  form  of 
the  cause.  Some  of  Chu  Hi's  philosophical  notions  have  already 
been  quoted  in  Volume  I.'  Ilis  system  of  materialism  captivates 
his  countrymen,  for  it  is  far  nioi'c  thoroughly  worked  out  than 
any  other,  and  allows  scope  for  the  vagaries  of  every  individual 
who  thinks  he  understands  and  can  apply  it  to  explain  whatever 
phenomena  come  in  his  M-ay.  Heat  and  cold,  light  and  darkness, 
fire  and  water,  mind  and  matter,  every  agent,  power,  and  sub- 
stance, known  or  supposed,  are  regarded  as  endued  with  these 
princi])les,  whi(^h  thus  form  a  simple  solution  for  every  question. 
The  infinite  changes  in  the  universe,  the  multiform  actions  and 
reactions  in  nature,  and  all  the  varied  consequences  seen  and 


'  Pp.   68?  ff.  CaiioD   McClatrhic  lias  made  a  careful  iraiif^lation  of  Chapter 
XLIX.  of  liis  works,  giving  hi^  views  on  cosmogony. 


THE   JU    KIAO,    OR   SECT   OF   THE   LEARNED.  201 

unseen  are  alike  easily  explained  by  this  form  of  cause  and  effect, 
this  ingenious  theory  of  evolution.  With  regard  to  the  existence 
of  gods  and  spirits,  Chu  Hi  affirmed  that  sufficient  knowledge 
was  not  jiossessed  to  say  positively  that  they  existed,  and  he  saw 
no  difficulty  in  omitting  the  subject  altogether — a  species  of 
agnosticism  or  indifferentism,  therefore,  which  has  become  the 
creed  of  nearly  the  entire  body  of  educated  men  in  the  Empire. 
His  system  is  also  silent  respecting  the  immortality  of  the  soul, 
as  well  as  future  rewards  and  punishments.  Virtue  is  rewarded 
and  vice  is  punished  in  the  individual  or  in  his  posterity  on 
earth ;  but  of  a  separate  state  of  existence  he  or  his  disciples  do 
not  speak. 

Tn  thus  disposing  of  the  existence  of  superior  powers,  the 
philosophers  do  not  shut  out  all  intelligent  agencies,  but  have 
instituted  a  class  of  sages  or  pure-minded  men  of  exalted  intel- 
lects and  simple  hearts,  wdio  have  been  raised  up  from  time  to 
time  by  Heaven,  Shangti,  or  some  other  power,  as  instructors 
and  examples  to  mankind,  and  who  therefore  deserve  the  rever- 
ence of  their  fellows.  The  office  of  these  shing  jin,  '  perfect 
•men '  or  saints,  is  to  expound  the  will  of  heaven  and  earth  ;  they 
did  not  so  much  speak  their  own  thoughts  as  illustrate  and  settle 
the  principles  on  which  the  world  should  be  governed ;  they 
were  men  intuitively  wise  without  instruction,  w'hile  common 
people  must  learn  to  be  wise.  Of  all  the  saints  in  the  calendar 
of  the  f/w  Jciao  Confucius  is  the  chief  ;  with  him  are  reckoned 
the  early  kings,  Vao  and  Shun,  with  King  Wan  and  his  two 
sons  Kuig  AVu  and  Duke  Chau  ;  but  China  has  produced  no  one 
since  the  "  most  holy  teacher  of  ancient  times  "  whom  his  pi-oud 
disciples  are  willing  to  regard  his  equal — Mencius  being  only  a 
"number  two  saint."  The  deceased  Emperors  of  the  reigning 
dynasty  are  canonized  as  its  efficient  and  divine  patrons,  but  a 
new  line  of  monarchs  would  serve  them  as  they  did  their  prede- 
cessors, by  reducing  them  to  mere  spirits.  The  demonolatry  of  the 
learned  has  gradually  become  so  incorporated  with  popular  su- 
perstitions that  there  is  now  little  practical  distinction  ;  every  one 
is  willing  to  worship  whatever  can  promise  relief  or  afford  assist- 
ance. A  student  of  the  classical  works  naturally  adopts  theit 
views  on   these  points,  without  supposing  that  they  militate 


202  THE    .MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

against  worsliipping  his  ancestors,  joining  tlie  villagers  in  adoring 
the  goddess  of  Mercy  or  any  other  Buddhistic  idol,  or  calling  in 
a  Rationalist  to  write  a  charm.  He  also,  on  coming  into  office, 
expects  to  perform  all  the  ex-officio  religious  ceremonies  required 
of  him,  and  add  the  worship  of  the  Emperor  to  the  rest. 

Every  magistrate  is  officially  required  to  perform  various  idol- 
atrous ceremonies  at  the  temples.  The  objects  of  worship  arc 
numerous,  including  many  others  besides  those  forming  tlio 
"  herd  of  inferior  sacrifices/'  and  new  deities  are  frequently  made 
by  the  Emperor,  on  the  same  principle  that  new  saints  are  canon- 
ized by  the  Pope.  The  worship  of  certain  hills  and  rivers,  and 
of  spirits  supposed  to  preside  over  particular  cities  and  districts, 
has  prevailed  among  the  Chinese  from  ancient  times,  long  before 
the  rise  of  Rationalism  or  introduction  of  Buddhism,  and  is  no 
doubt  the  origin  of  this  official  worship.  In  every  city  the 
C hiny-hivcmg  miao,  i.e.,  '  City  and  Moat  Temple,'  contains  the 
tutelar  divinity  of  the  city  called  Ching-hwang,  with  other  gods, 
and  here  on  the  solstices,  equinoxes,  new  and  full  moons,  etc., 
officers  repair  to  sacrifice  to  it  and  to  the  gods  of  the  land  and 
grain.  Over  the  door  of  the  one  in  Canton  is  written,  "Right* 
and  wrong,  truth  and  falsehood  are  blended  on  eai'th,  but  all  are 
most  clearly  distiiiguished  in  heaven."  C^apt.  Loch  thus  describes 
the  Ching-hwang  miao  at  Shanghai,  as  it  stood  in' 1842 : 

In  the  centre  of  a  serpentine  sheet  of  water  there  is  a  rocky  island,  and 
on  it  a  large  temple  of  two  stories,  litted  up  for  the  accommodation  of  the  wealthy 
puhlic  Pillars  of  carved  wood  support  the  roof,  fretted  groups  of  uncouth 
figures  fill  up  the  narrow  spaces,  while  movable  lattices  screen  the  occupants 
from  the  warmth  of  the  noonday  sun.  Nothing  can  surpass  the  beauty  and 
truth  to  nature  of  the  most  minutely  carved  flowers  and  insects  prodigally  scat- 
tered over  every  screen  and  cornice.  This  is  the  central  and  largest  temple.  A 
number  of  other  light  aerial-looking  structures  of  the  same  form  are  perched  upon 
the  corners  of  artificial  rocky  precipices  and  upon  odd  little  islands.  Light  and 
fanciful  wooden  bridges  connect  most  of  these  islands,  and  are  tlirown  across 
tlie  arms  of  the  serpentine  water,  so  that  each  secjuestered  spot  can  be  visited 
in  turn.  At  a  certain  passage  of  the  sun  the  main  temple  is  shaded  in  front 
by  a  rocky  eminence,  tht^  large  masses  of  which  are  connected  with  great  art 
and  propriety  of  taste,  but  in  shape  and  adjustment  most  studiously  grotesque. 
Trees  and  flowers  and  tufts  of  grass  are  planted  where  art  must  have  been 
taxed  to  the  utmost  to  procure  them  a  lodgment.  In  anotlier  part  of  the  gar- 
den there  is  a  miniature  wood  of  dwarf  trees,  with  a  dell  and  waterfall ;  the 
leaves,  fruit,  and  blo.ssoms  of  the  trees  are  proportionate  to  their  size.    Tortuous 


RELKilors    DCTIKS    OF    MAGISTRATES.  203 

pathways  lead  to  tlu>  toj)  of  tlic  artificial  mountain,  each  turn  formed  with 
studied  art  to  surprise  and  charm  by  offering  at  every  point  fresli  views  and 
objects.  Flowers  and  creepers  sprout  out  from  crevices,  trees  hang  over  the 
jutting  crags,  small  pavilions  are  seen  I'roni  almost  every  vista,  wliile  grottoes 
and  rocky  recesses,  shady  bowers  and  labyrinths,  are  placed  to  entrap  the  un- 
wary, each  with  an  appropriate  motto,  one  inviting  the  wanderer  to  repose, 
another  offering  a  secluded  retreat  to  the  philosopher.' 

Official  Chinese  records  euunierate  1,560  temples  dedicated  to 
Confucius  attached  to  the  examination  halls,  the  offerings  pre- 
sented in  which  are  all  eaten  or  used  by  the  worshippers;  there 
are,  it  is  said,  02,006  pigs,  rabbits,  sheep,  and  deer,  and  27,000 
pieces  of  silk,  annually  offered  upon  their  altars.^  The  munici- 
pal temple  is  not  the  only  one  where  officers  worship,  but,  like 
the  connnon  people,  they  bow  before  whatever  they  think  can 
aid  them  in  their  business  or  estates.  It  has  already  been  stated 
that  the  duty  of  Chinese  officers  extends  to  the  securing  of  genial 
seasons  by  their  good  administration,  and  consequently  if  bad 
harvests  ensue  or  epidemics  rage  the  fault  and  removal  of  the 
calamity  belong  to  them.  The  expedients  they  resort  to  are 
both  ludicrous  and  melancholy.  In  1835  the  prefect  of  Canton, 
on  occasion  of  a  distressing  drousi-ht  of  eio;ht  months,  issued  the 
following  invitation,  which  would  have  better  befitted  a  chief- 
tain of  the  Sechuanas: 

Pan,  acting  prefect  of  Kwangchau,  issues  this  inviting  summons.  Since  for 
a  long  time  there  has  been  no  rain,  and  the  prospects  of  drought  continue, 
and  supplications  are  unanswered,  my  heart  is  scorched  with  grief.  In  the 
whole  province  of  Kwangtung,  are  there  no  extraordinary  persons  who  can 
force  the  dragon  to  send  rain  V  Be  it  known  to  you,  all  ye  soldiers  and  people, 
that  if  there  be  any  one,  whether  of  this  or  any  otlier  province,  priest  or  such 
like,  who  can  by  any  craft  or  arts  bring  down  abundance  of  rain,  I  respectfully 
request  him  to  ascend  the  altar  [of  tlie  dragon],  and  sincerely  and  reverently 
pray.  And  after  the  rain  has  fallen,  I  will  liberally  reward  him  with  money 
and  tablets  to  make  known  his  merits. 

This  invitation  called  forth  a  Buddhist  priest  as  a  "rain  maker," 
and  the  prefect  erected  an  altar  for  him  before  his  own  office, 
upon  which  the  man,  armed  with  cymbal  and  wand,  for  three 

'  Events  in  China,  p.  47.    London,  1843. 

-  During  the  Ilan  dynasty  (A.n.  59)  wine  was  drunk  and  sacrifices  made 
to  Confucius  in  the  study  halls.  The  victim  offered  was  a  dog.  Biot,  Eumi 
»ur  VTmtructiou  eii  Chine,  p.  168. 


204  THE   MIPDLE   KINGDOM. 

days  vainly  repeated  his  incantations  from  morning  to  niglit, 
exposed  bareheaded  to  the  hot  sun,  the  butt  of  the  jeering 
crowd.  The  prefect  himself  was  lampooned  by  the  people  for 
his  folly,  the  following  quatrain  being  pasted  under  a  copy  of 
his  invitation  : 

Kwangchaii's  grecat  protector,  the  magnate  Pan, 
Always  acting  without  regard  to  reason  ; 
Now  prays  for  rain,  and  getting  no  reply, 
Forthwith  seeks  for  aid  to  force  the  dragon. 

The  unsuccessful  eifortsof  the  priest  did  not  render  the  calam- 
ity less  grievous,  and  their  urgent  necessities  led  the  people  to 
resort  to  every  expedient  to  force  their  gods  to  send  rain.  The 
authorities  forbade  the  slaughter  of  animals,  or  in  other  words 
a  fast  was  proclaimed,  to  keep  the  hot  winds  out  of  the  city,  the 
southern  gate  w^as  shut,  and  all  classes  flocked  to  the  temples.  It 
was  estimated  that  on  one  day  twenty  thousand  persons  went  to  a 
celebrated  shrine  of  the  goddess  of  Mercy,  among  whom  were  the 
Governor  and  Prefect  and  their  suites,  who  all  left  their  sedans 
and  walked  with  the  multitude.  The  Governor,  as  a  last  expe- 
dient, the  day  before  rain  came,  intimated  his  intention  of  liber- 
ating all  prisoners  not  charged  with  capital  offences.  As  soon 
as  the  rain  fell  the  people  presented  thank-offerings,  and  the 
southern  gate  of  the  city  was  opened,  accompanied  by  an  odd 
ceremony  of  burning  off  the  tail  of  a  live  sow^  while  the  animal 
was  held  in  a  basket. 

The  officers  and  literati,  though  acknowledging  the  folly  of 
these  observances,  and  even  ridiculing  the  worship  of  senseless 
blocks,  still  join  in  it.  As  an  example  of  this :  In  18G7  a 
severe  drought  near  Peking  called  forth  a  suggestion  from  a 
censor  that  if  a  white  tiger  were  sacrificed  by  the  Emperor  to 
the  dragon  the  rain  would  be  libei-ated  ;  for  "  it  was  his  power- 
ful enemies  which  kept  the  rain-god  fi'oni  acting.'"  Wrmsiang 
was  deputed  to  perform  the  rite  ;  rain  came  not  many  days 
later.  The  offieci-  laughed,  indeed,  at  the  fancy,  yet  could  not 
disenthrall  himself  from  some  degi-ee  of  belief  in  its  efficacy. 
Devotees  sometimes  become  ii-ritated  against  theii-  gods,  and 
resort  to  sunnnary  means  to  force  them  to  hear  their  petitions. 


STATE   KELIGION   AND   THE   CLASSICS.  205 

It  is  said  that  the  Governor  in  Canton,  having  I'epeatedly  as- 
cended in  a  time  of  drouglit  to  the  temple  of  the  god  of  Ilaia 
dressed  in  his  burdensome  robes,  through  the  heat  of  a  trop- 
ical sun,  on  one  of  his  visits  said :  "  The  god  supposes  I  am 
lying  when  I  beseech  his  aid ;  for  how  can  he  know,  seated  in 
his  cool  niche  in  the  temple,  that  the  ground  is  parched  and  the 
sky  hot  V  Whereupon  he  ordered  his  attendants  to  put  a  rope 
around  his  neck  and  haul  his  godship  out  of  doors,  that  he 
might  see  and  feel  the  state  of  the  weather  for  himself.  After 
his  excellency  had  become  cooled  in  the  temple  the  idol  was 
reinstated  in  its  shi'ine,  and  the  good  effects  of  this  treatment 
were  deemed  to  be  fully  proved  by  the  copious  showers  which 
soon  after  fell.  The  Emperor  himself  on  such  occasions  resorts 
to  unusual  sacrifices,  and  sends  his  relatives  and  courtiers  almost 
daily  to  various  temples  to  pray  and  burn  incense.  Imperial 
patronage  of  the  popular  superstitions  is  sought  after  by  the 
officers  in  one  way  and  another  to  please  the  people,  but  it  does 
not  involve  much  outlay  of  funds.'  One  connnon  mode  is  to 
solicit  his  Majesty  for  an  inscription  to  be  placed  over  the  door- 
way of  a  temple,  or  memorialize  him  to  confer  a  higher  title 
upon  the  god.  On  occasion  of  a  victory  over  the  rebels  in 
Kwangtung  in  1822,  the  shrine  of  a  neighboring  deity,  supposed 
to  have  assisted  in  obtaining  it,  received  a  new  title  connnem- 
orative  of  the  event,  and  a  temple  was  built  for  liim  at  the  ex- 
pense of  government. 

The  combined  effect  of  the  State  religion  and  classical  M'rit- 
iiigs,  notwithstanding  their  atheism  and  coldness,  has  had  some 
effect  in  keeping  the  people  out  of  the  swinish  ditch  of  pollution. 
It  is  one  of  their  prime  tenets  that  human  nature  is  originally 
virtuous,  and  becomes  corrupt  entirely  by  bad  precept  and  ex- 
ample. This  is  taught  children  fi-om  their  earliest  years,  and 
officers  refer  repeatedly  to  it  in  their  exhortations  to  obedience ; 
its  necessary  results  of  happiness,  if  carried  out,  are  illustrated 
by  trite  comparisons  drawn  from  common  life  and  general  ex- 


'  Klaproth  cites  (among  many)  an  instance  of  the  manner  in  which  favora- 
ble angnries  are  regarded  and  made  use  of  by  officials.  Memoiren  siir  l*Asu', 
Tome  T.,  p.  459. 


206  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

perience.  The  Chinese  seldom  refer  to  the  vengeance  of  tha 
gods  or  future  punishment  as  motives  for  reform,  but  to  the 
well-being  of  individuals  and  good  order  of  society  in  this  world. 
Examples  of  this  type  of  human  perfection,  fully  developed,  are 
constantly  set  before  the  people  in  Confucius  and  the  ancient 
kings  he  delineates.  The  classical  tenets  require  duties  that 
cai'ry  their  own  arguments  in  their  obedience,  as  well  as  afford 
matter  of  thought,  while  the  standard  books  of  Buddhists  and 
Rationalists,  where  they  do  not  reiterate  the  same  obligations, 
are  mostly  filled  with  unprofitable  speculations  or  solemn  non- 
sense. Consequently  the  priests  of  those  sects  had  onl}'  the 
superstitious  fear  of  the  people  to  work  wpon  where  reason  was 
at  fault,  and  so  could  not  take  the  whole  man  captive ;  for  his 
reason  accorded  with  the  teaching  of  the  classics  as  far  as  they 
went,  and  only  took  up  with  divination  and  supplication  of 
higher  powers  where  their  instructions  ceased.  The  govern- 
ment, therefore,  being  composed  chiefly  of  such  people,  edu- 
cated to  venerate  pure  reason,  could  not  be  induced  to  take  the 
initiatory  step  of  patronizing  a  religion  of  such  an  uncertain 
character,  and  confessedly  inferior  in  its  moral  sanctions  to  what 
they  already  possessed.  The  current  has,  more  or  less,  always 
set  this  way,  and  the  two  other  sects  have  been  tolerated  when 
they  did  not  interfere  with  government.  It  is  too  true  that  the 
instructions  of  Confucius  and  his  school  are  imperfect  and  erro- 
neous when  measured  by  the  standard  of  revelation,  and  the 
people  can  never  emerge  from  selfish  atheism  and  silly  super- 
stition as  long  as  they  have  nothing  better;  but  the  vagaries  of 
the  Buddhists  neither  satisfy  the  reason  nor  reprove  vice,  nor 
does  their  celibate  idleness  benefit  society.  Tf  the  former  be 
bad,  the  latter  is  worse. 

The  sect  of  the  nationalists,  or  Tao  I'la^  is  derived  from  Lau- 
tsz',  or  Lau-kiun.  According  to  the  legends  he  was  born  bTc. 
004,  in  Ku,  a  hamlet  in  the  kingdom  of  Tsu,  supposed  to  lie  in 
Luh-yeh  hien,  in  the  provin(!e  of  Ilonan.  His  birth  was  fifty- 
four  years  before  Confucius.  The  stoiy  is  that  he  had  white 
hair  and  eyebrows  at  his  birth,  and  was  carried  in  the  womb 
eighty  years,  whence  he  was  called  Lau-tsz\  the  "old  boy,'  and 
Lau-kiun,  the 'venerable  prince.'      Nothing  reliable  about  hia 


SECT    OF    RATIONALISTS,    OR   TAO    KIA.  207 

early  life  lias  come  down  to  us,  but,  as  was  the  case  with  Hesiod, 
his  disciples  have  enveloped  his  actions  and  cliaracter  in  a  nim- 
bus of  wonders.  M.  Julien  has  given  a  translation  of  their  his- 
tory, dated  about  a.d.  350,  in  liis  version  of  the  Tao  Teh  King. 
Pauthier  says  he  was  appointed  librarian  by  the  Emperor,  and 
diligently  applied  himself  to  the  study  of  the  ancient  books, 
becoming  acquainted  with  all  the  rites  and  histories  of  foi-mer 
times.  During  his  life  he  is  repoi'ted  to  have  journeyed  west- 
M'ard,  but  the  extent  and  dui-ation  of  his  travel  are  not  recorded, 
and  even  its  occurrence  is  reasonably  doubted.  De  Guignes 
says  he  went  to  Ta  Tsin,  a  country  under  the  rule  of  the 
Romans,  but  he  forgets  that  the  Romans  had  not  then  even 
concpiered  Italy ;  some  suppose  Ta  Tsin  to  be  Judea.  His  only 
extant  work,  the  Tao  Teh  King,  or  '  Canons  of  Reason  and 
Virtue,' '  was  written  in  Ling-pao,  in  Honan,  before  his  travels, 
but  whether  the  teachings  contained  in  it  are  entirely  his  own 
or  were  derived  from  hints  i)nported  from  India  or  Persia 
cannot  be  decided.  It  contains  only  five  thousand  three  hun- 
dred and  twenty  characters,  divided  into  eighty  one  short  chap- 
ters ;  the  text  of  one  edition  is  said  to  have  been  found  in  a 
tomb  A.D.  574.  It  has  been  translated  by  Julien,  Chalmei's, 
and  von  Strauss.  A  parallel  has  been  suggested  between  the 
sects  of  the  Rationalists  of  China,  the  Zoroastrians  of  Persia, 
Essenes  of  Judea,  Gnostics  of  the  primitive  church,  and  the 
eremites  of  the  Thebaid,  but  a  common  source  for  their  simi- 
laritv — the  desire  of  their  members,  after  the  sect  had  become 
recognized,  to  live  without  labor  on  the  credulity  of  their  fellow- 
men — explains  most  of  the  likeness,  w^ithout  supposing  thafc 
their  tenets  were  derived  from  each  other. 

The  teachings  of  Lau-tsz'  are  not  unlike  those  of  Zeno  ;  botji 
recommend  retirement  and  contemplation  as  the  most  effectual 
means  of  purifying  the  spiritual  part  of  our  nature,  annihilating 
the  passions,  and  finally  returning  to  the  bosom  of  Tcu>.  His 
teachings  on  the  highest  subjects  of  human  thought  have  fur- 
nished his  countrymen  ample  materials  for  the  most  diverse 

'  Perhaps  this  may  be  rendered  as  the  Logos  of  Plato,  as  near  as  any  dogma 
can  be  coiu  pared  to  it. 


208  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

views  on  these  same  themes  according  to  their  various  fancies. 
In  his  striving  after  the  infinite  he  can  only  describe  Tao  by 
wliat  it  is  not  and  delineate  71A  as  an  ideal  virtue  which  no 
man  can  attain  to.  In  Chapter  XXI.  they  are  thus  blended : 
"  The  visible  forms  of  the  highest  Teh  only  proceed  from  Tao^ 
and  Tao  is  a  thing  impalpable,  indefinite.  How  indefinite  I 
How  impalpable  !  And  [yet]  therein  are  forms  indefinite,  im- 
palpable !  and  [yet]  therein  are  things  (or  entities).  Profound 
and  indistinct  too,  and  [yet]  therein  are  essences.  These  essence; 
are  profoundly  real,  and  therein  faith  is  found.  From  of  old 
till  now  its  name  has  never  passed  away.  It  gives  issue  to  all 
existences  at  their  beginnings.  How  [then]  can  I  know  the 
manner  of  the  beginning  of  all  existences  ?  I  know  it  by  this 
lTa6\P 

Such  teachings  are  susceptible  of  alinost  any  explanation,  and 
Julien's  extracts  from  the  commentaries  give  one  some  idea  of 
their  diversity,  though  probably  much  well  worth  reading  still 
lies  buried  in  their  ])ages.  The  names  of  sixty -four  commentators 
are  known,  of  whom  three  were  reigning  emperors ;  and  their  ex- 
planations have  given  their  countrymen  veiy  doubtful  guidance 
through  this  mystic  l)ook.  To  those  who  can  compare  its  aspi- 
rations and  dogmas  with  the  speculations  of  (ireek  and  Itoman 
writers,  the  teachings  of  the  Zendavesta,  and  the  declarations 
of  the  Bible,  the  work  of  Lau-tsz'  becomes  of  innnense  interest. 
His  countiymen,  however,  to  whom  these  great  writers  were  all 
unknown,  have  looked  upon  this  system  of  philosophy  rather  as 
the  reveries  of  a  wise  man  than  the  instructions  of  a  practical 
thinker. 

In  Wiapter  I.  he  tries  to  define  tao.  It  is  reaching  after  the 
imknown.  "  The  too  which  can  be  expressed  is  not  the  eternal 
tao-  the  name  which  can  be  named  is  not  the  etei'nal  name.  The 
Nameless  [being]  is  before  heaven  and  earth ;  when  named  it 
is  the  mother  of  all  things.  Therefore,  to  be  constantly  passion- 
less is  to  be  able  to  see  its  sj)iritual  essence;  and  to  be  constantly 
passionate  is  to  see  the  forms  (or  limits)  [of  tao'\.  These  two 
conditions  are  alike  but  have  different  names  ;  they  can  both  be 
called  a  mystery.  The  more  it  is  examined  into  the  moi'O 
mysterious  it  is  seen  to  be.      It  is  the  gate  of  all  spiritual 


THE   TAO-TKir    KING    OF    LAU-TSZ'.  209 

things."  By  the  phrases  "constantly  passionless"  and  "con- 
stantly passionate  '■  are  denoted  non-existence  and  existence,  ac- 
cording to  the  commentators. 

In  Chapter  LXV.  there  is  a  similar  striving  to  describe  teh. 
"  In  olden  times  those  who  practised  tdo  did  not  do  so  to  en- 
lighten the  people,  but  rather  to  render  them  simple-minded. 
When  the  people  have  too  mnch  worldly  wisdom  it  makes  them 
hard  to  govern.  lie  who  encourages  this  worldly  wisdom  in 
the  government  of  a  State  is  its  misfortune ;  as  he  who  gov- 
erns without  it  is  its  blessino-.  To  know  ario;lit  these  two 
things  is  to  have  a  model  State;  and  the  constant  exhibition 
of  this  ideal  is  M'hat  I  call  sublime  tc/t.  This  sublime  virtue 
[teh]  is  profound,  is  incommensurable,  is  opposed  to  time-serv- 
ing plans.  If  followed  it  will  bring  about  a  state  of  general 
accord." 

In  Chapter  XX.  the  lonely  cynic  seems  to  utter  his  sad  cry  at 
the  little  progress  of  his  teachings.  "All  men  are  full  of  am- 
bitious desires,  like  those  greedy  for  the  stalled  ox,  or  the  high 
delights  of  spring  time.  1  alone  am  calm  ;  my  affections  have 
not  yet  germinated  ;  I  am  as  a  new-born  babe  which  has  not  yet 
smiled  on  its  mother.  I  am  forlorn  as  one  who  has  no  home. 
All  others  have  and  to  spare,  I  alone  am  like  one  who  has  lost 
all.  In  mind  I  am  like  a  fool ;  I  am  all  in  a  maze.  Common 
people  are  bright  enough  ;  I  am  enveloped  in  darkness.  Com- 
mon people  are  sagacious  enough  ;  I  am  in  gloom  and  confusion. 
I  toss  about  as  if  on  the  sea ;  I  float  to  and  fro  as  if  I  was  never 
to  rest.  Others  have  something  they  can  do  ;  I  alone  am  good 
for  nothing,  and  just  like  a  lout.  I  am  entirely  solitary,  differ- 
ing from  other  men  in  that  I  glory  in  my  Mother  who  nurses 
[all  beings]." 

The  main  object  kept  in  view  throughout  this  work  is  the  in- 
culcation of  personal  virtue,  and  Lau-tsz'  founds  his  argument  for 
its  practice  in  the  fitness  of  things,  as  he  tries  to  prove  by  re- 
ferring all  the  manifestations  and  laws  of  mind  and  matter  to 
the  unknown  factor  tao.  In  Chapter  IV.  he  attempts  to  embody 
lus  struggling  thoughts  in  these  few  words  describing  tao: 
"  Tao  is  a  void ;  still  if  one  uses  it,  it  seems  to  be  inexhaustible. 
How  profound  it  is !  It  seems  like  the  patriarch  of  all  things. 
Vol.  II.— 14 


2flO  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

It  softens  sharp  things,  loosens  tangled  things,  harmonizes  bril 
liant  things,  and  assimilates  itself  to  worldly  things  of  the  dust. 
How  tranquil  it  is  !  It  seems  to  endure  perpetually.  I  know 
not  whose  son  it  is.  It  seems  so  have  existed  before  T'l  [or 
Shangti]." 

Such  utterances  as  these  carry  neither  comfort  nor  repentance 
to  the  sorrowing,  sinful  heart  of  man  ;  he  cannot  go  to  such  an 
abnegation  for  guidance  or  relief  in  his  troubles,  and  therefore 
the  maxims  of  Lau-tsz'  have  fallen  on  callous  hearts.  Another 
extract.  Chapter  XLIX.,  is,  however,  more  practical ;  it  is  not 
the  only  one  which  furnishes  instruction  of  the  highest  character. 
"  The  perfect  man  [.s/iui(/Ju)']  has  no  immutable  sentiments  of 
his  own,  [for]  he  makes  the  mind  of  mankind  his  own.  He  who 
is  good,  I  would  meet  with  goodness ;  and  he  who  is  not  good, 
I  would  still  also  meet  with  goodness ;  [for]  teh  is  goodness. 
He  who  is  sincere  I  would  meet  with  sincerity  ;  and  he  who  is 
insincere,  I  would  still  also  meet  with  sincerity  ;  [for]  teh  is 
sincerity.  The  perfect  man  dwells  in  the  world  calm  and  re- 
served, his  soul  preserving  the  same  I'cgard  foi-  all  mankind. 
The  people  all  turn  their  eyes  and  ears  toward  him,  and  he  re- 
gards them  alike  as  his  children." 

In  order  to  better  understand  these  aphorisms,  they  need  to 
be  read  with  the  help  of  the  various  connnentaries ;  these  fur- 
nish us  with  a  better  estimate  of  their  value  than  any  other 
guides.  Foreign  \vriters  necessarily  judge  such  a  work  by  their 
own  higher  standard ;  as  does  M.  Pauthier  when  he  remarks 
upon  the  last  extract :  "  La  sagesse  humaine  ne  pent  ctre  jamais 
exprime  des  paroles  plus  saintes  et  plus  profondes."  He  com- 
pares Lau-tsz'  to  his  own  countryman  Rousseau — and  these  two 
had  a  good  deal  in  common  in  their  sad  reflections  upon  the 
evils  of  the  times.  In  another  place  the  French  author  goes 
even  farther,  and  regards  the  vague  expressions  in  Chapter  XLH., 
"which  show  their  derivation  from  the  Yi/i  K'in<i — viz. :  "  Tao 
produced  one,  one  produced  two,  two  produced  thiee,  and  three 
produced  all  things  " — as  the  Asiatic  form  of  the  docti-ine  and 
procession  of  the  Holy  Trinity  and  the  biblical  idea  of  the  re- 
union of  good  men  with  their  Maker  I 

One  more  extract  from  the  Tao  teh  K'ukj  will  till  the  space  at 


ITS   SPECULATIONS   AND  APHORISMS.  211 

command ;  but  sententious  apothegms  like  these  in  Chapter 
XXXIII.  are  scattered  throughout  the  book  :  "  He  who  knows 
men  is  wise ;  [while]  he  who  knows  himself  is  perspicacious. 
He  who  conquers  men  is  strong ;  [while]  he  who  conquers  him- 
self is  mighty.  lie  who  knows  when  he  has  enough  is  rich. 
He  who  acts  energetically  has  a  fixed  purpose  in  view.  He 
who  does  not  miss  his  nature  endures ;  [while]  he  who  deceases 
and  still  is  not  extinct  has  immortality  " — referring,  as  the  com- 
mentators agree,  to  the  life  of  the  soul  after  it  leaves  the 
body. 

Such  a  work  can  hardly  be  accurately  translated  into  a  Euro- 
pean language ;  a  perusal  of  all  the  translations  enables  one  to 
appreciate  this  point.  Some  translators  have  missed  the  point 
of  Lau-tsz's  teachings  by  not  attending  to  the  parallelisms  run- 
ning through  them,  where  one  limb  of  the  couplet  illustrates  and 
defines  the  other.  In  conclusion,  it  is  still  true  that  the  absence 
of  clear  exposition  on  the  duties  of  men  in  their  marital,  parental, 
and  fraternal  relations ;  the  want  of  all  instruction  upon  their 
obligations  and  rights  as  members  of  the  family,  the  village, 
and  the  State ;  and  lastly,  his  silence  upon  the  voice  of  conscience 
and  the  effects  of  sin  upon  the  soul  of  man,  show  that  Lau-tsz' 
was  more  an  ascetic  than  a  philanthropist,  more  of  a  metaphy- 
sician than  a  humanitarian. 

Mr.  Samuel  Johnson  has  indicated  the  high  position  this 
ancient  relic  holds  in  his  examination  of  its  tenets.  "  Xothing 
like  this  book  exists  in  Chinese  literature ;  nothing,  so  far  as 
yet  known,  so  lofty,  so  vital,  so  restful  at  the  roots  of  strength ; 
in  structure  as  wonderful  as  in  spirit ;  the  fixed  syllabic  charac- 
ters, formed  for  visible  and  definite  meaning,  here  compacted 
into  terse  aphorisms  of  a  mystical  and  universal  wisdom,  so 
subtly  translated  out  of  their  ordinary  spheres  to  meet  a  demand 
for  spiritual  expression  that  it  is  confessedly  almost  impossible 
to  render  them  with  certainty  into  another  tongue.  ...  It 
is  a  book  of  wonderful  ethical  and  spiritual  simplicity,  and  deals 
neither  in  speculative  cosmogony  nor  in  popular  superstitions. 
It  is  not  the  speculations  of  an  old  philosopher,  as  Chalmers 
calls  it.  It  is  in  practical  earnest,  and  speaks  from  the  heart 
and  to  the  heart.     Its  religion  resembles  that  of  Fenelon  or 


212  THE   MIDDLE   KIXGDOM. 

Thomas  a  ICeinpis,  combined  witli  a  perceptive  rationalism  of 
wliicli  they  were  iu)t  masters."  ' 

The  historian  ISz'ma  Tsien  relates  an  interview  wliich  Confu- 
cius had  witli  Lau-tsz'  when,  at  the  age  of  tliirty-fonr  (u.c.  517), 
he  visited  the  capital  to  study  the  ritual  of  ^tate  worship,  at 
which  time  the  latter  would  be  eighty-seven  years  old.  Dr. 
Legge  gives  an  account  of  this  meeting,  which  it  is  to  be  wished 
could  be  better  known,  for  the  account  is  not  very  certain.  The 
legendary  history  amplifies  it  largely,  but  in  no  extravagant 
style,  and  quite  consonant  to  their  diiferent  characters.  Sz'ma 
Tsien  makes  the  elder  lecture  the  younger  philosopher  in  the 
following  style:  "Those  whom  you  talk  about  are  dead,  and 
their  bones  mouldered  to  dust ;  only  their  words  remain.  AVhen 
the  su{)erior  man  gets  his  time,  he  mounts  aloft;  but  when  the 
time  is  against  him,  he  moves  as  if  his  feet  were  entangled.  I 
have  heard  that  a  good  merchant,  though  he  has  rich  treasures 
deeply  stored,  appears  as  if  he  were  poor ;  and  that  the  superior 
man  whose  virtue  is  complete  is  yet  to  outward  seeming  stupid. 
Put  away  your  proud  air  and  many  desires,  your  insinuating 
habit  and  wild  will.  They  are  of  no  advantage  to  you.  This 
is  all  which  I  have  to  tell  you."  To  the  reply  of  Confucius, 
that  he  liad  sought  to  get  tao  for  twenty  years,  and  had  sought 
in  vain,  Lau-tsz'  rejoined  in  a  strain  worthy  of  Diogenes,  which 
Chwang-tsz'  thus  reports :  "  If  tao  could  be  offered  to  men, 
thei'e  is  no  one  who  would  not  willingly  offer  it  to  his  prince; 
if  it  could  be  presented  to  men,  everybody  would  like  to  present 
it  to  his  parents;  if  it  could  be  announced  to  men,  each  man 
woul^l  gladly  announce  it  to  his  brothers;  if  it  could  be  handed 
down  to  men,  who  would  not  wish   to  transmit  it  to  his  chil- 


'  Johnson,  Oriental  Relujions :  China,  pp.  862-8G5.  Pautliier,  La  Chine,  pp. 
110-120.  Chahuers,  Speculations  of  the  Old  Plnkisopher.  Julien,  J^a,  JAvrcde  la 
Vote  et  de  la  Vertu,  Paris,  1859  ;  this  last  is  the  most  scholarly  work  on  tliia 
classic  which  lias  yet  appeared.  R.  von  Reinhold,  Dcr  TlVr/  zur  Tagend, 
Leipzig,  1870.  Victor  von  Strauss,  Lao-TsVs  Tao  Te  King,  Ans  deni  ChineS' 
imhen  ins  Deutsche  ilhersetzt,  Leipzig,  1870.  See  also  Doolittle's  Vocalndanj,  Vol. 
II.,  Part  III.  T.  Watters,  Lao-Tzu,  A  Study  in  Chinese  Philosophy,  Hongkong, 
1870.  Dr.  Edkins  in  Transactions  of  N.  C.  Br.  R  A.  S.  for  1H.')5,  Art.  IV. 
F.  H.  Balfour,  Chiianfj  7'sze's  Divine  Cktssic  of  Nan -hi/ d,  i^ha.uii\ia.\,  1881. 


INTEP.VIEW   75ETAVKEN    LAU-TSZ'    AND    CONFUCIUS.      213 

dren  ?  Why  tlieii  can  you  not  ol)tain  it  ?  This  is  the  reason. 
You  are  incapable  of  giving  it  an  asyhnn  in  your  heart." ' 

Such  speculative  teachings  and  waiting  till  the  times  were 
good  were  not  adapted  to  entertain  or  benefit,  and  Confucius 
understood  his  countrymen  and  his  own  duty  nmch  better  than 
Lau-tsz\  in  doing  all  he  could  by  precept  and  practice  to  show 
them  the  excellence  of  what  he  believed  to  be  right.  The  di- 
vergence of  these  two  great  men  sprung  from  the  diiferences  in 
human  minds  in  all  climes  and  ages.  The  teachings  of  the 
Tao-teh  King,  however,  are  no  more  responsible  for  the  subse- 
quent organization  and  vagaries  of  the  sect  of  Taoists  down  to 
the  present  time  than  the  New  Testament  is  for  the  legends  of 
monkery  or  the  absurdities  of  mystics.  M.  Bazin  has  endeav- 
ored to  show  that  in  China  there  has  been,  from  early  times, 
a  progression  from  magic  to  mythology,  from  mythology  to 
philosophy ;  and  when  philosophy  began  to  crystallize  into  par- 
ties and  take  on  an  organized  discipline  of  sects,  during  and 
after  the  Ilan  dynasty  down  to  the  Tang,  they  took  up  the  old 
native  mj'thology  against  the  newly  arrived  Buddhists,  and  imi- 
tated them  by  adopting  Lau-tsz'  as  their  god  and  his  book  as  the 
foundation  of  their  tenets.  Previous  to  this  period  he  was  one 
among  the  philosophers  of  the  Flowery  Land  ;  in  time  he  has 
been  taken  as  the  founder  of  a  system  of  religion.  If  the  Gnos- 
tics had  deified  Lucretius  and  taken  his  poem  as  their  text-book 
the  cases  would  have  been  similar. 

The  earliest  writers  on  Taoism  are  Chwang-tsz'  and  Lih-tsz'  in 
the  fourth  century,  Avho  have  been  amplified  by  their  followers. 
It  is,  as  Wylie  well  observes,  diflficult  to  educe  a  well-ordered 
system  out  of  the  motley  chaos  of  modern  Taoism,  Mdiere  the 
pursuit  of  immortality,  the  conquest  of  the  passions,  a  search 
after  the  philosopher's  stone,  the  use  of  amulets,  and  the  obser- 
vance of  fasts  and  sacrifices  before  gods,  are  mixed  with  the 
profound  speculations  of  recluses  upon  abstruse  questions  of 
theology  and  philosophy.  Some  of  the  later  writers  of  the 
Taoists  discourse  upon  Reason  in  a  way  that  would  please 
Brownson  and  befit  the  pages  of  the  Dial.     The  teachings  of 

'  Legge,  CMnese  Classics,  I.  Proleg.,  p.  C5.   Julieii,  Tno-te  King,  Int.,  p.  xxvii. 


214  THE   MIDDLE   KHSTGDOM. 

the  ancient  and  modern  transcendentalists  are  alike  destitute  of 
common  sense  and  unproductive  of  good  to  their  fellow-men. 
Dr.  Medlmrst  quotes  one  of  the  Chinese  nationalists,  who 
praises  reason  in  a  marvellous  rhapsody  : 

What  is  there  superior  to  heaven,  and  from  which  heaven  and  earth 
sprang  ?  Nay,  what  is  there  superior  to  space  and  which  moves  in  space  ? 
The  great  Tao  is  the  parent  of  space,  and  space  is  the  parent  of  heaven  and 
earth,  and  heaven  and  earth  produced  men  and  things.  .  .  .  The  venerable 
prince  -(Reason)  arose  prior  to  the  great  original,  standing  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  mighty  wonderful,  and  floating  in  the  ocean  of  deep  obscurity. 
He  is  spontaneous  and  self-existing,  produced  before  the  beginning  of  empti- 
ness, commencing  prior  to  uncaused  existences,  pervading  all  heaven  and 
earth,  whose  beginning  and  end  no  years  can  circumscribe. 

The  sectarians  suppose  their  founder  was  merely  an  imper- 
sonation of  this  power,  and  that  he  whom  they  call  "  the  vener- 
able prince,  the  origin  of  primary  matter,  the  root  of  heaven 
and  earth,  the  occupier  of  infinite  space,  the  commencement  of 
all  things,  farther  back  than  the  utmost  stretch  of  numbers  can 
reach,"  created  the  universe.  They  notice  three  incarnations 
of  him  during  the  present  epoch,  one  during  the  Shang  dynasty, 
B.C.  1407,  one  at  the  time  of  Confucius,  and  a  third  about  A.n. 
623,  when  a  man  of  Shansi  reported  having  seen  an  old  man 
who  called  himself  Lau-kiun.  Only  the  priests  of  this  sect  are 
regarded  as  its  members;  they  live  in  temples  and  small  commu- 
nities with  their  families,  cultivating  the  grotmd  attached  to  the 
establishment,  and  thus  perpetuate  their  body ;  many  lead  a 
wandering  life,  and  derive  a  pi-ecarious  livelihood  from  the  sale 
of  chariris  and  medical  nostrums.  They  shave  the  sides  of  the 
head  and  coil  the  rest  of  the  hair  in  a  tuft  upon  the  crown, 
thrusting  a  pin  through  it,  and  are  I'cadily  recognized  by  their 
slate-colored  robes.  They  study  astrology  and  profess  to  have 
dealhigs  with  spirits,  their  books  containing  a  gi-eat  variety  of 
stories  of  priests  who  have  done  wonderful  acts  by  their  help. 
The  Pastimes  of  the  Study^  already  noticed,  is  one  of  these  books, 
and  Davis  introduces  a  pleasant  story  of  (^hwang  and  his  wife 
from  another  work.'      They  long  endeavored  to  find  a  beverage 

'  The  Chinese,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  118-128.  Wylie,  Notes  on  Chinese  Literature,  p 
173.     Giles,  Strange  Stories  from  a  Chinese  Studio,  1880. 


RITES   AND   MYTHOLOGY    OF   THE  TAOISTS.  210 

which  would  insure  immortality,  and  during  the  Tang  dynasty 
the  Emperor  and  highest  officers  were  carried  away  with  their 
delusions.  The  title  of  '  Heavenly  Doctors '  was  conferred  on 
them,  and  a  superb  temple  erected  to  Lau-tsz'  in  Chang-an,  con- 
taining his  statue ;  examinations  were  ordered  in  a.d.  674,  to 
be  held  in  the  Tao-teh  JClng,  and  some  of  the  priests  reached 
the  highest  honors  in  the  State,  Since  that  time  they  have 
degenerated,  and  are  now  looked  upon  as  ignorant  cheats  and 
designing  jugglers,  who  are  quite  as  willing  to  use  their  magical 
powers  to  injure  their  enemies  as  to  help  those  who  seek  their 
aid. 

In  some  places  the  votaries  of  Tao,  on  the  third  day  of  the 
third  month,  go  barefoot  over  ignited  charcoal ;  and  on  the  anni- 
versary of  the  birthday  of  the  High  Emperor  of  the  Sombre 
Heavens,  "  they  assemble  together  before  the  temple  of  this 
imaginary  being,  and  having  made  a  great  fire,  about  fifteen  or 
twenty  feet  in  diameter,  go  over  it  barefoot,  preceded  by  the 
priests,  and  bearing  the  gods  in  their  arms.  The  previous  cere- 
monies consist  in  chanting  prayers,  ringing  bells,  sprinkling  holy 
water,  blowing  horns,  and  brandishing  swords  in  and  over  the 
flames  in  order  to  subdue  the  demon,  after  which  they  dart 
through  the  devouring  element.  They  firmly  assert  that  if  they 
possess  a  sincere  mind  they  will  not  be  injured  by  the  fire,  but 
both  priests  and  people  get  miserably  burnt  on  these  occasions.' 
Yet  such  is  the  delusion,  and  the  idea  the  people  entertain  of 
the  benefit  of  these  services,  that  they  willingly  contribute  large 
sums  to  provide  the  sacrifices  and  pay  the  performers."  "^ 

This  ceremony  is  practised  in  Fuhkien  and  at  Batavia,  but 
is  not  very  general,  for  the  Chinese  are  the  antipodes  of  the 
Hindus  in  their  endurance  and  relish  for  sufferingsand  austerities 
in  the  hope  of  obtaining  future  happiness.  The  Rationalists 
worship  a  great  variety  of  idols,  among  which  ITuh-liioang 
Shangtl  is  one  of  the  highest ;  their  pantheon  also  includes 
genii,  devils,  inferior  spirits,  and  numberless  other  objects  of 

'  Compare  Escayrac  de  Lauture,  Memoire  sur  la  Chine,  Religion,  pp.  87, 102. 
Yule's  Mdiro  Polo,  Vol.  I.,  p.  286.  Also  Bode's  Bokhara,  p.  271,  for  a  similai 
practice  among  the  Moslems. 

"^  Medliurst's  China,  its  Shite  and  Prospects,  p.  168. 


216  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM, 

worship.  The  Siu.  Shin  JTi,  or '  Records  of  Researches  concern- 
ing the  Gods,'  contains  an  account  of  tlie  birth  of  the  deitj 
whose  anniversary  is  celebrated  as  above  described. 

Tliere  was  once  a  childless  emperor  called  Tsingtili  (' Pure  Virtue'),  who 
snmmoiied  a  large  company  of  Tao  priests  to  perform  their  rites  in  his  behalf, 
and  continued  their  worship  half  a  year.  The  Empress  Pao  Yueh-kwang 
('  Gemmeous  Moonlight')  on  a  night  dreamed  that  she  saw  the  great  and  emi- 
nent Lau-kiun,  together  with  a  large  number  of  superior  deities,  riding  in 
parti-colored  carriages  with  vast  resplendent  banners  and  shaded  by  bright 
variegated  umbrellas.  Here  was  the  great  founder  Lau-kiun  sitting  in  a  dragon 
carriage,  and  holding  in  his  arms  a  young  infant,  whose  body  was  entirely 
covered  with  pores,  from  which  unbounded  splendors  issued,  illuminating  the 
hall  of  the  palace  with  ever}'  precious  color.  Banners  and  canopies  preceded 
Lau-kiun  as  he  came  floating  along.  Then  was  the  heart  of  the  Empress  elated 
with  joy,  and  reverently  kneeling  before  him,  said :  "At  present  our  monarch 
has  no  male  descendants,  and  I  wishfully  beseech  you  for  this  child  that  lie 
m.ay  become  the  sovereign  of  our  hearts  and  altars.  Prostrate  I  look  up  to  your 
merciful  kindness,  earnestly  imploring  thee  to  commiserate  and  grant  my  re- 
quest." He  at  once  ausw(n'ed,  "  It  is  my  special  desire  to  present  the  boy  to 
you ;  "  whereupon  she  thankfully  received  him,  and  immediately  returned  from 
the  pursuit  of  the  dream,  and  found  herself  advanced  a  year  in  pregnancy.  , 
When  the  birth  took  place  a  resplendent  light  poured  forth  from  the  child's 
body,  which  filled  the  whole  country  with  brilliant  glares  His  entire  counte- 
nance was  super-eminently  beautiful,  so  that  none  became  weary  in  beholding 
him.  When  in  childhood  he  possessed  the  clearest  intelligence  and  compas- 
sion, and  taking  the  possessions  of  the  country  and  the  funds  of  the  treasury, 
he  distributed  them  to  the  poor  and  afflicted,  the  widowers  and  widows,  orphans 
and  childless,  the  houseless  and  sick,  halt,  deaf,  blind,  and  lame. 

Not  long  after  this  the  demise  of  his  father  took  place,  and  he  succeeded  to  the 
government ;  but  reflecting  on  the  instability  of  life,  he  resigned  his  throne 
and  its  cares  to  his  ministers,  and  repaired  to  the  hills  of  Fuming,  where  he  gave 
himself  up  to  meditation,  and  being  perfected  in  merit  ascended  to  heaven  to 
enjoy  eternal  life.  He  however  descended  to  earth  again  eight  hundred  times, 
and  became  the  companion  of  the  common  people  to  instruct  them  in  his  doc- 
trines. After  that  he  made  eight  hundred  more  journeys,  ejigaging  in  medical 
practice  and  successfully  curing  the  people  ;  and  then  another  similar  series, 
in  which  he  exercised  universal  benevolence  in  hades  and  earth,  expounded 
all  aljstract  doctrines,  elucidated  the  spiritual  literature,  magnanimously  pro- 
mulged  tlie  renovating  ethics,  gave  glory  to  the  widely  spread  merits  of  the 
gods,  assisted  the  nation,  and  saved  the  people.  During  another  eight  hundred 
descents  he  exhibited  ])atient  suffering;  though  men  took  his  life,  yet  he  parted 
with  his  fU^sh  and  blood.  After  this  he  became  the  first  of  the  verified  golden 
genii,  and  was  denominated  tlie  pure  and  immaculate  one,  self-existing,  of  high- 
est intelligence.' 


'  Chinese  Repository,  Vol.  X.,  p.  306. 


THE   SECT   OF   FUII,  OR  BUDDHISTS.  217 

These  figments  are  evidently  a  reprotl notion  of  the  vagaries 
of  llindn  theosophists,  and  not  the  teachings  of  Ldu-tsz',  bnt  they 
annise  his  followers,  to  whom  his  own  abstruse  utterances  are 
(juite  unintelligible.  The  learned  Confucianists  laugh  at  their 
fables,  but  are  still  so  much  the  prey  of  fears  as  to  be  often 
duped  by  them,  and  follow  even  when  sure  of  being  deceived. 

The  organization  of  the  Rationalists  is  a  regular  hierarchy.  It 
is  under  the  supervision  of  the  government,  which  holds  the 
chiefs  responsible  for  the  general  conduct  and  teachings  of  the 
members.  The  head  resides  at  Lung-hu  Shan  in  Kiangsi,  where 
is  a  large  establishment,  resorted  to  by  many  votaries,  and 
gathering  in  a  large  ]-evenue  from  their  offerings.  When  he 
dies  a  piece  of  iron  is  cast  into  a  well  near  by,  and  when  it  floats 
the  name  of  his  successor  is  found  to  be  written  on  it.  By  their 
extravagant  professions  and  pretences  the  priests  of  this  sect 
maintain  their  influence  over  a  laity  as  ignorant  and  credulous 
as  themselves ;  their  power  to  delude  will  only  wane  with  the 
])rogress  of  truth  and  Christianity.  The  full  history  of  the 
authors,  divinities,  vagaries,  and  varied  fortunes  of  the  National- 
ists has  yet  to  be  written  ;  when  this  is  done  it  will  illustrate  the 
({uestion  King  David  asked  six  centuries  before  Lau-tsz'  lived : 
Who  will  show  us  any  good  ?  And  when  his  followers  ai-e  able 
to  say.  Lord,  lift  thou  up  the  light  of  thy  countenance  upon  us, 
tliey  will  know  why  he  failed  to  find  La  Yoie  et  la  Yertu.'^ 

The  most  popular  religious  sect  is  that  of  the  followers  of 
Full,  Fo,  Fat,  Hwut,  or  Fuh-tu,  as  it  is  called  in  different  dialects 
in  imitation  of  the  Hindu  word  Bodh,  or  Truth  ;"  this  name  is 
sometimes  confounded  with  that  of  Fuh-hi,  one  of  the  early 
rulers  in  Chinese  history.  Their  tenets  had  been  promulged  in 
( 'entral  Asia  for  centuries,  and  were  known  in  Western  China, 
but  during  the  long  period  of  disorders  previous  to  the  Ilan  dy- 

'  Douglas,  Taouism,  London,  1879  ;  this  is  by  far  the  most  readable  account  of 
it.  Edkius,  Journal  of  Shaiif/hai  Scien.  and  Lit.  Sor. ,  No.  III. ,  1859,  pp.  309-314. 
Slayers,  No.  Ch.  Br.  Roij.  As.  Soc.,\o\.  VI.,  1870,  pp.  31-44.  Bazin,  Recher- 
rhes  stir  Vorifjinr,  Vhistoire,  et  la  conditutioii  des  ordres  reli(jieu.v  dans  Vemjnre 
Chinots,  Paris,  1856,  p.  70.  Johnson,  Oriental  Eelirjions :  China,  Part  V-,  pp. 
859-904.  Nevius,  C'?iina  and  tlie  Chinese,  Chap.  IX.,  New  York,  1869.  Dr. 
W.  A.  P.  Martin,  The  Chinese,  p.  97,  etc. 

■■'  Hardy  enumerates  fifty-six  modes  of  writing  the  name.     Manual,  p.  354 


218  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

nasty  tliey  found  little  favor.  In  a.d.  65  tlie  Emperor  Mingti 
sent  an  embassy  to  India,  in  consequence — as  the  Chinese  his- 
torians say — of  having  dreamed  that  he  saw  the  image  of  a 
foreign  god.  The  embassy  returned  in  a.u.  67,  bringing  M'ith 
it  some  teachers  of  the  faith  to  Lohyang.  One  cannot  tell 
wliether  it  was  sent  at  first  at  the  suggestion  of  the  nationalists, 
to  seek  for  a  wise  man  said  to  liave  appeared  there^  or  whether, 
according  to  others,  it  arose  from  the  i-emarkable  expression  of 
Confucius,  already  quoted,  "  The  people  of  the  west  have  sages 
[or  a  sage]."  It  may  have  been  that  this  mission  was  excited 
by  some  indistinct  tidings  of  the  advent  and  death  of  Christ, 
thouo-h  there  is  no  trace  of  such  a  rumor  havino-  reached  the 
land  of  Sinim.  At  that  epoch  they  might  have  heard  of  or  met 
the  Apostles  in  their  first  tours  through  the  Roman  Empire  and 
Syria. 

The  incidents  in  the  life  of  Buddha  have  been  enveloped  in  so 
much  legendary  narrative  by  his  followers  in  India  that  the 
(Uiinese  have  placed  his  birth  much  too  early — b.v.  1027 — while 
the  true  date  is  n.o.  623  according  to  the  best  authorities;  but 
^vhen  his  actual  mortal  life  is  regarded  as  one  in  a  series  of  in- 
carnations, no  sur})rise  need  be  felt  at  these  discre})ancies.  lie 
was  the  son  of  Suddhodana,  king  of  Ivapilavastu,  a  city  and 
country  near  Nipal,  subject  to  the  king  of  Magadha,  now  a  part 
of  Bahar.  His  mother,  TMaj'a,  or  Maha-maya  deva,  died  ten  days 
after  his  birth,  which,  according  to  the  legends,  was  accomplished 
without  pain  and  acconq^anied  by  amazing  wonders.  His  name 
was  ISiddhai'ta,  or  the  '  Establisher,'  until  he  became  a  Buddha, 
i.e.,h'nn  In'  whom  truth  is  known.  The  name  Gotama,  or  Samona- 
Godam,  is  a  patronymic  better  known  in  Siam  than  China,  where 
another  family  or  clan  name,  Sakya-muni,  is  more  common.  At 
the  age  of  fifteen  he  was  nuide  heir-ap])arent ;  at  seventeen  he 
was  married  to  Yashodara,  a  Brahmin  maiden  of  the  Sakya  clan, 
and  his  son  Bahula  was  born  the  next  year.  At  twenty-five 
he  determined  to  become  a  recluse,  and  left  his  prospects  and  his 
father's  court  for  an  abode  in  the  forest  beyond  Kapilavastu, 
in  solitary  spots  "  trying  various  methods  to  attain  mental  satis- 
faction, but  in  vain."  After  five  years  of  this  ascetic  life  "  he 
came  to  the  perception  of  the  true  condition  and  wants  of  man* 


LIFE   OF   GOTAMA    BUDDHA.  ^19 

kind,"  and  began  his  ministry  of  forty-nine  years.  He  was  now 
a  Buddha^  which  is  described  as  "  entering  into  a  state  of  reverie, 
emitting  a  bright  light  and  retieeting  on  the  four  modes  of 
trutli."  .  ^ 

He  began  his  preaching  at  Benares  by  discourses  on  the  four 
truths,  wliich  was  termed  the  revolving  of  the  wheel  of  the 
law.  He  formed  his  first  disciples  into  a  connnunity,  to  whom 
lie  gave  their  rules,  and  when  the  number  increased  to  fifty-six 
be  sent  them  over  the  land  to  give  instruction  in  \\\q  four  miser- 
ies^ and  carry  out  the  system  by  which  all  his  disciples  were 
taught  they  could  attain  final  happiness  in  nirvana.  This 
system,  which  exists  in  full  strength  to  this  day,  is  founded  on 
monastic  vows  for  the  individual,  living  in  spiritual  communities 
for  the  disciples,  voluntary  poverty  and  universal  preaching, 
Sakya-numi  infused  such  energy  into  his  followers  that  in  a 
few  years  India  was  covered  with  their  communities ;  and  he 
developed  rules  for  instruction,  employment,  punishment,  and 
promotion,  which  have  served  ever  since.  His  own  life,  after 
his  visit  to  his  father  in  the  year  586,  when  thirty-seven  years 
old,  was  passed  mostly  in  delivering  the  sidras,  or  laws,  thirty- 
five  discourses  in  all ;  these  are  reverenced  by  all  Buddhists,  and 
copies  are  held  to  have  moral  and  hygienic  effects  on  those  who 
do  so,  and  bring  good  luck  to  the  family  and  the  State.  As 
Sakya-muni  lived  long  enough  to  see  and  correct  the  dangers  of 
his  system,  at  his  death,  in  the  year  543,  he  was  able  to  confer 
much  of  his  authority  on  his  two  chief  disciples,  Ananda  and 
Kashiapa,  and  thus  hand  down  the  organization  to  posterity. 

The  few  facts  here  stated  respecting  this  remarkable  man  are 
selected  from  Hardy's  Manual  of  Buddhistn,  where  is  given  a 
good  digest  of  the  Hindu  writers  respecting  their  sage.  One 
thing  impresses  the  readei-  of  this  work  as  a  peculiarity  of  Sakya- 
muni's  teaching,  and  standing  in  strong  contrast  to  the  Brah- 
minic  system  that  followed  it:  it  is  the  manner  in  which  he  has 
weakened  and  almost  destroyed  the  power  of  the  unseen  world 
and  of  spiritual  beings  as  agencies  of  restraint  upon  the  heart 
of  man,  and  of  assistance  in  seeking  after  good.  By  his  system  of 
good  works  and  self-denials,  his  followers  are  brought  into  such 
close  relationship  with  the  whole  creation   of  invisible  beings, 


220  THE   MIDDLE   KIXGDOM. 

into  whose  presence  and  fellowship  they  can  enter  by  their  own 
efforts  and  mediation,  that  the  moral  sanctions  of  a  Supreme 
Kuler  and  God  over  all  are  neutralized,  and  the  sense  of  sin  in 
the  human  conscience  done  away  with.  Its  removal  is  put  under 
the  control  of  the  soul,  and  the  degree  of  happiness  and  power 
attained  in  the  future  world  depends  on  the  individual — so 
many  prayers,  alms,  austerities,  and  obediences  result  in  so  much 
honor,  power,  and  enjoyment  in  the  coming  infinite.  The  past 
infinite  is  also  made  part  of  the  conscious  present,  and  moral 
fate  worked  like  physical  attraction,  innumerable  causes  produc- 
ing retributive  results  for  rewards  or  for  punishments.  In  such 
a  theology,  salvation  by  faith  is  rendered  impossible,  and  sacri- 
fice for  sin  by  way  of  atonement  useless.  In  this  feature  the 
ancient  worship  of  China  and  the  teachings  of  Confucius  rise 
superior  to  Buddhism,  and  leave  the  soul  of  man  more  open  to 
rnoral  law. 

The  personal  life  and  character  of  Buddha  presents  a  wonderful 
exhibition  of  virtues,  and  one  is  not  disposed  to  weigh  the  testi- 
mony of  their  reality  as  di'awn  out  in  Hardy's  2LtnH((l  so  care- 
fully as  to  neutralize  the  effect;  but  the  glowing  picture  oi  his 
good  actions  for  his  fellow-nicn  given  in  the  fervid  lines  of 
Arnold's  JJyJd  of  Asia,  takes  one  quite  into  the  realm  of  fable, 
engendering  the  wish  that  the  (  onfiician  Analects  and  their  mat- 
ter-of-fact details  could  have  been  imitated  by  the  disciples  of 
Siddharta.  In  regard  to  both  these  great  teachers,  Confucius 
and  Buddha,  however,  one  may  gladly  adopt  Dean  Stanley's  re- 
mark, "  that  it  is  difficult  for  those  who  believe  the  permanent 
elements  of  the  Jewish  and  Christian  religion  to  be  universal 
and  divine,  not  to  hail  these  corresponding  forms  of  truth  or 
goodness  elsewhere,  or  to  recognize  that  the  mere  appearance  of 
such  saintlike  or  godlike  characters  in  other  parts  of  the  earth, 
if  not  preparing  the  way  for  a  greater  manifestation,  illustrates 
that  manifestation  by  showing  how  mighty  has  been  the  witness 
borne  to  it  even  mider  circumstances  of  such  discouragement, 
and  even  with  effects  inadequate  to  their  grandeur."' 

Buddhist  priests  are  more  numerous  in  Cliina  than  the  Tao  sz', 
and  they  obtained  infiuence  more  rapidly  over  the  people.  Their 
demonolatry  allows  the  incorporation  of  the  deities  and  spirits  of 


INFLUENCE   OF   BUDDHISM   AMONG   THE   PEOPLE.         221 

Other  religions,  and  goes  even  further,  in  permitting  the  priests 
to  worship  the  gods  of  other  pantheons,  so  that  they  could  adapt 
themselves  to  the  popular  superstitions  of  the  countries  they  went 
to,  and  ingraft  all  the  foreign  divinities  into  their  calendar  they 
safw  fit.  The  Emperors  at  various  times  have,  moreover,  shown 
great  devotion  to  their  ceremonies  and  doctrines,  and  have  built 
costly  temples,  and  supported  more  priests  than  ever  Jezebel 
did  ;  but  the  teachings  of  Confucius  and  Mencius  were  too  well 
understood  among  the  people  to  be  uprooted  or  overridden.  The 
complete  separation  of  the  State  religion  from  the  worship  of  the 
common  people  accounts  for  the  remarkable  freedom  of  belief 
on  religious  topics.  Mohammedanism  and  Buddhism,  Taoist 
ceremonies  and  Lama  temples,  are  all  tolerated  in  a  certain  way, 
but  none  of  them  have  in  the  least  interfered  with  the  State  re- 
ligion and  the  autocraay  of  the  monarch  as  the  Son  of  Heaven. 
They  are,  as  every  one  knows,  all  essentially  idolatrous,  and  the 
coming  struggle  between  these  various  manifestations  of  error 
and  the  revealed  truths  and  requirements  of  the  Bible  has  only 
begun  to  cast  its  shadow  over  the  land.  The  more  subtile  con- 
flict, too,  between  the  preaching  of  the  Cross  and  faith  alone  in 
its  sacrifice  for  salvation,  and  reliance  on  good  works,  and  pi-iestly 
interference  in  every  fonn,  has  not  yet  begun  at  all. 

The  power  of  Buddhism  in  China  has  been  owing  chieily  to 
its  ability  and  offer  to  supply  the  lack  of  certainty  in  the  popu- 
lar notions  respecting  a  future  state,  and  the  nature  of  the  gods 
who  govern  man  and  creation.  Confucius  uttered  no  specula- 
tions about  those  unseen  things,  and  ancestral  worship  confined 
itself  to  a  belief  in  the  presence  of  the  loved  ones,  who  were 
ready  to  accept  the  homage  of  their  children.  That  longing  of 
the  soul  to  know  something  of  the  life  beyond  the  grave  was 
measurably  supplied  by  the  teachings  of  Sakya-muni  and  his 
disciples,  and,  as  was  the  case  with  Confucius,  was  illustrated 
and  enforced  by  the  earnest,  virtuous  life  of  their  founder. 
Though  the  sect  did  not  receive  the  imperial  sanction  till  about 
A.D.  65,  these  teachings  must  have  gradually  grown  familiar 
during  the  previous  age.  The  conflict  of  opinions  which  ere  long 
arose  between  the  definite  practical  maxims  of  the  Confucian 
moralists,  and  the  vague  speculations,  well-defined  good  works 


222  .  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

and  hopeful  tliongli  unproved  promises  of  future  well-being,  set 
forth  by  the  Hindu  missionaries,  has  continued  ever  since.  It 
is  an  instructive  chapter  in  human  experience,  and  affords  an- 
other illustration  of  the  impossibility  of  man's  answering  Job's 
great  question,  "  But  how  shall  num  be  just  with  God?"  The 
early  sages  opened  no  outlook  into  the  blank  future,  offered  no 
hopes  of  life,  love,  happiness,  or  reunion  of  the  friends  gone  be- 
fore, and  their  disciples  necessarily  fell  back  into  helpless  fatal- 
ism. Buddhism  said.  Keep  my  ten  connnandnients,  live  a  life 
of  celibacy  and  contem{)lation,  pray,  fast,  and  give  alms,  and  ac- 
cording to  your  works  you  will  become  pure,  and  be  rewarded 
in  the  serene  nirvana  to  which  all  life  tends.  But  the  Buddhist 
priesthood  had  no  system  of  schools  to  teach  their  peculiar  tenets, 
and,  as  there  is  only  one  set  of  books  taught  in  the  common 
schools,  the  elevating  precepts  of  the  sages  brought  forth  their 
proper  fruit  in  the  tender  mind.  Poverty,  idleness,  and  vows 
made  by  parents  in  the  day  of  adversity  to  dedicate  a  son  or  a 
daughter  to  the  life-long  service  of  Buddha,  still  supply  that 
priesthood  with  most  of  its  members.  The  majority  are  unable 
to  nnderstand  their  own  theological  literature,  and  far  more  is 
known  about  its  jieculiar  tenets  in  Europe  than  among  the  mass 
of  the  Chinese.  Tiie  CVjufucianist,  in  his  ])ride  of  office  and 
learning,  may  lidicule  their  mummeries,  l)ut  in  his  hour  of 
weakness,  })ain,  and  death  he  turns  to  them  for  help,  for  he  has 
nowhere  else  to  o;o.  Both  are  ii»;norant  of  the  life  and  liojht  re- 
vealed  in  the  gospels,  and  cry  out,  "  AVho  Avill  show  us  any 
good  ? " 

If  the  mythology  of  Buddhism  M'as  trivial  and  jejune,  as  we 
judge  it  after  comparing  it  with  the  beautiful  image rj-  and  art 
of  Greece  and  Egypt,  it  brought  in  nothing  that  was  licentious  in 
its  rites  or  cruel  in  its  sacrifices.  Coming  from  India,  where 
M'orship  of  the  gods  involved  the  prostitution  of  Avomen,  the 
adoration  of  the  lingam,  and  the  sacrifice  of  human  beings. 
Buddhism  was  remarkably  free  from  all  revolting  features.  If 
it  had  nothing  to  offer  the  Chinese  higher  in  morals  or  more 
exalted  or  true  in  its  conception  of  the  universe  or  its  Maker,  it 
did  not  sanction  impurity  or  murder,  or  elevate  such  atrocities 
above  the  reach  of  law  by  making  them  sacred  to  the  gods. 


IT   ENTERS   INTO   THEIR   RELIGHOUS   LIFE.  223 

This  last  outrage  of  the  Prince  of  Darkness  on  tlie  soul  of  man, 
so  common  in  Western  Asia,  has  never  been  known  or  accepted 
to  any  great  extent  in  the  Middle  Kingdom. 

But,  while  it  is  true  that  Buddhism  gave  them  a  system  of 
precepts  and  observances  that  set  before  them  just  laws  and  high 
motives  for  right  actions,  and  proportionate  rewards  for  the  good 
works  it  enjoined,  it  could  not  furnish  the  highest  standards, 
sanctions,  and  inducements  for  holy  living.  On  becoming  a 
part  of  the  people,  the  Buddhists  soon  entered  into  their  re- 
ligious life  as  acknowledged  teachers.  They  adapted  their  own 
tenets  to  the  national  mythology,  took  its  gods  and  gave  it  theirs, 
acted  as  mediators  and  interpreters  between  men  and  gods,  the 
living  and  the  dead,  and  shaped  popular  belief  on  all  these 
mysteries.  The  well-organized  hierarchy  numbered  its  members 
by  myriads,  and  yet  history  records  no  successful  attempts  on  its 
part  to  usurp  political  power,  or  place  the  priest  above  the  laws. 
This  tendency  was  always  checked  by  the  literati,  who  really 
had  in  the  classics  a  higher  standard  of  ethical  philosophy  than 
the  Buddhists,  and  would  not  be  driven  from  their  position 
by  imperial  orders,  nor  coaxed  by  specious  arguments  to  yield 
their  ground.  Constant  discussions  on  these  points  have  served 
to  keep  alive  a  spirit  of  inquiry  and  rivalry,  and  preserve  butli 
from  stagnation.  Though  Buddhism,  in  its  vagaries  and  will- 
worship,  gave  them  nothing  better  than  husks,  put  hypocrisy 
in  place  of  devotion,  taught  its  own  dogmas  instead  of  truth, 
and  left  its  devotees  with  no  sense  of  sin  against  any  law,  yet 
its  salutary  inJiuence  on  the  national  life  of  China  cannot  be 
denied. 

The  worship  of  ancestors  and  of  good  and  bad  spirits  supposed 
to  pervade  and  rule  this  world  was  perfectly  compatible  with 
the  reception  of  Buddhism  ;  thus  its  priests  gradually  became  the 
high  priests  of  the  popular  superstition,  and  have  since  remained 
so.  They  first  ingratiated  themselves  by  making  their  services 
useful  in  the  indigenous  ritual,  and  were  afterwards  looked  upon 
as  necessary  for  its  execution.  They  propagated  their  doctrines 
principally  by  books  and  tracts,  rather  than  by  collecting  schools 
or  disciples  in  their  temples  ;  the  quiet,  indolent  life  they  led, 
apparently  absorbed  in  books  and  worship,  and  yet  not  altogether 


224  The  middle  kingdom. 

estranged  from  the  world,  likewise  held  out  charms  to  some  peo- 
ple. China  is  full  of  temples,  in  most  of  which  Buddhist  priests 
are  found,  hut  it  is  not  quite  the  true  inference  to  suppose  that 
all  the  buildings  were  erected  or  the  priests  hired,  because  the 
people  wish  to  do  reverence  to  Buddha.  It  is  impossible  to  state 
the  proportion  in  which  Buddhist  temples  are  found  ;  there  are 
one  hundred  and  twenty-four  in  Canton  alone,  containing  idols 
of  every  name  and  attribute,  in  most  of  which  they  live  and  act 
as  the  assistants  of  whoever  comes  to  worship. 

The  tenets  of  Buddhism  require  a  renunciation  of  the  world 
and  the  observance  of  austerities  to  overcome  evil  passions  and 
fit  its  disciples  for  future  happiness.'  A  vow  of  celibacy  is 
taken,  the  priests  dwelling  together  for  mutual  assistance  in 
attaining  perfection  by  worship  of  Buddha  and  calling  upon  his 
name.  They  shave  the  entire  head  as  a  token  of  purity,  but  not 
the  whole  body,  as  the  ancient  Egyptian  priests  did ;  they  pro- 
fess to  eat  no  animal  food,  wear  no  skin  or  woollen  garments, 
and  get  their  living  by  begging,  by  the  alms  of  worshippers,  and 
the  cultivation  of  the  grounds  of  the  temple.  Much  of  their 
supj)ort  is  derived  from  the  sale  of  incense  sticks,  gilt  paper,  and 
candles,  and  from  fees  for  services  at  funerals.  In  the  great 
monasteries,  like  the  ilai-chwang  sz'  at  Canton,  the  priests  per- 
form the  whole  service ;  but  in  other  temples  they  contrive  to 
gain  a  livelihood,  and  many  of  those  better  situated  derive  a  large 
})ortion  of  their  income  from  entertaining  strangers  of  wealth 
and  disthiction.  The  sale  of  charms,  the  profits  of  theatrical 
exhibitions,  the  fees  paid  by  neighborhoods  for  feeding  hungry 
ghosts  on  All-Souls'  day,  and  other  incidental  services  performed 
for  the  living  or  the  dead,  also  furnish  resources.  Their  largest 
monasteries  contain  extensive  libraries,  and  a  portion  of  the 
fraternity  are  well  acquainted  with  letters,  though  most  of  them 
are  ignorant  even  of  their  own  books.  Their  moral  character, 
as  a  class,  is  on  a  par  with  their  countrymen,  and  nuiny  of  them 
are  respectable,  intelligent,  and  sober-minded  persons,  who  seem 

'  Remusat  terms  these  tenets  not  inaptly  "a  mixture  of  pantheism,  ration- 
alism, and  idolatry."  In  Hardy  {Mitinud,  p.  212)  we  find  that  the  Wh-Uikj  xz^ 
to  five  hundred  Lo-h;in  is  to  honor  five  hundred  rahats.  In  India  this  num- 
ber seems  to  stand  for  all. 


TENETS   AND   LITURGY    OF   THE   BUDDHISTS.  225 

to  be  sincerely  desirous  of  making  themselves  better,  if  possible, 
by  their  religious  observances. 

The  liturgy  is  in  Sanscrit  transliterated  in  Chinese  characters 
with  which  priest  and  people  are  alike  unacquainted,  nor  are 
there  now  any  bilingual  glossaries  or  dictionaries  to  explain  the 
words.  Dr.  Milne,  speaking  of  the  use  of  unknown  tongues  in 
liturgies,  remarks :  "  There  is  something  to  be  said  in  favor  of 
those  Christians  who  believe  in  the  magic  powers  of  foreign 
M'ords,  and  who  think  a  prayer  either  more  acceptable  to  the 
Deity,  or  more  suited  to  common  edification,  because  the  people 
do  not  generally  understand  it.  They  are  not  singular  in  this 
belief.  Some  of  the  Jom's  had  the  same  opinion ;  the  followers 
of  Buddha  and  Mohammed  all  cherish  the  same  sentiment.  From 
the  chair  of  his  holiness  at  Rome,  and  eastward  through  all  Asia 
to  the  mountain  retreats  of  the  Yama-bus  in  Japan,  this  opinion 
is  espoused.  The  bloody  Druids  of  ancient  Europe,  the  gym- 
nosophists  of  India,  the  Mohammedan  hatib,  the  Buddhists  of 
China,  the  talapoins  of  Siam,  and  the  bonzes  of  Japan,  the 
Tlomish  clerg}',  the  vartabeds  of  the  Armenian  church,  and  the 
priests  of  the  Abyssinian  and  Greek  communions,  all  entertain 
the  notion  that  the  mysteries  of  religion  will  be  the  more  re- 
vered the  less  they  are  understood,  and  the  devotions  of  the 
people  (performed  by  proxy)  the  more  welcome  in  heaven  for 
being  dressed  in  the  garb  of  a  foreign  tongue.  Thus  the  syna- 
gogue and  mosque,  the  pagan  temple  and  Christian  church, 
seem  all  to  agi-ee  in  ascribing  marvellous  efiicacy  to  the  sounds 
of  an  unknown  language ;  and,  as  they  have  Jews  and  Moham- 
medans, Abyssinians  and  pagans,  on  their  side,  those  Christians 
who  plead  for  the  use  of  an  unknown  tongue  in  the  services  of 
religion  have  certainly  the  majority.  That  Scripture,  reason, 
and  common  sense  should  happen  to  be  on  the  other  side  is  in- 
deed a  misfortune  for  them,  but  there  is  no  help  for  it." ' 

The  following  canon  for  exterminating  misfortune  is  extracted 
from  the  Buddhist  liturgy,  but  it  is  as  unintelligible  to  the  Chi- 
nese as  it  will  be  to  the  English  reader.      While  repeating  it 

'  Encyclopcedin  Britannim,  Art.  Buddhism.  TndocMnese  Gleaner,  Vol.  III., 
p.  141.  Chinese  Repository ,  Vol.  IX.,  p.  640.  Yule's  Marco  Polo,  Vol.  II.,  p 
200,  and  passim. 

Vol.  II.— 15 


226  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

the  priest  strikes  upon  a  sounding  board  called  m.nh  yil,  or 
'  wooden  fish,'  sliaped  somewhat  like  a  skull,  in  order  to  mark 
the  time  of  his  monotonous  chant : 

Nan-mo  O-mi'-to  po-ye,  to-ta-kia  to-ye,  to-ti-ye-ta  0-mi-li-to  po-kwilii,  0-mi- 
li-to,  sieli-tan-po-kwaii,  O-iiii-li-to,  kwan-kia-lan-ti  0-mi-li-to,  kwan-kia-lan-ti ; 
kia-mi-ni  kia-kia-na,  chih-to-kia-li  i)o-po-ho. 

Similar  invocations,  with  the  name  O-iivi-to'^  Full  (Amida 
Baddha),  are  repeated  thousands  and  myriads  of  times  to  attain 
perfection,  affording  a  good  illustration  of  the  propriety  of  our 
Saviour's  direction,  "  When  ye  pray,  use  not  vain  repetitions  as 
the  heathen  do  ;  for  they  think  they  shall  be  heard  for  their 
much  speaking."  A  plate  in  one  Buddhistic  work  contains  five 
thousand  and  forty-eight  open  dots,  arranged  in  the  shape  of  a 
pear  ;  each  dot  to  be  filled  up  when  the  name  of  Buddha  has  been 
repeated  a  hundred  or  a  thousand  times,  and  then  the  paper  to 
be  burned  to  pass  into  the  other  world  to  the  credit  of  the  dev- 
otee. The  Buddhists  have  a  system  of  merits  and  demerits,  of 
which  Sir  John  Davis  remarks  that  "  this  method  of  Ixeejumj  a 
score  with  heaven  is  as  foolish  and  dangerous  a  sj'stem  of  mor- 
ality as  that  of  penances  and  indulgences  in  the  Romish  church." 
In  this  Buddhist  scale  of  actions,  to  repair  a  road,  make  a 
bridge,  or  dig  a  well,  ranks  as  ten ;  to  cure  a  disease,  oi'  give 
enough  ground  for  a  grave,  as  thirty  ;  to  set  on  foot  some  useful 
scheme  ranks  still  higher.  On  the  other  hand,  to  reprove  an- 
other unjustly  counts  as  three  on  the  debtor  side ;  to  level  a 
tomb,  as  fifty ;  to  dig  up  a  corpse,  as  one  hundred  ;  to  cut  off  a 
man's  male  heirs,  as  two  hundred,  and  so  on.  This  notion  of 
keeping  accounts  with  heaven  prevails  among  all  classes  of  the 
Chinese,  and  the  score  is  usually  settled  about  the  end  of  the 
year  by  fasting  and  doing  chai"ital)l('  acts,  such  as  niaking  a  piece 
of  road,  repairing  a  temple,  oi-  distributing  food,  to  prove  their 
repentance  and  benefit  tlie  world.  Festival  days  are  chosen 
l)y  devout  people  to  distribute  alms  to  the  poor,  and  on  such 
occasions  troops  of  beggars  cluster  about  their  doors,  holding 
clap-dishes  in  their  outstretched  hands,  while  the  donor  stands 


'  0-im-to  is  derived  from  aniiiitr,  or  'deathless.'     Hardy,  Manual,  p.  355. 


OrPOSITIOX   OF   THE   LITEPvATI   TO   BUDDHISM.         227 

behind  the  luilf -opened  door  dealing  out  rice  to  the  chunorous 
crowd  which  he  dares  not  trust  inside. 

Considerhig  how  few  restraints  this  religion  imposes  on  the 
evil  propensities  of  tlie  human  lieart,  and  how  easily  it  provides 
for  the  expiation  of  crimes,  it  is  surprising  that  it  has  not  had 
as  great  success  among  the  Chinese  as  among  the  Tibetans,  Bir- 
mese,  and  Siamese.  The  thorough  education  in  the  reasonable 
teachings  of  the  classics,  and  the  want  of  filial  duty  shown  by 
celibates  to  their  parents  in  leaving  them  to  take  care  of  them- 
selves,  have  had  their  effects  in  maintaining  the  purer  but 
heartless  moralities  of  the  Confucianists.  The  priests  have 
always  had  the  better  judgment  of  the  people  against  them, 
and  being  shut  out  by  their  profession  from  entering  into  society 
as  companions  or  equals,  and  regarded  as  servants  to  be  sent  for 
when  their  services  were  M'anted,  they  can  neither  get  nor  main- 
tain that  influence  over  their  countrymen  which  would  enable 
them  to  form  a  party  or  a  powerful  sect.  One  of  the  officers 
in  the  reign  of  Chingtih  of  the  Ming  dynasty,  Wang  Yang-ning, 
who  addressed  a  remonstrance  to  his  sovereign  against  sending 
an  embassy  to  India  to  fetch  thence  Buddhist  books  and  priests, 
relies  for  his  chief  argument  on  a  comparison  between  the  pre- 
cepts and  tendency  of  that  faith  and  the  higher  doctrines  of  the 
classics,  proving  to  his  own  satisfaction  that  the  latter  contained 
all  the  good  there  was  in  the  former,  without  its  nonsense  and 
evil.  The  opposition  to  Buddhism  on  the  part  of  the  literati  has 
been  in  fact  a  controversy  between  common  sense  (imperfectly 
enlightened  indeed)  and  superstitious  fear;  the  first  inclines  the 
person  to  look  at  the  subject  with  reference  to  the  principles 
and  practical  results  of  the  system,  as  exhibited  in  the  writings 
and  lives  of  its  followers,  while,  not  having  themselves  anything 
to  look  forward  to  beyond  the  grave,  they  are  still  led  to  enter- 
tain some  of  its  dogmas,  because  there  may  be  something  in 
them  after  all,  and  they  have  themselves  nothing  better.  The 
result  is,  as  Dr.  Morrison  has  observed,  "  Buddhism  in  China  is 
decried  by  the  learned,  laughed  at  by  the  profligate,  yet  followed 
by  all." 

The  paraphrase  and  commentary  on  the  seventh  of  Kanghi's 
maxims  against  strange  religions  present  a  singular  anomaly ; 


228  THE   MIDDLE   KIISTGDOM. 

for  while  the  Emperor  Yungching  in  the  paraphrase  decries 
Buddhism  and  Rationalism,  and  exalts  the  "orthodox  doc- 
trine," as  he  terms  the  teachings  of  the  classics,  he  was  him- 
self a  daily  worshipper  of  Buddhist  idols  served  by  the  lamas. 
He  inveighs  against  selling  poor  children  to  the  priests  in  no 
measured  terms,  and  shows  the  inutility  and  folly  of  repeating 
the  books  or  reciting  the  unintelligible  charms  written  by  the 
priests,  where  the  person  never  thought  of  performing  what 
was  good.  lie  speaks  against  the  promiscuous  assemblage  of 
men  and  women  at  the  temples,  which  leads  to  unseemly  acts, 
and  joins  in  with  another  of  his  own  class,  who  remarked,  in 
reference  to  a  festival,  that  "  most  of  the  worshippers  are  women, 
who  like  these  worshipping  days,  because  it  gives  them  an  op- 
portunity to  see  and  l)e  seen  in  their  fine  clothes;  and  most  of 
the  men  who  go  there,  go  to  amuse  themselves  and  look  at  the 
M'omen.'"  "The  sum  of  the  whole  is,  these  dissolute  priests  of 
Buddha  are  lazy  ;  they  will  neither  labor  in  the  fields  nor  traffic 
in  the  markets,  and  being  without  food  and  clothing,  they  set 
to  work  and  invent  means  of  deceiving  people."  But  though 
this  upholder  of  the  good  old  way  well  exhibits  the  follies  of 
these  idolatrous  sects,  he  has  nothing  better  to  present  his  coun- 
trymen than  "  the  two  living  divinities  placed  in  the  family,*' 
nothing  to  lead  their  thoughts  beyond  this  world.  His  best 
advice  and  consolation  for  their  troubled  and  wearied  souls  is, 
"  Seek  not  for  happiness  beyond  your  own  sphere  ;  perfoi-m  not 
an  action  beyond  the  bounds  of  reason ;  attend  solely  to  your 
own  duty  ;  then  you  will  receive  the  protection  of  the  gods." ' 

The  instructions  of  Sakya-muni  himself  have  noM^  become  so 
interwoven  in  the  additions,  ritualism,  and  errors  of  his  followers 
during  the  ages  since  he  died,  that  he  is  charged  with  many 
things  which  he  probably  never  taught.  T^nlike  the  founders 
of  Islamism  and  Zoroastrianism,  his  personlil  influence  and  iden- 
tity have  been  lost  amid  the  fables  which  have  enveloped  his 
acts,  and  the  diversities  of  worship  and  doctrine  baffle  all  ex- 
planation.    "When  the  patriarchs  and  missionaries  of  the  sect 


'  Milne's  Sacred  Edict,  pp.  133-143.    Chinese  Bepository,  Vol.  I. ,  p.  207 ;  Vol. 
II.,  p.  265. 


LIMITATIONS   TO    ITS    POWEll   IN   CHINA.  220 

began  to  increase  in  Central  Asia  and  Cliina  after  the  embassy 
of  Ming  tt,  they  were  obliged  to  defend,  exphiin,  and  develop 
their  tenets  against  the  Chinese  literati,  and  also  commend  them 
to  the  observance  of  the  i)eople.  In  the  former  region  their 
coiupiests  were  complete,  and  the  Alotigols  stdl  hold  to  the  Bnd- 
dhist  faith  as  completely  as  the  Knropean  nations  did  to  popery 
until  the  Reformation.  The  histoiy  of  Chinese  Buddhism  down 
to  the  present  day  has  not  yet  been  folly  examined,  but  much 
has  been  done  within  the  past  few  years  by  Julien,  Beal,  Ed- 
kins,  Watters,  Neumann,  Koeppen,  and  others  to  make  it  known. 
Translations  from  Chinese  Buddhistic  travellers  and  moralists 
liave  brought  out  nuiny  obscure  opinions  and  unexpected  events 
in  this  branch  of  religious  thought  and  missionary  work,  during 
a  period  of  the  world's  history  hitherto  quite  unknown  to  Eu- 
ropeans.' 

The  mutual  forbearance  exhibited  by  the  different  sects  in 
China  is  owing  a  good  deal  to  apathy,  for  where  there  is  noth- 
ing to  reach  thei'e  is  little  to  stimulate  to  effort.  The  govern- 
ment tolerates  no  denomination  suspected  of  interfering  with  its 
own  inlluence,  and  as  none  of  the  sects  have  any  State  patronage, 
none  of  them  liokl  any  power  to  wield  for  persecution,  and  the 
people  soon  tire  of  petty  annoyances  and  unavailing  invectives. 
The  Buddhist  priesthood  is  perpetuated  mostly  by  the  children 
given  by  parents  who  have  vowed  to  do  so  in  their  distress,  and 
by  others  purchased  for  serving  in  large  monasteries.  Persons 
occasionally  enter  late  in  life,  weary  with  the  vexations  of  thi3 
world ;  Mr.  Milne  was  accpuiinted  with  one  who  had  two  sons 
when  he  took  the  vows  upon  him,  but  gave  himself  no  care  as 
to  what  had  become  of  them.  The  only  education  which  most 
of  the  acolytes  receive  consists  in  memorizing  the  prayers  in  the 
liturgy  and  reading  the  canonical  works.  A  few  fraternities 
have  tutors  from  whom  they  receive  instruction. 

Nunneries  also  exist,  most  of  them  under  the  patronage  of 

'See  Alabaster's  Wheel  of  the  Lair,  pp.  228-241,  for  a  well-digested  Life  of 
Buddha,  from  the  Siamese.  Beal's  Romantic  History  of  Buddha,  and  Caten((  (f 
Buddhist  Scriptures.  Edkins,  Chinese  Buddhism,  Chaps.  I  to  VI.,  gives  a  good 
resume  of  the  early  progress  of  the  faith.  G.  Biihler,  Three  Neic  Edicts  of 
A'ioka,  London  (Triibner). 


230  THE   MIDDLE   KIISTGDOM. 

the  IIolj  Mother,  Queen  of  Heaven.  The  priests  advocate  their 
establishment  as  a  good  means  of  working  upon  the  feelings  of 
tlie  more  susceptible  part  of  society,  to  whom  they  themselves 
cannot  get  admittance.  The  succession  among  the  "sisters "is 
kept  up  by  purchase  and  by  self -consecration  ;  the  feet  of  chil- 
dren bought  young  are  not  bandaged.  The  novice  is  not  ad- 
mitted to  full  orders  till  she  is  sixteen,  though  previous  to  this 
she  adopts  the  garb  of  the  sisterhood  ;  the  only  difference  con- 
sists in  the  front  part  of  the  head  being  shaved  and  the  hair 
plaited  in  a  queue,  while  nuns  shave  the  whole.  It  is  not  easy 
to  distinguish  monks  from  nuns  as  they  walk  the  streets,  for 
both  have  natural  feet,  wear  clumsy  shoes,  long  stockings  drawn 
over  full  trousers,  short  jackets,  and  bald  pates.  Like  her  sister 
in  Romish  countries,  the  Chinese  nun,  when  her  head  has  been 
shaved — the  opposite  of  taking  the  veil,  though  the  hair  of  both 
is  sacrificed — is  required  to  live  a  life  of  devotion  and  mortifi- 
cation, eat  vegetables,  care  nothing  for  the  world,  and  think  only 
of  her  eternal  canonization,  keeping  herself  busy  with  the  service 
of  the  temple.  "  Daily  exercises  are  to  be  conducted  by  her  ; 
the  furniture  of  the  small  sanctuary  that  forms  a  part  of  the 
convent  must  be  looked  after  and  kept  clean  and  orderly ;  those 
women  or  men  who  come  to  worship  at  the  altars,  and  seek 
guidance  and  comfort,  must  be  cared  for  and  assisted.  "When 
there  is  leisure  the  sick  and  the  poor  are  to  be  visited ;  and  all 
who  have  placed  themselves  nnder  her  special  direction  and 
spiritual  instruction  have  a  strong  claim  upon  her  regard.  That 
she  may  live  the  life  of  seclusion  and  self-denial,  she  must  vow 
perpetual  virginity.  The  thought  of  marriage  should  never 
enter  her  head,  and  the  society  of  men  must  be  shunned.  On 
her  death  she  will  be  swallowed  up  in  nihility  !  "  In  Fuhchau 
the  nunneries  were  all  summarily  abolished  nearly  fifty  years 
ago  by  an  officer  who  learned  the  dissolute  lives  of  their  inmates. 
They  have  not  since  been  reopened  for  their  residence,  though 
this  official  provided  husbands  for  most  of  their  nuns.  Such  a 
proceeding  would  have  been  impossible  in  almost  any  other 
country,  and  shows  the  functions  of  Chinese  officials  for  the 
welfare  of  society. 

Most  of  them  are  tauo-ht  to  read  the  classics  as  well  as  their 


BUDDHIST   NUNS   AND   NUNNERIES.  231 

own  liturgies,  and  a  few  of  the  sisterhood  are  said  to  be  well 
read  in  the  loi*e  of  the  country.  Each  nun  has  her  own  disciples 
among  the  laity,  and  cultivates  and  extends  her  acquaintances  as 
much  as  she  can,  inasmuch  as  upon  them  her  support  prin- 
cipally depends.  Each  of  her  patrons,  whether  male  or  female, 
receives  a  new  name  from  her,  as  she  herself  also  did  when  her 
head  was  shaven.  Contributors'  names  are  written  or  engraved 
in  conspicuous  places  in  the  building ;  casual  fees  or  donations 
go  to  the  general  expenses.  Each  nun  also  receives  ten  cents 
when  public  masses  are  recited  for  those  who  have  engaged 
them.  Their  moral  character  is  uniformly  represented  as  dis- 
solute, but  while  despised  for  their  profligacy  they  are  dreaded 
for  the  supposed  power  they  can  exert  by  means  of  their  con- 
nection with  spirits.  The  number  of  nunneries  in  the  depart- 
ment of  Xingpo  is  stated  to  be  thirty,  and  the  sisterhood  in 
them  all  to  amount  to  upward  of  three  hundred  persons." 

The  numerous  points  of  similarity  between  the  rites  of  the 
Buddhists  and  those  of  the  Romish  church  early  attracted  atten- 
tion. Abbe  Hue  enumerates  many  of  them :  "  The  cross,  the 
mitre,  the  dalmatica,  the  cope  which  the  lamas  wear  on  their 
journeys,  or  when  performing  some  ceremony  out  of  the  tem- 
ple ;  the  service  with  double  choirs,  the  psalmody,  the  exorcisms, 
the  censer  suspended  from  five  chains,  which  you  can  open  or 
close  at  pleasure ;  the  benedictions  given  by  extending  the  right 
hand  over  the  heads  of  the  faithful ;  the  rosary,  ecclesiastical 
celibacy,  spiritual  retirement,  worship  of  the  saints;  the  fasts, 
processions,  litanies,  and  holy  water — all  these  are  analogies 
between  ourselves  and  the  Buddhists."  In  addition  to  these,  the 
institution  of  nuns,  worship  of  relics,  masses  for  the  dead,  and 
burning  of  candles  and  incense,  with  ringing  of  bells  during 
worship,  are  prominent  usages  common  to  both.  Their  priests 
alike  teach  a  purgatory  from  which  the  soul  can  be  released  by 
their  prayers ;  they  also  conduct  service  in  a  dead  language,  and 
pretend  to  miracles.  Lastly,  the  doctrine  of  the  perpetual  vir- 
ginity of  Maya,  the  mother  of  Sakya-nmni,  is  an  article  taught 

'  Chinese  Repository^  Vol.  XIII.,  pp.  93-98.    Doolittle's  Social  Life,  I.,  p.  253 
WAn^^i  Life  in  Chimi,  pp.  134-146.    Gray's  China,  I.,  pp.  105,  131-135. 


232  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

by  the  Mongol  Buddhists,  who  also  practise  a  form  of  infant 
baptism,  in  which  the  lama  dips  the  child  three  times  imder  the 
water  as  he  pronounces  its  name  and  j^ives  it  a  blessing. 

These  mimerous  and  striking  resemblances  led  the  Roman 
Catholic  missionaries  to  conclude  that  some  of  them  had  been 
derived  from  the  papal  or  Syrian  priests  who  entered  China 
before  Xublai  khan.  M.  Hue  brings  forward  his  hypotliesis 
that  Tseng  Kaba,  the  teacher  of  the  Buddhist  reformer  in  Mon- 
golia about  that  time,  had  adopted  them  from  some  of  the  J2u- 
ropeans  who  taught  him  the  Christian  doctrines.'  Others  refer 
them  to  St.  Thomas,  but  Premare  ascribes  them  to  the  devil, 
who  had  thus  imitated  holy  mother  church  in  order  to  scandal- 
ize and  oppose  its  rites.  But  as  Davis  observes,  "  To  those 
who  admit  that  most  of  the  Romish  ceremonies  are  borrowed 
directly  from  paganism,  there  is  less  difficulty  in  accounting  for 
the  resemblance.'''  On  this  point  it  will  be  impossible  to  reach 
certainty.  There  have  probably  been  some  tilings  borrowed  by 
each  from  the  other  at  various  ages,  without  either  knowing 
from  whence  they  came  or  what  were  their  tendencies.  Fer- 
gusson  shows  the  great  probability  that  the  monastic  S3-stem, 
celibacy,  and  ascetic  good  works  wei'e  adopted  in  the  Eastern 
church  from  India ;  but  the  want  of  reliable  records  on  either 
side  hitherto  has  left  much  to  inference  and  conjecture. 

Tlie  worship  is  similar  and  equally  imposing.  One  eye-wit- 
ness describes  the  scene  he  saw  in  a  Buddhist  temple:  "There 
stood  foui'teen  priests,  seven  on  each  side  of  the  altar,  erect, 
motionless,  witii  clasped  hands  and  downcast  eyes,  their  shaven 
heads  and  flowing  gray  robes  adding  to  their  solemn  appearance. 
The  low  and  measured  tones  of  the  slowdy  moving  chant  they 

'  Hue's  Trarels  in  Tartnry,  II.,  p.  50.  Hardy's  Mantial,  p.  142.  Missionary 
Recorder,  III.,  pp.  142,  181.  Eitel,  Lectures  on  BnMlmm,  and  HnvrVmok 
for  tlie  Btmleut  of  Chinese  Buddhism,  Hongkong,  1870.  James  Fergusson, 
Hist.  Indian  and  Eastern  Arc7iit£ci>ire,  Introduction.  Remusat,  Melamjei 
Posthumes,  p.  44.  Klaproth  in  Journal  Asiatique,  Tome  VII.  (18:51),  p.  190; 
also  Tome  XT.  (IV--  Ser.),  1848,  p.  535.  Prof.  E.  E.  Salisbiu-y  in  Jonrnal  Am. 
Or.  ,S<jc.,  Vol.  I.,  No.  II.,  1844.  Jour,  of  tlie  R.  As.  Soc,  passim.  Yule's 
Marco  Polo,  Vol.  I.,  p.  406;  also  CatJuty  and  tlie  Way  Thithrr,  II.,  p.  551. 
W.  Wordsworth,  The  Church  of  Thibet  and  the  Historical  Analoyies  of  Bud 
dhism  and  Christianity,  London,  1877. 


THE   ROMANIST  AND   BUDDHIST   RITUALS.  233 

were  singing  might  have  awakened  solemn  emotions,  too,  and 
called  away  the  thonghts  from  worldly  objects.  Three  priests 
kept  time  with  the  mnsic,  one  beating  an  immense  drum,  another 
a  large  iron  vessel,  and  a  thiid  a  wooden  ball.  After  chanting, 
they  kneeled  upon  low  stools  and  bowed  before  the  colossal 
image  of  Buddha,  at  the  same  time  striking  their  heads  upon  the 
ground.  Then  rising  and  facing  each  other,  they  began  slowly 
chanting  some  sentences,  and  rapidly  increasing  the  music  and 
their  utterance  until  both  were  at  the  climax  of  rapidity,  they 
diminished  in  the  same  way  imtil  they  had  returned  to  the 
original  measure.  In  the  meantime,  some  of  the  number  could 
not  restrain  their  curiosity,  and,  even  M'hile  chanting  and  count- 
ing their  beads,  left  their  places  to  ask  for  books.  The  whole 
service  forcibly  renunded  me  of  scenes  in  Romish  chapels ;  the 
shaven  heads  of  the  priests,  their  long  robes,  mock  solemnity, 
frequent  prostrations,  chantings,  beads — yea,  and  their  idol,  too, 
all  suggested  their  types,  or  their  antitypes,  in  the  apostate 
church." ' 

The  expulsion  of  Buddhism  from  India,  after  its  triumphs  in 
the  reign  of  Asoka,  King  of  Majadha,  was  so  complete  that  it 
henceforth  divided  into  the  northern  and  southern  schools,  the 
first  taking  Sanscrit  and  the  other  Pali  as  its  sacred  language. 
In  the  course  of  time  the  divergencies  became  fixed,  and  thus, 
without  any  actual  schism,  the  Buddhists  of  Ceylon  and  Ultra 
Gane-es  liave  come  to  differ  from  those  of  Central  Asia  and 
China.  The  form  of  Buddhism  prev-ailing  among  the  Mongols 
and  Tibetans  differs  more  in  its  state  and  powder  than  in  its  doc- 
trines; it  is  called  Shamanism,  or  IhiMng  liao  ('Yellow  Sect') 
in  Chinese,  from  the  color  of  the  priestly  robes— a  Shaman  be- 
ing one  who  has  overcome  all  his  passions ;  it  is  a  Hindu  word. 
The  Dalai-Lama  at  Il'lassa,  in  the  great  monastery  of  the  Bu- 
tala,  is  the  pope  of  the  religion,  the  abode  of  deity.*  Mongolia 
swarms  with  lamas,  and  the  government  at  Peking  aids  in  sup- 

'  Foreifjn  Missionary  Clironide,  Vol.  XIV.,  p.  300. 

-  I'or  his  origin  see  Klaprotli,  Memoircs  stir  PAsie,  Tome  II.,  p.  90.  Also  Re 
musat,  3fel((/iges  Posfhi/i/irs,  pp.  1-04,  for  some  observations  on  this  faith  in  a 
review  of  De  Guigues'  Huns.  E.  Schhigintweit.  BudiUiiint  in  Tlbi'i,  with  folio 
atlas  of  plates,  Leipzig,  180:3.     J.  Summers  in  llie  Phceniv,  I.,  1870,  pp  9-11, 


1:^34  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

porting  them  in  order  to  maintain  its  sway  more  easily  over  tlie 
tribes,  though  the  Manclius  have  endeavored  to  supplant*  the 
civil  authority  of  the  Dalai-Lama  and  banehin-erdeni,  by  par- 
tially aiding  and  gradually  subdividing  their  power.  The  ritual 
of  tlie  Shamans,  in  which  the  leading  tenets  taught  by  the  lamas 
are  exhibited,  contains  their  ten  principal  precepts,  or  decalogue, 
viz. :  1.  Do  not  kill.  2.  Do  not  steal.  3.  Do  not  connnit  for- 
nication. 4.  Speak  not  falsely.  5.  Drink  no  wine  nor  eat  tlesh. 
0.  Look  not  on  gay  silks  or  necklaces,  use  no  perfumed  ointment, 
and  paint  not  the  body.  7.  Neither  sing  nor  dance,  and  do  no 
sleight  of  hand  tricks  or  gymnastic  acts,  and  go  not  to  see  or 
hear  them.  8.  Sit  not  on  a  high  large  couch.  9.  Do  not  eat  out 
of  time.  10.  Do  not  grasp  hold  of  living  images,  gold,  silver, 
money,  or  any  valuable  thing.'  The  book  contains  also  twenty- 
four  sections  of  directions  as  to  the  conduct  to  be  observed  in 
various  places,  and  before  different  persons.  When  using  the 
sacred  books  the  devotee  must  consider  himself  to  be  in  the 
presence  of  Buddha,  and  he  is  forbidden  to  study  books  of 
divination,  physiognomy,  medicine,  drawing  lots,  astronomy, 
geography,  alchemy,  charms,  magic,  or  poetry.  Xo  wonder  the 
priests  are  ignorant  when  almost  every  source  of  instruction  is 
thus  debarred  them.  The  number  of  temples  scattered  over 
Mongolia  and  Tibet  and  the  proportion  of  priests  are  far  greater 
than  in  China,  and  the  literature  is  not  less  enormous  for  bulk 
than  are  the  contents  of  the  volumes  tedious  and  uninstructive.' 
A  good  device  for  a  religion  of  formality  to  economize  time  and 
accommodate  ignoi-ance  is  adopted  by  the  lamas,  which  is  to 
write  the  pi-ayers  on  a  piece  of  ])aper  and  fasten  them  to  a  wheel 
carried  round  by  the  wind  or  twirled  by  tlie  liand ;  chests  are 
also  set  up  in  temples  having  prayers  engraved  on  the  outside 


'  Annnles  He  la  Foi,  Tome  IX.,  p.  400. 

^"Tlie  dreariest  literature,  perliaps,"  says  Professor  Whitney,  "that  was 
ever  painfully  scored  down,  and  patiently  studied,  and  religiously  preserved  " 
(Oriental  and  lyhujuixtir  Stiidifn,  Second  Series,  p.  i)8).  For  foreign  bibli- 
ographies of  Buddhism  the  reader  may  be  referred  to  L^Il/'ntoire  de  (Jakya- 
Mount,  par  Foucaux  (ad  fin  ),  and  Otto  Kistner,  Buddha  and  Ids  Doctrines :  A 
Bdjliographical  Emuiy,  London,  18G'J.  See  also  Triibuer's  Record  for  1869,  p 
513. 


SHAMANISM,  THE   BUDDHISM    OF   TIBET.  235 

in  large  letters,  and  the  prayer  is  repeated  as  often  as  the  wind 
or  the  hand  revolves  the  wheel  or  ohest. 

The  Buddhist  temples  present  nuich  nniformity  in  their  ar- 
rant»-enient,  and  some  of  the  monastic  establishments  are  amono; 
the  finest  buildings  in  China.  Xo  cave  temples  are  known,  but 
caves  have  been  turned  into  temples  in  many  places,  and  miser- 
able places  they  are  for  worship.  On  entering  a  Buddhist  tem- 
ple, one  sees  four  colossal  statnes  of  the  Four  Great  Kings  who  are 
supposed  to  govern  the  continents  on  each  side  of  Mount  Sumeru 
and  guard  or  reward  the  devotees  who  honor  their  Lord  ;  they 
have  black,  blue,  red,  and  white  faces,  and  usually  hold  a  sword, 
guitar,  nmbrella,  and  snake  in  their  hands.  Opposite  the  door  is 
a  shrine  containing  an  image  of  Maitreya  Buddha,  or  the  Merci- 
ful One,  a  very  fat,  jolly  personage,  who  is  to  have  an  avatar 
three  thousand  years  hence ;  images  of  Kwanti,  the  God  of 
War,  and  of  Wei-to,  a  general  nnder  the  Four  Kings,  clad  in 
armor,  are  often  seen  near  the  shrine.  Going  behind  a  screen, 
the  next  great  hall  contains  a  high  gilded  image  of  Sakya-muni 
sitting  on  a  lotns  flower,  with  smaller  statues  of  Ananda  and 
Kashiapa  on  his  sides ;  their  shrine  often  has  standing  images 
of  attendants.  In  this  hall  are  other  images  or  pictures  of  the 
Eighteen  Arhans,  deified  missionaries  who  propagated  their 
faith  early  in  China.  In  the  rear  of  these  is  represented  some 
form  of  Kwanyiu,  the  Goddess  of  Mercy,  the  popular  idol  of  the 
sects.  In  large  temples  the  live  hundred  Arhans,  placed  on  as 
many  seats,  each  having  some  distinguishing  attribute,  fill  a  large 
hall.  Besides  these  occur  the  disciples  of  Buddha  listening  to 
his  teachings,  the  horrible  punishments  of  hell,  and  various 
honored  deities,  sages,  or  local  gods,  so  that  few  temples  are 
alike  in  all  respects.  In  all  of  them  are  guest-chambers  of 
various  sizes,  refectories,  study  rooms,  and  cloisters,  according  to 
the  wants  and  resources  of  the  fraternity. 

The  hold  of  the  Buddhist  priesthood  upon  the  mass  of  Chinese 
consists  far  more  in  the  position  they  occupy  in  relation  to  the 
rites  performed  in  honor  of  the  dead  than  in  their  tenets.  This 
brings  us  to  the  consideration  of  the  real  relio-ion  of  the  Chinese, 
that  in  which  more  than  anything  else  they  trust,  and  to  which 
they  look  for  consolation  and  reward— the  worship  of  deceased 


236  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

ancestors.  The  doctrines  of  Confucius  and  the  ceremonial  of 
tlie  State  religion,  exhibit  the  speculative,  intellectual  dogmas 
of  the  educated  literati  and  thinkers,  who  have  early  been  taught 
the  high  ideal  of  tlie  Princely  Man  set  forth  by  their  sages. 
The  tenets  of  Lau-tsz'  and  the  sorcery  and  incantations  of  his 
followers  show  the  mystic  and  marvellous  part  of  the  popular 
belief.  Buddhism  takes  hold  of  the  connnon  life  of  man,  offers 
relief  in  times  of  distress,  escape  from  a  future  hell  at  a  cheap 
rate,  and  employment  in  a  round  of  prayers,  study,  or  work, 
ending  in  the  nirvana.  But  the  heart  of  the  nation  reposes 
more  upon  the  rites  offered  at  the  family  shiine  to  the  two 
"living  divinities"  who  preside  in  the  hall  of  ancestors  than  to 
all  the  rest.  This  sort  of  family  worship  has  been  popular  in 
other  countries,  but  in  no  part  of  the  world  has  it  reached  the 
consequence  it  has  received  in  Eastern  Asia ;  every  natural 
feeling  serves,  indeed,  to  strengthen  its  simple  cultus. 

In  the  Shh  King,  whose  existence,  as  we  have  already  pointed 
out,  is  coeval  with  Samuel  or  earlier,  are  many  references  to  this 
worship,  and  to  certain  rites  connected  with  its  royal  observance. 
At  some  festivals  the  dead  were  personated  by  a  younger  rela- 
tive, who  was  supposed  to  be  taken  possession  of  by  their  spirits, 
and  thereby  became  their  visible  image.  He  was  placed  on 
higli,  and  the  sacrificer,  on  appearing  in  the  temple,  asked  him 
to  be  seated  at  his  ease,  and  urged  him  to  eat,  thereby  to  prepare 
himself  to  receive  the  liomage  given  to  the  dead.  When  he  had 
done  so  he  gave  the  response  in  their  name ;  the  defied  spirits 
returned  to  heaven,  and  their  personator  came  down  from  his 
seat.  \\\  one  ode  the  response  of  the  ancestors  through  their 
personator  is  thus  given : 

What  said  the  message  from  your  sires  ? 

*' VoGKols  r.nd  gifts  are  cleans 
And  all  your  friends,  assisting  you, 

Bchav)  with  reverent  mien. 


'  Most  reverently  you  did  your  part, 
And  reverent  by  your  side 
Your  son  a})])eared.     On  you  henceforth 
Shall  ceaseless  blessings  bide. 


ANCESTRAL  WORSHIP  THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  FAMILY.    237 

"  What  sliall  the  ceaseless  blessings  be  ? 
That  in  your  palace  high, 
For  myriad  years  you  dwell  in  peace, 
Rich  in  posterity."  ' 

The  teachings  of  tliis  ancient  book  intimate  that  the  protect- 
ing favor  of  tlie  departed  could  be  lost  by  the  vile,  cruel,  or  un- 
just conduct  of  their  descendants— thus  connecting  ancestral 
worship  and  reward  with  personal  character.  Another  ode  sums 
up  this  idea  in  the  expression,  "  The  mysterious  empyrean  is 
able  to  strengthen  anything ;  do  not  disgrace  your  imperial  an- 
cestors, and  it  will  save  your  posterity."  Many  stories  occur  in 
the  native  literature  exemplifying  this  idea  by  actual  experiences 
of  blessing  and  cursing,  all  flowing  from  the  observance  or 
neglect  of  the  required  duties. 

The  great  sages  Confucius  and  Mencius,  with  the  earlier  rulers, 
King  Wan  and  Duke  Chan,  and  their  millions  of  followers,  have 
all  upheld  these  sentiments,  and  those  teachings  and  examples 
are  still  as  powerful  as  ever.  In  every  household,  a  shrine,  a 
tablet,  an  oratory,  or  a  domestic  temple,  according  to  the  posi- 
tion of  the  family,  contains  the  simple  legend  of  the  two  ancestral 
names  written  on  a  slip  of  paper  or  carved  on  a  board.  Incense 
is  burned  before  it,  daily  or  on  the  new  and  full  moons ;  and  in 
April  the  people  everywhere  gather  at  the  family  graves  to 
sweep  them,  and  worship  the  departed  around  a  festive  sacrifice. 
To  the  children  it  has  all  the  pleasant  associations  of  our  Christ- 
mas or  Thanksgiving;  and  all  the  elder  members  of  the  family 
who  can  do  so  come  toorether  around  the  tomb  or  in  the  ancestral 
hall  at  the  annual  rite.  Parents  and  children  meet  and  bow  be- 
fore the  tablet,  and  in  their  simple  cheer  contract  no  associations 
with  temples  or  idols,  monasteries  or  priests,  processions,  or  flags 
and  nuisic.  It  is  the  family,  and  a  stranger  intermeddleth  not 
with  it ;  he  has  his  own  tablet  to  look  to,  and  can  get  no  good 
by  worshipping  before  that  bearing  the  names  of  another  family. 

As  the  children  grow  up  the  worship  of  the  ancestors,  whom 
they  never  saw,  is  exchanged  for  that  of  nearer  ones  who  bore 
and  nurtured,  clothed,  taught,  and  cheered  them  in  helpless 


'  Legge's  She  Kiruj,  p.  309,  London,  1876. 


238  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

childhood  and  hopeful  youth,  and  the  whole  is  thus  rendered  more 
personal,  vivid,  and  endearing.  There  is  nothing  revolting  or 
cruel  connected  with  it,  but  everything  is  orderly,  kind,  and 
simple,  calculated  to  strengthen  the  family  relationship,  cement 
the  affection  between  brothers  and  sisters,  and  uphold  habits  of 
filial  reverence  and  obedience.  Though  the  strongest  motive 
for  this  worship  arises  out  of  the  belief  that  success  in  worldly 
affairs  depends  on  the  support  given  to  parental  spirits  in  hades, 
who  will  resent  continued  neglect  by  withholding  their  blessing, 
yet,  in  the  course  of  ages,  it  has  intluenced  Chinese  character,  in 
promoting  industry  and  cultivating  habits  of  domestic  care  and 
thrift,  beyond  all  estimation. 

It  has,  moreover,  done  much  to  preserve  that  feature  of  the 
government  which  grows  out  of  the  oversight  of  heaven  as 
manifested  to  the  people  through  their  Emperor,  the  Son  of 
Heaven,  whom  they  regard  as  its  vicegerent.  The  parental 
authority  is  also  itself  honored  by  that  peculiar  position  of  the 
monarch,  and  the  child  grows  up  with  the  habit  of  yielding  to 
its  injunctions,  for  to  him  the  family  tablet  is  a  reality,  the 
abode  of  a  personal  Being  who  exerts  an  influence  over  him 
that  cannot  be  evaded,  and  is  far  more  to  him  as  an  individual 
than  any  of  the  popular  gods.  Those  gods  are  to  be  feared  and 
their  wrath  deprecated,  but  the  "  illustrious  ones  who  have  com- 
])leted  their  probation  "  represent  love,  care,  and  interest  to  the 
worshippers  if  they  do  not  fail  in  their  duties. 

Another  indirect  result  has  been  to  define  and  elevate  the 
])osition  of  the  wife  and  mother.  All  the  laws  which  could  be 
framed  for  the  protection  of  women  would  lack  their  force  if 
she  were  not  honored  in  the  household.  As  there  can  be  only 
one  "  illustrious  consort "  {liien  p'l)  named  on  the  tablet,  there 
is  of  course  only  one  wife  {Ul)  acknowledged  in  the  family. 
There  are  concubines  (tsieh),  whose  legal  rights  are  defined  and 
secured,  and  who  form  an  integral  part  of  the  family ;  but  they  are 
not  admitted  into  the  ancestral  hall,  and  their  children  are  reck- 
oned with  the  others  as  Dan  and  Asher  were  in  Jacob's  house- 
hold. Polygamous  families  in  China  form  a  small  proportion 
of  the  whole;  and  this  acknowledged  parity  of  the  mother  with 
the  father,  in  the  most  sacred  position  she  can  be  placed,  has 


ITS   EFFECTS   UPON   CHINESE  SOCIETY.  239 

done  much  to  maintain  tlie  purity  and  right  influence  of  woman 
amid  all  the  degradations,  pollutions,  and  moral  weakness  of 
heathenism.  It  is  one  of  the  most  powerful  supports  of  good 
order.  It  may  even  be  confidently  stated  that  woman's  legal,  social, 
and  domestic  position  is  as  high  in  China  as  it  has  ever  been  out- 
side of  Christian  culture,  and  as  safe  as  it  can  be  without  the  re- 
straints of  Christianity.  Another  benefit  to  the  people,  that  of 
early  marriages,  deriv^es  much  of  its  prevalence  and  obligation 
from  the  fear  that,  if  neglected,  there  may  be  no  heirs  left  to 
carry  on  the  worship  at  the  family  tomb. 

The  three  leading  results  here  noticed,  viz.,  the  prevention  of 
a  priestly  caste,  the  confirmation  of  parental  authority  in  its  own 
sphere,  and  the  elevation  of  the  woman  and  wife  to  a  parity 
with  the  man  and  husband,  do  much  to  explain  the  perpetuity 
of  Chinese  institutions.  The  fact  that  filial  piety  in  this  system 
has  overpassed  the  limit  set  by  God  in  his  Word,  and  that  de- 
ceased parents  are  worshipped  as  gods  by  their  children,  is  both 
true  and  sad.  That  the  worship  rendered  to  their  ancestors  by 
the  Chinese  is  idolatrous  cannot  be  doubted  ;  and  it  forms  one 
of  the  subtlest  phases  of  idolatry — essentially  evil  with  the  guisf 
of  goodness — ever  established  among  men. 

The  prevalence  of  infanticide  and  the  indifference  with  which 
the  crime  is  regarded  may  seem  to  militate  against  this  view  of 
Chinese  social  character,  and  throw  discredit  on  the  degree  of 
respect  and  reverence  paid  to  parents ;  for  how,  some  will  ask, 
can  a  man  thus  worship  and  venerate  parents  who  once  imbrued 
their  hands  in  his  sister's  blood  ?  Such  anomalies  may  be  found 
in  the  distorted  minds  and  depraved  hearts  educated  under  the 
superstitions  of  heathenism  in  every  country,  and  the  Chinese 
are  no  exception.  It  is  exceedingly  difiicult,  however,  to  ascer- 
tain the  extent  of  infanticide  in  China,  and  all  the  reasons  which 
prompt  to  the  horrid  act.  Investigations  have  been  made  about 
Canton,  and  evidence  obtained  to  show  tiiat  it  is  comparatively 
rare,  and  strongly  discountenanced  by  public  opinion  ;  though  by 
no  means  unknown,  nor  punished  by  law  when  done.  Similar 
investigations  at  Amoy  have  disclosed  a  fearful  extent  of  mur- 
ders of  this  nature ;  yet  while  the  latter  are  believed,  the  asser- 
tions of  the  former  are  regarded  as  evasions  of  the  truth  from 


240  TIIK    MIDDLE    KIXGDO^f. 

the  fear  of  being  reproached  for  it  or  a  sense  of  shame.  The 
whole  nation  has  been  branded  as  systematic  murderers  of  their 
children  from  the  practice  of  the  inhabitants  of  a  portion  of  two 
provinces,  who  are  generally  regarded  by  their  countrymen  as 
among  the  most  violent  and  poorest  fraction  of  the  whole.  Sir 
John  Barrow  heard  that  the  carts  went  about  the  streets  of 
Peking  daily  to  pick  up  dead  and  dying  infants  thrown  out  by 
their  unnatural  parents,  but  he  does  not  mention  ever  having 
seen  a  single  corpse  in  all  his  walks  or  rides  about  the  capital. 
It  has  now  been  ascertained  tliat  this  cart  contains  so  many  dead 
bodies  of  both  sexes,  that  the  inference  by  Dr.  Dudgeon  that 
not  one  in  a  hundred  was  killed  seems  to  be  sustained.  The 
bodies  of  children  are  not  as  often  seen  in  the  lanes  and  creeks 
of  Canton  as  those  of  adults,  and'the  former  are  as  likely  to  have 
died  natural  deaths  as  the  latter. 

In  Fuhkien  province,  especially  in  the  departments  of  Tsiuen- 
chau  and  Changchau,  infanticide  prevails  to  a  greater  extent 
than  in  any  other  part  of  the  Empire  yet  examined.  Mr.  Abeel 
extended  his  inquiries  to  forty  different  towns  and  villages  lying 
in  the  first,  and  found  that  the  percentage  was  between  seventy 
and  eighty  down  to  ten,  giving  an  average  of  about  forty  per 
cent,  of  all  girls  born  in  those  places  as  being  murdered.  In 
Changchau,  out  of  seventeen  towns,  the  proportion  lies  between 
one-fourth  and  three-tenths  in  some  places,  occasionally  rising 
to  one-third,  and  in  others  sinking  to  one-fifth,  making  an  aver- 
age of  one-fourth  put  to  death.  In  other  departments  of  the 
province  the  practice  is  confessed,  but  the  pi-oportion  tliought 
by  intelligent  natives  to  be  less,  since  there  is  less  poverty  and 
fewer  people  than  formerly.  The  examination  was  conducted 
in  as  fair  a  inanner  as  ]K>ssiblo,  and  {K'rsoiis  of  all  classes  were 
questioned  as  to  the  number  of  children  they  had  killed  them- 
selves, or  knew  had  been  killed  by  their  relatives  or  neighbors. 
One  of  eight  brothers  told  him  that  only  three  girls  were  left' 
among  all  their  children,  sixteen  having  been  killed.  On  one 
occasion  he  visited  a  small  village  on  Anioy  Island,  called  Bo-au, 
where  the  whole  population  turned  out  to  see  him  and  Dr. 
Cnmming,  the  latter  of  whom  had  recently  cut  out  a  large  tu- 
mor from  a  fellow  villager,     lie  says  : 


PKEVALENOE  -OF    INFATs'q'lCIDE    IN    CHINA.  241 

From  till'  immljor  of  women  in  tlic  crowd  wliich  turned  out  to  greet  ;is.  we 
were  pretty  well  persuaded  that  they  were  under  as  little  restraint  as  the  men 
Irom  indulging  their  curiosity  ;  and  upon  inquiry,  found  it  to  be  so.  We  were 
conducted  to  a  small  temple,  when  1  had  the  opportunity  of  conversing  with 
many  who  came  around  us.  On  a  second  visit,  while  addressing  them,  one 
man  held  up  a  child,  and  publicly  acknowledged  that  he  bad  killed  five  c,2 
the  helpless  beings,  having  pre.served  but  two.  I  tliought  lie  was  jesting, 
but  as  no  surprise  or  dissent  was  expressed  by  his  neighbors,  and  as  there  was 
an  air  of  simplicity  and  regret  in  tlie  individual,  tliere  was  no  reason  to  doubt 
its  truth.  After  repeating  his  confession  he  added  with  affecting  simplicity, 
"It  was  before  I  heard  you  speak  on  this  subject ;  I  did  not  know  it  was  wrong ; 
I  would  not  do  so  now."  Wishing  to  obtain  the  testimony  of  the  assembled 
villagers,  I  put  the  question  publicly,  "  What  number  of  female  infants  in  this 
village  are  destroyed  at  birth  V  "  The  reply  was,  "More  than  one-half."  As 
there  was  no  discussion  among  them,  which  is  not  tlie  case  when  they  differ  in 
opinion,  and  as  we  were  fully  convinced  from  our  own  observation  of  the  nu- 
merical inequality  of  tlie  sexes,  the  proportion  of  deatlis  they  gave  did  not 
strike  us  as  extravagant. 


The  reasons  assigned  for  committing  the  unnatural  deed  are 
various.  Poverty  is  the  leading  cause ;  the  alternative  being,  as 
the  parents  think,  a  life  of  infamy  or  slaverj",  since  if  they  can- 
not rear  their  offspring  themselves  they  must  sell  them.  The 
fact  of  the  great  numbers  of  men  who  emigrate  to  the  Archipel- 
ago from  the  coast  districts  has  no  doubt  also  had  its  effect  in 
inducing  parents  to  destroy  daughters  for  v/hom  they  had  little 
expectation  of  finding  husbands  if  they  did  rear  thein.  Many 
who  are  able  to  support  their  daughters  prefer  to  destroy  them 
rather  than  incur  the  expenses  of  their  marriage,  but  the  investi- 
gation showed  that  the  crime  was  rather  less  among  the  educated 
than  the  ignorant,  and  that  they  had  done  something  to  dissuade 
their  poor  neighbors  from  putting  their  girls  to  death.  In  the 
adjoining  departments  of  Chauchau  and  Kiaying  in  Kwangtung, 
the  people  admit  the  practice,  and,  as  their  circumstances  are 
similar,  it  is  probable  that  it  is  not  much  less  than  around  Amoj' 
Dr.  Dudgeon,  of  Peking,  has  had  very  favorable  opportunities 
for  prosecuting  inquiries  in  that  region,  and  has  shown  that  the 
stories  formerly  credited  are  wrong,  and  that  most  of  the  chil- 
dren thus  disposed  of  are  born  of  nuns.  Inquiries  instituted  at 
Hankow  by  Dr.  F.  P.  Smith,  of  the  hospital,  showed  a  wide 
prevalence  of  the  crime  among  the  poor  and  rural  population, 
Vol.  II.— 16 


242  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

for  which  he  ascribes  several  reasons ;  the  proportion  of  the 
sexes  is  ten  men  to  seven  women. 

While  one  of  the  worst  features  of  the  crime  is  the  little 
degree  of  detestation  everywhere  expressed  at  it,  vet  the  actual 
proportion  is  an  important  inquiry,  and  this,  taking  the  whole 
nation,  has  been  much  exaggerated,  chiefly  from  applying  such 
facts  and  estimates  as  the  preceding  to  the  whole  country.  The 
governor  of  Canton  once  issued  a  dissuasive  exhortation  on  this 
subject  to  the  people,  telling  them  that  if  they  destroyed  all 
their  daughters  they  would  soon  have  no  mothers.  Until  in- 
vestigations have  been  made  elsewhere,  it  is  not  fair  to  charge 
all  the  Chinese  with  the  atrocities  of  a  small  portion,  nor  to  dis- 
believe the  affirmations  of  the  inhabitants  of  Canton,  Xingpo, 
and  Shanghai,  and  elsewhere,  that  they  do  not  usually  put  their 
daughters  to  death,  until  we  have  overwhelming  testimony  that 
they  deny  and  conceal  what  they  are  ashamed  to  confess.' 

Comparing  their  lamentable  practice  with  those  of  other  and 
European  nations,  we  find,  according  to  Hume,  that  "the  expo- 
sure of  new-born  infants  was  an  allowed  practice  in  almost  all 
the  States  of  Greece  and  Rome  ;  even  among  the  polite  and  civil- 
ized xVthenians,  the  abandoning  of  one's  child  to  hunger  or  wild 
beasts  was  regarded  M-ithout  blame  or  censure.  This  practice 
was  very  common  ;  and  it  is  not  spoken  of  by  any  author  of 
those  times  with  the  horror  it  deserves,  or  scarcely  even  with 
disapprobation.  Plutarch,  the  humane,  good-natured  Plutarch, 
mentions  it  as  a  merit  in  Attains,  king  of  Pergannis,  that  he 
murdered,  or,  if  you  will,  exposed  all  his  own  children,  in  order 
to  leave  his  crown  to  the  son  of  his  brother  Eumenes.  It  was 
Solon,  the  most  celebrated  of  the  sages  of  Greece,  that  gave 
parents  permission  by  law  to  kill   their  children."     Aristotle 

'  Chinese  Repository,  Vol.  XVII.,  p.  11,  for  a  native  essay  against  it;  Vol. 
XVI.,  p.  513;  Vol.  XII.,  pp.  540-548.;  Vol.  XL,  p.  508  ;  Vol.  VII.,  p.  54. 
Bishop  Smith's  China,  p.  443.  Report  of  Pekiny  Ilospital,  1865.  Dr.  F.  P. 
Smith's  Fire  Annual  Reports  of  ITankow  Hoapit/d,  1870,  pp.  45-52.  Doolittle, 
Social  Life,  11. ,  pp.  203-209.  Notes  and  Queries  on  C.  amlJ.,  Vol.  III.,  pp. 
156,  172.  Ij  infanticAde  et  VOeuvre  de  la  Ste.-Enfance  en  Chine,  par  Pere  G. 
Palatre,  Changhai.  Autof/raphie.  de  la  Mission  Catholique  a  Vorphelinat  de  Tou^ 
se-tce,  1878.  M.  E.  Martin,  Etade  Medico-Legale  sur  I' Infanticide  et  VAtorte' 
ment  dans  V Empire  Chinois,  Paris,  1872. 


COMPARISON^    WITH   GREECE   AND    ROME.  243 

thought  it  should  be  encouraged  by  the  magistrates,  and  Plato 
maintained  the  same  inhuman  doctrine.  It  was  complained  of 
as  a  great  singularity  that  the  laws  of  Thebes  forbade  the  prac- 
tice. In  all  the  provinces,  and  especially  in  Italy,  the  crime  was 
daily  perpetrated.' 

The  ceremonies  attendant  upon  the  decease  of  a  person  vary 
in  different  parts  of  the  country,  though  they  are  not  necessarily 
elaborate  or  expensive  anywhere,  and  all  the  important  ones  can 
be  performed  by  the  poorest  mourner.  The  inhabitants  of 
Fuhkien  put  a  piece  of  silver  in  the  mouth  of  the  dying  person, 
and  carefully  cover  his  nose  and  ears.  Scarcely  is  he  dead  when 
they  make  a  hole  in  the  roof  to  facilitate  the  exit  of  the  spirits 
proceeding  from  his  body,  of  which  they  imagine  each  person  pos- 
sesses seven  animal  senses  which  die  with  him,  and  three  souls, 
one  of  which  enters  elysium  and  receives  judgment, another  abides 
M'ith  the  tablet,  and  a  third  dwells  in  the  tomb.  In  some  places, 
as  a  man  approaches  his  last  hour,  the  relatives  come  into  the 
room  to  array  him  in  his  best  garments  and  carry  him  into  the 
main  hall  to  breathe  his  life  away  while  dressed  in  the  costume 
with  which  he  is  to  appear  in  Hades.  The  popular  ideas  regarding 
their  fate  vary  so  much  that  it  is  difficult  to  describe  the  national 
faith  in  this  respect;  transmigration  is  more  or  less  believed 
in,  but  the  detail  of  the  changes  the  good  or  evil  spirit  undergoes 
before  it  is  absorbed  in  Buddha  varies  almost  according  to  the 
fancy  of  the  worshipper.  Those  who  are  sent  to  hell  pass  through 
every  form  of  suffering  inflicted  upon  them  by  hideous  monsters, 
and  are  at  last  released  to  wander  about  as  houseless  demons  to 
torment  mankind,  or  vex  themselves  in  the  bodies  of  animals 
and  reptiles. 

When  the  priests  come  the  corpse  is  laid  out  upon  the  floor 
in  the  principal  room,  and  a  tablet  set  up  by  its  side ;  a  table  is 
near,  on  which  are  placed  meats,  lamps,  and  incense.  While 
the  priests  are  reciting  prayers  to  deliver  the  soul  from  purga- 
tory and  hell,  they  occasionally  call  on  all  present  to  weep  and 
lament,  and  on  these  occasions  the  females  of  the  household  are 
particularly  clamorous  in  their  grief,  alternately  uttering  the 

'  Mcllvaine,  Evidences  of  Christianity,  p.  291. 


244  THE    MIDDLE    KTXODOM. 

most  dolefiii  accents,  nnd  then  tittei'injx  with  some  of  the  new 
coiners.  Papers  having  figni-es  on  tliein  and  Peter's  pence  in 
the  form  of  paper  money  are  hnrned  ;  white  lanterns,  instead  of 
tlie  common  red  ones,  and  a  slip  of  paper  containing  the  name, 
titles,  age,  etc.,  of  the  dead  arc  lumg  at  the  door;  a  mat  [)orch 
is  pnt  np  for  tlie  musicians  and  the  priests."  The  sonl,  liaving 
crossed  the  l)ridge  leading  out  of  hell  with  the  aid  of  the  priests, 
gets  a  letter  of  recommendation  from  them  to  he  admitted  into 
the  western  heavens. 

Previous  to  burial  a  lucky  place  for  interment,  if  the  family 
have  moved  away  from  its  paternal  sepulchre,  must  be  found. 
The  body  is  coffined  soon  after  death,  arrayed  in  the  most  splen- 
did habiliments  the  family  can  afford  ;  a  fan  is  put  in  one  liand 
and  a  prayer  on  a  piece  of  paper  in  the  other.  The  form  of  a 
Chinese  coffin  resembles  the  trunk  of  a  tree ;  the  boards  are 
three  or  four  inches  thick  and  rounded  on  top  (from  Avhence  a 
coffin  is  called  "  longevity  boards  "),  making  a  very  substantial 
case.  When  the  corpse  is  put  in  it  is  laid  in  a  bed  of  lime  or 
cotton,  or  covered  with  quicklime,  and  the  edges  of  the  lid  are 
closed  with  mortar  in  the  groove  so  that  no  smell  escapes;  the 
coffin  is  varnished  if  it  is  to  remain  in  the  house  before  burial. 
The  Chinese  often  expend  large  sums  in  the  purchase  and  pre- 
paration of  a  coffin  during  their  lifetime  ;  the  cheapest  are  from 
five  to  ten  dollars,  and  upward  to  five  hundred  and  even  two 
thousand  dollars,  according  to  the  materials  and  ornamenting. 

Bodies  are  sometimes  kept  in  or  about  the  house  for  many 
years  and  incense  burned  morning  and  evening.  They  are 
placed  either  on  trestles  near  the  doorway  and  protected  by  a 
covering  in  the  principal  hall,  or  in  the  ancestral  chamber,  where 
they  remain  until  the  fortunes  of  the  family  improve  so  as  to 
enable  them  to  bury  the  remains,  or  a  lucky  place  is  found,  or 
until  opportunity  and  means  allow  the  survivors  to  lay  them  in 
their  patrimonial  sepulchre. 

The  lineal  relatives  of  the  deceased  are  informed  of  his  death, 

'  Ball  says  that  money  is  put  into  the  month  of  the  dead  by  rich  people  to 
buy  favor  and  passage  into  heaven ;  others  affirm  that  the  money  is  to  make 
the  spirit  ready  o?  speech.  The  phrase  "no  silver  to  hit  the  mouth  "  has  r^fer 
ence  to  this  custom. 


FUXKIiAL    CUSTO^rs    AXI)    (^EMEMONIES.  245 

and  as  many  as  can  do  so  repair  to  the  liouse  to  condole  with 
and  assist  tlie  family.  The  eldest  son  or  the  nearest  descendant 
repairs  to  an  adjoining  river  or  well  with  a  bowl  in  his  hand,  and 
accompanied  by  two  relatives,  to  "  buy  water "  with  money 
M'hich  he  carries  and  throws  into  it.  Upon  the  way  to  the  well 
it  is  customary  to  carry  lanterns — even  at  noon — and  to  make  a 
great  wailing:  with  the  water  thus  obtained  he  washes  the 
corpse  before  it  is  dressed.  After  the  body  is  laid  in  the  coffin 
and  before  interment  the  sons  of  the  deceased  among  the  poor 
are  frequently  sent  around  to  the  relatives  and  friends  of  the 
family  to  solicit  subscriptions  to  buy  a  grave,  hire  mourners,  or 
provide  a  suitable  sacrifice,  and  it  is  considered  a  good  act  to 
assist  in  such  cases ;  perhaps  fear  of  the  ill-will  of  the  displeased 
spirit  prompts  to  the  charity.  The  coffin  is  sometimes  seized 
or  attached  by  creditors  to  compel  the  relatives  to  collect  a  sum 
to  release  it,  and  instances  of  filial  sons  are  mentioned  who  have 
sold  themselves  into  temporary  or  perpetual  slavery  in  order  to 
raise  money  to  bury  their  parents.  In  other  cases  a  defaulting 
tenant  will  retain  a  cofiin  in  the  house  to  forestall  an  ejectment 
for  the  back  rent.  On  the  day  of  burial  an  offering  of  cooked 
provisions  is  laid  out  near  the  coffin.  The  chief  mourners, 
clothed  in  coarse  white  sackcloth,  then  approach  and  kneel 
before  it,  knocking  their  heads  up.on  the  ground  and  going 
through  with  the  full  kotow ;  two  persons  dressed  in  mourning 
hand  them  incense-sticks,  w^liieh  are  placed  in  jars.  After  the 
male  mourners  have  made  their  parting  prostrations  the  females 
perform  the  same  ceremonies,  and  then  such  friends  and  rela- 
tions as  are  present ;  during  these  observances  a  band  of  nuisic 
plays.  The  funeral  procession  is  formed  of  all  these  persons — 
the  band,  the  tablets,  priests,  etc.  In  Peking,  where  religious 
processions  are  prohibited,  great  display  is  made  in  funerals 
according  to  the  means  and  raidc  of  the  deceased.  The  coffin 
is  borne  on  an  nnwieldy  bier  carried  by  sixty-four  men  or  moi-e 
and  covered  by  a  richly  embroidered  catafalque,  attended  by 
musicians,  mourners,  priests,  etc.  Sometimes  the  carts  are  cov- 
ered with  white  cloth  and  the  mules  wear  white  harness. 

Burial-places  are  selected  by  geomancers,  and  their  location 
has  important  results  on  the  prosperity  of  the  living.     The  sup- 


246  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

posed  connection  between  these  two  things  lias  influenced  the 
science,  religion,  and  cnstoms  of  the  Chinese  from  very  early 
days,  and  nnder  the  name  oi  fung-shui,  or  '  wind  and  water' 
rules,  still  contains  most  of  their  science  and  explains  most  of 
their  superstitions.  As  true  science  extends  this  travestie  of 
natural  philosophy  will  fade  away  and  form  a  subject  of  fascin- 
ation among  the  people  as  it  now  does  a  source  of  terror.  Every 
strange  event  is  interpreted  hy  fung-shid,  and  its  professors  em- 
ploy the  doctrines  of  Buddhists  and  Taoists  to  enforce  their 
dicta,  as  they  do  their  little  knowledge  of  astronomy,  medicine, 
and  natural  science  to  explain  them.  The  whole  has  gradually 
grown  into  a  system  of  geomancy,  involving,  however,  their  cos- 
mogony, natural  philosophy,  spiritualism,  and  biology  so  far  as 
they  have  these  sciences.  It  was  in  the  twelfth  century  that  it 
became  systematized,  and  its  influence  has  spread  ever  since. 
Were  it  only  a  picturesque  kaleidoscope  of  facts  and  fancies  it 
would  be  a  harndess  pastime ;  but  it  now  enters  into  every  act 
of  life,  since  the  human  soul  and  body,  Mdiether  in  this  M'orld 
or  the  next,  are  regarded  as  constantly  influenced  by  their  ac- 
tions, their  relatives,  and  their  locations.  Thus  the  choice  of  a 
burial-place  is  supposed  to  affect  the  past,  present,  and  future, 
and  the  fung-shui  sicnsdng^  or  '  wind  and  water  doctors,'  know 
therein  how  to  benefit  their  customers  and  themselves. 

Hcgarding  all  nature  as  a  living  organism  and  each  person  sur- 
rounded by  invisible  beings,  the  Chinese  try  to  propitiate  these 
essences  through  their  departed  relatives.  They  consider  them 
as  restrained  by  their  animal  nature  to  the  tomb  where  their 
bodies  lie,  while  the  spiritual  nature  seeks  to  hover  about  its 
old  scenes  and  children.  If  a  tomb  is  placed  so  that  the  spirit 
dwelling  therein  is  comfortable,  the  inference  is  that  the  de- 
ceased will  grant  those  who  supply  its  wants  all  that  the  spirit 
world  can  grant.  A  tomb  located  where  no  star  on  high  or 
dragon  below,  no  breath  of  nature  oi-  malign  configuration  of 
hills,  can  disturb  the  repose  of  the  dead,  must  therefore  be 
lucky,  and  M'orth  great  effoi-t  to  secure. 

The  principles  of  geonuuicy  depend  nuich  on  two  supposed 
currents  running  through  the  earth,  known  as  the  dragon  and 
the  tiger ;  a  propitious  site  has  these  on  its  left  and  right.     A 


INFLUENCE   OF   FUN(i-SIIUI.  247 

skilful  observer  can  detect  and  describe  them,  with  the  help  of 
the  compass,  direction  of  the  watercourses,  shapes  of  the  male 
and  female  ground,  and  their  proportions,  color  of  the  soil,  and 
the  permutations  of  the  elements.  The  common  people  know 
nothing  of  the  basis  on  which  tliis  conclusion  is  founded,  but 
give  their  money  as  their  faith  in  the  priest  or  charlatan  in- 
creases.' 

At  the  south,  uncultivated  liills  are  selected  because  they  are 
dry  and  the  white  ants  will  not  attack  the  coffin ;  and  a  hill- 
side in  view  of  water,  a  copse,  or  a  ravine  near  a  hill-top,  arc  all 
lucky  spots.  At  the  north,  where  ants  are  unknown,  the  dead  are 
buried  in  fields ;  but  nowhere  collected  in  graveyards  in  cities  or 
temples.  The  form  of  the  grave  is  sometimes  a  simple  tumulus 
with  a  tonibstone  at  the  head  ;  in  the  southern  provinces  of  tener 
in  the  shape  of  the  Greek  letter  fi,  or  that  of  a  huge  arm-chair. 
Tiie  back  of  the  supposed  chair  is  the  place  for  the  tombstone, 
while  the  body  is  interred  in  the  seat,  the  sides  of  which  are 
built  around  with  masonry  and  approach  each  other  in  front. 
A  tomb  is  occasionally  built  of  stone  in  a  substantial  manner, 
and  carved  pillars  are  placed  at  the  corners,  the  whole  often 
costing  thousands  of  dollars.  The  case  of  one  necromancer 
is  recorded,  who,  after  having  selected  a  grave  for  a  family,  was 
attacked  with  ophthalmia,  and  in  revenge  for  their  giving  him 
poisonous  food  which  he  supposed  had  caused  the  malad^^,  hired 
men  to  remove  a  large  mass  of  rock  near  the  grave,  whereby  its 
efficacy  was  completely  spoiled.  The  position  is  thought  to  be 
the  better  if  it  command  a  good  view.  Some  of  the  graves  oc- 
cupy many  hundred  square  feet,  the  corners  being  defined  by 
low  stones  bearing  two  characters,  importing  whose  chih,  or 
'  house,'  it  is.  The  shapes  of  graves  vary  more  at  the  north  ; 
some  are  conical  mounds  planted  with  shrubs  or  flowers,  others 
made  of  mason-work  shaped  like  little  houses,  others  mere 
square  tombs  or  earthly  tunuili ;  not  a  few  coffins  are  simply  left 
upon  the  ground.     It  is  seldom  the  Chinese  hew  graves  out  of 


'  Compare  Dr.  Edkins  in  the  Chineie  Recorder,  Vol.  IV.,  1871-72.  Fencj- 
shui  ;  or  the  Rudiments  of  Natural  Science  in  China,  by  Ernest  J.  Eitel,  Lon- 
don, 1878.  The  CornhiU  Magazine  for  March,  1874  Notes  and  Queries  on  C. 
and  J.,  Vol.  II.,  p.  69. 


248  TilE    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

the  rock  or  dig  large  vaults;  their  care  is  to  make  a  showv 
grave,  and  at  the  same  time  a  convenient  one  for  performing 
the  prescribed  rites.  The  mausolea  of  emperors  and  grandees 
occnpv  vast  enclosures  laid  out  as  parks  and  adorned  with  orna- 
mental buildings  to  which  lead  avenues  of  stone  guardians." 
The  tomb  of  Yungloh  (a.d,  1403-1425)  is  reached  through  a 
dwmos  of  gigantic  statues  nearly  a  mile  long — two  pairs  each  of 
lions,  unicoi'ns,  elephants,  camels,  and  horses,  one  erect,  the 
other  couchant,  and  six  pairs  of  civil  and  military  officers;  each 
fio;ure  is  a  monolith.  The  orii2;in  of  this  custom  can  be  traced 
back  nearly  to  the  tenth  century,  but  was  probably  known  in  the 
Tang  dynasty.  Officials  are  allowed  to  erect  a  few  statues  to 
become  their  guardians.' 

AYhen  the  day  of  interment  arrives,  which  is  usually  the 
nearest  lucky  day  to  the  third  seventh  after  death,  the  friends 
assemble  at  the  house.  A  band  of  musicians  accompanies  the 
procession,  in  which  is  also  carried  the  ancestral  tablet  of  the 
deceased  in  a  separate  sedan,  accompanied  sometimes  by  a  sacri- 
fice and  the  red  tablets  of  the  offices  held  by  the  family.  The 
mourners  are  dressed  entirely  in  white,  or  wear  a  white  fillet 
ai'ound  the  head  ;  the  sons  of  the  deceased  nnist  put  on  the  ex- 
pression and  habiliments  of  woe,  and  the  eldest  one  is  at  times 
supported  along  the  street  to  the  grave  in  all  the  eloquence  and 
attitude  of  grief,  although  it  may  have  been  years  since  liis 
father  went  to  "  wander  among  the  genii."  The  women  and 
children  of  the  family  follow,  and  at  intervals  cry  and  wail.  A 
man  goes  ahead  and  scatters  paper  money  to  purchase  the  good- 
will of  such  stray  spirits  as  are  prowling  about.  Diiferent 
figures  and  banners  are  carried  according  to  the  means  and  rank 
of  the  family,  which,  M'ith  the  friends  and  crowd  attracted  by 
the  show,  sometimes  swell  the  train  to  a  great  length.  The 
grave  is  deep,  and  lime  is  freely  mixed  with  the  earth  thrown 


'  In  the  Yih  cliin  the  custodian  n>i)orte(i  in  the  Peking  Oazette  of  January 
3,  1871,  that  there  were  !)'J, (>!)()  trees,  mostly  lir,  pine,  elm,  etc.  The  people  in 
chart,'e  of  such  grounds  are  used  to  girdling  the  timber,  in  order  afterward  to 
get  tlie  dead  trees  as  firewood  for  themselves. 

■-'  Mayens  in  North  (Jltina  Jh'.  Royal  Asiatic  Society  Journal,  No.  XII.,  1878 
Doolittle,  Social  Life,  II.,  p.  3;37. 


CUSTOMS    OF   INTERMENT    AND    MOURNING.  249 

in  ;  a  body  is  never  pnt  into  an  old  grave  while  anything  re- 
mains of  the  former  occupant ;  crackers  are  fired,  libations 
poured  out,  prayers  recited,  and  finally  paper  models  of  houses, 
clothes,  horses,  money,  and  everything  he  can  possibly  want  in 
the  land  of  shadows  (which  Davis  calls  a  loise  economy)  are 
burned.  The  tablet  and  sacrifice  are  then  carried  back ;  the 
family  feast  on  the  latter  or  distribute  it  among  the  poor  around 
the  door,  while  the  former  is  placed  in  the  ancestral  hall.  The 
married  daughters  of  the  dead  are  not  considered  part  of  the 
famil}',  and  wear  no  mourning ;  nor  are  they  invited  to  their 
father's  funeral. 

The  period  of  mourning  for  a  father  is  nominally  three  years, 
but  actually  reduced  to  twenty-seven  months ;  the  persons  re- 
quired to  observe  this  are  enumerated  in  the  Code,  and  Sec- 
tions CLXXIX.-CLXXXI.  contain  the  penalties  for  concealing 
the  death  of  a  parent,  or  misrepresenting  it,  and  of  omitting  the 
proper  formalities.  Burning  the  corpse,  or  casting  it  into  the 
water,  unfeelingly  exposing  it  in  the  house  longer  than  a  year, 
and  making  the  funeral  ceremony  and  feast  an  occasion  of 
merrymaking  and  indecorous  meeting  of  males  and  females, 
are  also  prohibited.  For  thirty  days  after  the  demise  the 
nearest  kindred  must  not  shave  their  heads  nor  change  their 
dress,  but  rather  exhibit  a  slovenly,  slipshod  appearance,  as  if 
grief  had  taken  away  both  appetite  and  decorum.  In  the 
southern  districts  half-mourning  is  bine,  usually  exhibited  in  a 
pair  of  blue  shoes  and  a  blue  silken  cord  woven  in  the  queue, 
instead  of  a  red  one ;  grass  shoes  neatly  made  are  now  and  then 
worn.  In  the  northern  provinces  white  is  the  only  mourning 
color  seen.  The  visiting  cards  also  indicate  that  the  time  of 
mourning  has  not  passed.  The  expenses  incurred  by  the  rich 
are  great,  and  the  priests  receive  large  sums  for  masses,  ten 
thousand  dollars  being  often  spent.  In  the  north  still  greater 
expenses  are  incurred  in  buying  a  piece  of  land  for  a  burial  plot 
and  its  glebe.  Here  they  erect  a  lodge,  where  the  keeper  of  the 
grave  lives,  cultivating  the  land  and  keeping  the  tomb  in  order.' 

When  the  Empress  dies  ofiicers  put  on  mourning,  take  the 

»  Chinese  Repository,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  352;  Vol.  II.,  p.  499. 


250  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

buttons  and  fringes  from  their  caps,  stamp  their  seals  with  bhie 
ink,  and  go  through  a  prescribed  set  of  ceremonies ;  they  must 
not  shave  their  lieads  for  a  hundred  days,  nor  the  people  for  a 
month.  Full  details  of  the  ceremonies  ordered  on  the  occasion 
of  the  decease  of  the  Empress,  or  "  interior  assistant,  who  for 
thirteen  years  had  held  the  situation  of  earth  to  lieaven,"  were 
published  in  1833,  in  both  Manchu  and  Chinese.  When  the 
Emperor  dies  all  his  subjects  let  their  hair  grow  for  a  hundred 
days,  marriages  are  postponed,  theatres  and  sports  disallowed, 
and  a  ceremonial  gloom  and  dishabille  pervades  the  Empire. 
On  the  morning  after  the  death  of  the  Emperor  Tungchi,  Jan- 
uary 12,  1875,  the  streets  of  Peking  presented  a  surprising  con- 
trast to  their  usual  gaiety  in  the  removal  of  everything  red.  In 
early  times  human  beings  were  immolated  at  the  obsequies  of 
rulers,  and  voluntary  deaths  of  their  attendants  and  women  are 
occasionally  mentioned.  De  Guignes  says  that  the  Emperor 
Shunchi  ordered  thirty  persons  to  be  immolated  at  the  funeral 
of  his  consort ;  but  Kanghi,  his  son,  forbade  four  women  from 
sacrificing  themselves  on  the  death  of  his  Empress.' 

The  hall  of  ancestors  is  found  in  the  house  of  almost  every 
member  of  the  family,  but  always  in  that  of  the  eldest  son.  In 
rich  families  it  is  a  separate  building  ;  in  others  a  room  set  apart 
for  the  purpose,  and  in  many  a  mere  shelf  or  shrine.  The  tablet, 
or  shlii  chu,  is  a  boai'd  about  twelve  inches  long  and  three  wide, 
placed  upright  in  a  block.  The  inscriptions  on  two  are  like  the 
following:  "The  tablet  of  Hwang  Yung-fuh  (late  (1iiiig-teh), 
the  head  of  the  family,  who  finished  his  probation  with  honor 
during  the  Imperial  Tsing  dynasty,  reaching  a  sub-magistracy." 
His  wife's  reads :  "  The  tablet  of  Madame,  originally  of  the 
noble  family  Chin,  who  would  have  received  the  title  of  lady, 
and  in  the  Imperial  Tsing  dynasty  became  his  illustrious  con- 
sort." A  receptacle  is  often  cut  in  the  back,  containing  pieces 
of  paper  bearing  the  names  of  the  higher  ancestors,  or  other 
members  of  the  family.  Incense  and  papers  are  daily  burned 
before  them,  accompanied  by  a  bow  or  act  of  homage,  forming 

'iV.  C.  Br.  R.  As.  Soc.  Journal,  No.  II.,  18C5,  pp.  173  ff.  De  Guignes' 
Voyages,  Tome  II.,  p.  304.  ^fe)lloires  cone,  les  Cliinois,  Tome  \^.,  pp.  346  ff 
Chinese  and  Japanese  llepository  for  May,  1864. 


TJIE   WORSHIP    OF   ANCESTRAL   TABLETS. 


251 


in  fact  a  sort  of  family  prayer.  The  tablets  are  ranged  in 
chronological  order,  those  of  the  same  generation  being  placed 
in  a  line.  When  the  hall  is  large,  and  the  family  rich,  no  pains 
are  spared  to  adorn  it  with  banners  and  insignia  of  wealth  and 
rank,  and  on  festival  days  it  serves  as.  a  convenient  place  for 
friends  to  meet,  or  for  any  extraordinary  famil}^  occasion.  A 
person  residing  near  Macao  spent  aljout  one  thousand  live  hnn- 


Ancestral   Hall  and   Mode  of  V/orshipping  the   Tablets. 

dred  dollars  in  the  erection  of  a  hall,  and  on  the  dedication  day 
the  female  members  of  his  family  assembled  with  his  sons  and 
descendants  to  assist  in  the  ceremonies.  The  portraits  of  the 
deceased  are  also  suspended  in  the  hall,  but  effigies  or  images 
are  not  now  made. 

In  the  wood-cut  adjoining,  the  tablets  are  arranged  on  the 


252  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

same  level,  and  the  sacrifice  laid  uu  the  altar  before  them ;  the 
character  shao,  'longevity,'  is  drawn  on  the  wall  behind.  Dur- 
ing the  ceremonies  fire-crackers  are  let  off  and  papers  burned-; 
after  it  the  feast  is  spread. 

In  the  first  part  of  April,  one  hundred  and  six  days  after  the 
winter  solstice,  during  the  term  called  Uing-ming,  a  general 
worship  of  ancestors  is  observed.  In  Kwangtung  this  is  com- 
monly called  j?a?^'  shan,  or  '  worshipping  on  the  hills,'  but  the 
general  term  is  slu  fan  ti,  or  '  sweeping  the  tombs.'  The  whole 
population,  men,  women,  and  children,  repair  to  their  family 
tombs,  carrying  a  tray  containing  the  sacrifice,  libations  for 
offering,  and  candles,  paper,  and  incense  for  burning,  and  there 
go  through  a  variety  of  ceremonies  and  prayers.  The  grave  is 
at  this  season  repaired  and  swept,  and  at  the  close  of  the  service 
three  pieces  of  turf  are  placed  at  the  back  and  front  of  the 
grave  to  retain  long  strips  of  red  and  white  paper ;  this  indicates 
that  the  accustomed  rites  have  been  performed,  and  these  fugi- 
tive testimonials  remain  fluttering  in  the  wind  long  enough  to 
announce  it  to  all  the  friends  as  well  as  enemies  of  the  family  ; 
for  when  a  grave  has  been  neglected  three  3'ears  it  is  sometimes 
dug  over  and  the  land  resold.  The  enormous  amount  of  litio'a- 
tion  connected  with  sepulchral  boundaries,  transfer  of  grave 
glebes  or  sale  of  the  ancient  plats,  injury,  robberj^  and  repairs 
of  tombs,  all  indicate  the  high  importance  of  this  kind  of 
property. 

"  Such  are  the  harmless,  if  not  meritorious,  forms  of  respect 
for  the  dead,"  says  Davis,  "  which  the  Jesuits  wisely  tolerated 
in  their  converts,  knowing  the  consequences  of  outraging  their 
most  cherished  prejudices ;  but  the  crowds  of  ignorant  monks 
who  flocked  to  the  breach  which  those  scientific  and  able  men 
had  opened,  jealous,  perhaps,  of  their  success,  brought  this  as  a 
charge  against  them  until  the  point  became  one  of  sei-ious  con- 
troversy and  reference  to  the  Pope.  His  Holiness  espoused  the 
bigoted  and  unwiser  part,  which  led  to  the  expulsion  of  the 
monks  of  all  varieties."  And  elseAvhere  he  says  the  worship 
paid  to  ancestoi-s  is  "  not  exactly  idolatrous,  for  they  sacrifice 
to  the  invisible  spirit  and  not  to  any  representation  of  it  in  the 
fijijure  of  an  idol."     This  distinction  is  much  the  same  as  that 


IDOLATRY    OF   THE   RITES.  253 

alleged  by  the  Greek  clmrcli,  mIucIi  disallows  images  but  permits 
gold  and  silver  pictures  having  the  face  and  hands  only  painted, 
for  Sir  John  Davis,  himself  being  a  Protestant,  probably  admits 
that  worship  paid  to  any  other  object  besides  the  true  God  is 
idolatry  ;  and  that  the  Chinese  do  trnly  worship  their  ancestors 
is  evident  from  a  prayer,  such  as  the  following,  offered  at  the 
tombs : 

Taukwang,  12th  year,  8d  moon,  1st  day.  I,  Lin  Kwang,  the  second  son  of 
the  third  generation,  presnme  to  come  before  the  grave  of  my  ancestor,  Lin 
Kung.  Revolving  years  have  brouglit  again  the  season  of  spring.  Clierisliing 
sentiments  of  veneration,  I  look  up  and  sweep  your  tomb.  Prostrate  I  pray 
that  you  will  come  and  be  present,  and  that  you  will  grant  to  your  posterity 
that  they  may  be  prosperous  and  illustrious.  At  this  season  of  genial  sliowers 
and  gentle  breezes  I  desire  to  recompense  the  root  of  my  existence  and  exert 
myself  sincerely.  Alwaj-s  grant  your  safe  protection.  My  trust  is  in  your 
divine  spirit.  Reverently  I  present  the  five-fold  sacrifice  of  a  pig,  a  fowl,  a 
duck,  a  goose,  and  a  fish  ;  also  an  offering  of  five  plates  of  fruit,  with  libatnns 
of  spirituous  liquors,  earnestly  entreating  that  you  will  come  and  view  them. 
With  the  most  attentive  respect  this  annunciation  is  presented  on  higli. 

It  is  not  easy  to  perceive,  perhaps,  why  the  Pope  and  the 
Dominicans  were  so  much  opposed  to  the  worship  of  ancestral 
penates  among  the  Chinese  when  they  pei-formed  much  the 
same  services  themselves  before  the  images  of  Mary,  Joseph, 
Cecilia,  Ignatius,  and  hundreds  of  other  deified  mortals;  but  it 
is  somewhat  surprising  that  a  Protestant  should  describe  this 
worship  as  consisting  of  "  harmless,  if  not  meritorious,  forms  of 
respect  for  the  dead."  Mr.  Fortune,  too,  thinlcs  "  a  considerable 
portion  of  this  worship  springs  from  a  higher  and  purer  source 
than  a  mere  matter  of  form,  and  that  when  the  Chinese  period- 
ically visit  the  tombs  of  their  fathers  to  worship  and  pay  respect 
to  their  memory,  they  indulge  in  the  pleasing  reflection  that 
when  they  themselves  are  no  more  their  graves  will  not  be  neg- 
lected or  forgotten,"  This  feeling  does  actuate  them,  but  there 
can  be  no  dispute,  one  would  think,  about  its  idolatrous  charac- 
ter. The  Chinese  who  have  embraced  the  doctrines  of  the  Xew 
Testament,  and  who  may  be  supposed  qualified  to  judge  of  their 
own  acts  and  feelings,  regard  the  rites  as  superstitious  and  sinful. 
It  is  a  form  of  worship,  indeed,  which  presents  fewer  revolting 
features  than  most  systems  of  false  religion — consisting  merely 


254  THE   MIDDLE   KIXGDOM. 

of  pouring  out  libations  and  burning  paper  and  candles  at  the 
grave,  and  tlien  a  family  meeting  at  a  social  feast,  with  a  few 
simple  prostrations  and  petitions.  Xo  bacchanalian  companies 
of  men  and  women  run  riot  over  the  hills,  as  in  the  Eleusinian 
mysteries,  nor  are  obscene  rites  practised  in  the  house ;  all  is 
pleasant,  decorous,  and  harmonious.  The  junior  members  of 
the  family  come  from  a  distance,  sometimes  two  or  three  hun- 
dred miles,  to  observe  it,  and  the  family  meeting  on  this  occasion 
is  looked  forward  to  by  all  with  much  the  same  feelings  that 
Christmas  is  in  Old  England  or  Thanksgiving  in  Xew  England. 
Brothers  and  sisters,  cousins  and  other  relatives  join  in  the  wor- 
ship and  feast,  and  it  is  this  pleasant  reunion  of  dear  ones,  per- 
haps the  most  favorable  to  the  cementing  of  family  affection  to 
be  found  in  heathen  society,  which  constitutes  nnich  of  its  power 
and  will  present  such  an  obstacle  to  the  reception  of  the  Gospel 
and  removal  of  the  "two  divinities"  from  the  house. 

The  funeral  ceremonies  here  described  are  performed  by  sons 
for  their  parents,  especially  for  the  father ;  but  there  are  few  or 
no  ceremonies  aiul  little  expense  for  infants,  unmarried  children, 
concubines,  or  slaves.  These  are  coffined  and  buried  without 
parade  in  the  family  sepulchre  ;  the  poor  sometimes  tie  them  up 
in  mats  and  boards  and  lay  them  in  the  fields  to  shock  the  eyes 
and  noses  of  all  who  pass.  The  nnmici{)al  authorities  of  Canton 
issued  orders  to  the  people  in  1S82  to  bring  such  bodies  as  had 
no  place  of  burial  to  the  potter's  field,  where  they  M'ould  l)e 
interred  at  public  expense;  societies,  moreover,  exist  in  all  the 
large  cities  whose  object  is  to  bury  poor  people.  In  some  pai'ts 
the  body  is  wrapped  in  cloth  or  coffined  and  laid  in  graveyards 
on  the  surface  of  the  ground.  When  one  dies  far  away  from 
home  the  coffin  is  often  lodged  in  lamrmnis,  or  public  deposi- 
tories maintained  by  societies,  where  they  remain  many  years. 
Few  acts  during  the  war  of  1841  irritated  the  people  about 
Canton  against  the  English  more  than  forcing  open  the  coffins 
found  in  these  mausolea  and  mutilating  the  corpses.  One  build- 
ing contained  hundreds  of  coffins  ffom  which,  when  ojiened,  a 
pimgent  aromatic  smell  was  perceptible,  while  the  features  of 
the  corpses  presented  a  dried  appearance.  One  traveller  tells  a 
story  of  his  guide,  when  he  was  condncthig  him  over  the  hills 


DISPOSAL   OF   THE   DEAD.  255 

in  Hupeb,  ordering  him  to  conceal  his  blue  e^^es  by  putting  on 
green  spectacles  as  they  were  approaching  some  houses,  and 
describes  his  surprise  at  finding  them  all  filled  with  coflins 
arranged  in  an  orderly  manner.  Graves  are  not  enclosed  ;  cattle 
pasture  among  them  and  paths  lead  over  and  through  them. 

Tombstones  are  usually  made  of  granite  and  their  inscriptions 
soon  become  defaced.  Epitaphs  are  short,  giving  the  name  of 
the  dynasty,  his  place  of  birth,  number  of  his  generation  in  the 
family,  and  his  temple  name.  Laudatory  expressions  are  rare, 
and  quotations  from  the  classics  or  stanzas  of  poetry  to  convey 
a  sentiment  entirely  unknown.  The  corpses  of  ofiiceis  who  die 
at  their  stations  are  carried  to  their  paternal  tombs,  sometimes 
at  public  expense.  Tlie  Emperor,  in  some  instances,  orders  the 
funeral  rites  of  distinguished  statesmen  to  be  defi-ayed.  This 
was  done  during  the  war  with  England  in  the  cases  of  Com- 
missioner Yukien  and  General  Hailing,  who  burned  himself  at 
Chinkiang  fu.' 

Besides  these  funeral  rites  and  religious  ceremonies  to  their 
departed  ancestors  the  Chinese  have  an  almost  infinite  variety 
of  superstitious  practices,  most  of  which  are  of  a  deprecatorv 
character,  growing  out  of  their  belief  in  demons  and  genii  who 
trouble  or  help  people.  It  may  be  said  that  most  of  their  reli- 
gious acts  performed  in  temples  are  intended  to  avert  misfortune 
i-ather  than  supplicate  blessings.  In  oi-der  to  ward  off  malignant 
influences  amulets  are  worn  and  charms  hung  up,  such  as  money- 
swords  made  of  coins  of  different  monarchs  strung  together  in 
the  form  of  a  dagger;  leaves  of  the  sweet-flag  {Aco/-us)  and  Ar- 
temisia tied  in  a  bundle,  or  a  sprig  of  peach-blossoms ;  the  first 
is  placed  near  beds,  the  latter  over  the  lintel,  to  drive  aM'ay  de- 
mons. A  man  also  collects  a  cash  or  two  from  each  of  his 
friends  and  gets  a  lock  made  which  he  hangs  to  his  son's  neck 
in  order  to  lock  him  to  life  and  make  the  subscribers  surety  for 

'  Chinese  Repositoi-y,  Vol.  XVIII.,  pp.  363-384.  Doolittle,  Socinl  Life,  II., 
pp.  45-48.  M.  T.  Yates,  Ancestral  WoisJiip,  Mism»ini-y  Conference  (of  1867), 
p.  367  Johnson,  Oi-ienUd  Bclif/ions :  China,  pp.  693-708.  Gray's  China,  I., 
pp.  320-328.  China  Reiiew,Yo\.  IV.,  p.  296.  P.  D.  de  Thiersant,  La  Piete 
Filiule  en  ChinCf  Paris,  1877.  E.  Faber  in  the  Chinese  Recorder,  Vol.  IX.,  pp. 
'J29,  401. 


256 


THE  MIDDLE  KIXGDOM. 


his  safety ;  adult  females  also  wear  a  neck  lock  for  the  same 
purpose.  Charms  are  common.  One  bears  the  inscription, 
"  May  you  get  the  three  viamjs  and  the  nine  Jik'es;  "  another, 
"  To  obtain  long  eyebrowed  longevity.''  The  three  manijn  are 
man}'^  years  of  happiness  and  life  and  many  sons.  Old  brass 
mirrors  to  cure  mad  people  are  hung  up  by  the  rich  in  their 
halls,  and  figures  or  representations  of  the  unicorn,  of  gourds, 


Buddhist   Priests. 


tigers'  claws,  or  the  eight  diagrams,  are  worn  to  insure  good 
fortune  or  ward  off  sickness,  fire,  or  fright.  Stones  or  pieces 
of  metal  with  short  sentences  cut  upon  them  are  almost  always 
found  suspended  or  tied  al)out  the  persons  of  children  and 
M'omen,  which  are  supposed  to  have  great  efficacy  in  preventing 
evil.  The  rich  pay  large  sums  for  rare  objects  to  promote  thifl 
end. 


CHARMS    AND    AMULETS.  257 

In  addition  to  their  employment  in  tlic  worship  and  burial  of 
the  dead  and  cultivation  of  glebe  lands  (some  of  which  are  very 
extensive'),  priests  resort  to  many  expedients  to  increase  their 
incomes,  few  of  which  have  the  improvement  of  their  country- 
men as  a  ruling  motive.  Some  go  around  the  streets  collecting 
printed  or  written  paper  in  baskets,  to  burn  them  lest  the  vener- 
able names  of  Confucius  or  Buddha  be  defiled  ;  others  obtain  a 
few  pennies  by  writing  inscriptions  and  charms  on  doors  ;  and 
many  in  rural  places  get  a  good  living  off  the  lands  owned  by 
their  temples.  The  priests  of  both  sects  are  under  the  control 
of  officials  recognized  by  and  amenable  to  the  authorities,  so  that 
the  vicious  and  unprincipled  among  them  are  soon  restrained. 

The  Buddhists  issue  small  books,  called  Girdle  Classics,  con- 
taining prayers  addressed  to  the  deity  under  whose  protection 
the  person  has  phiced  himself.  Spells  are  made  in  great  variety, 
some  of  them  to  be  worn  or  pasted  up  in  the  house,  while  others 
are  written  on  leaves,  paper,  or  cloth,  and  burned,  and  their 
ashes  thrown  into  a  liquid  for  the  patient  or  child  to  drink. 
These  spells  are  sold  by  Rationalists,  and  consist  of  characters, 
like /^/A  ('  happiness '')  or  shao  ('  longevity '),  fancifully  combined. 
The  god  of  doors,  of  the  North  Pole,  Pwanku,  the  heavenly  as- 
tronomer, the  god  of  thunder  and  lightning,  or  typhoons,  the  god 
of  medicine,  demigods  and  genii  of  almost  every  name  and 
power,  are  all  invoked,  and  some  of  them  by  all  persons.  In 
shops  the  word  shin  is  put  up  in  a  shrine  and  incense  placed 
before  it,  all  objects  of  fear  and  worship  being  included  under 
this  general  term.  The  threshold  is  peculiarly  sacred,  and  in- 
cense-sticks are  lighted  morning  and  evening  at  its  side."* 

The  Chinese  dread  wandering  and  hungry  ghosts  of  wicked 
men,  and  the  priests  are  hired  to  celebrate  a  mass  called  ta  tsiao, 
to  appease  these  disturbers  of  human  happiness,  which,  in  its 
general  purport,  corresponds  to  All  Souls'  Day,  and  from  its 
splendor  and  the  general  interest  taken  in  its  success  is  very  pop- 
ular.    The  streets  at  Canton  are   covered  with  awnings,  and 


^Lettres  EclififinUs,  Tome  ITT.,  p.  33. 

'^LettreH  E'l/fmiti's,  Tome  IV.,  p.  310 — where  other  ceremonies  of  the  TaoistS; 
to  ward  o'H  pestilence,  are  described. 
Vol.  II.— 17 


258  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

festoons  of  cheap  silk,  of  brilliant  colors,  are  hung  across  and 
along  the  streets.  Chandeliers  of  glass  are  suspended  at  short 
intervals,  alternating  with  small  trays,  on  which  j^aper  figures  in 
various  attitudes,  intended  to  illustrate  some  well-known  scene 
in  history,  amuse  the  spectators.  At  night  the  glare  of  a  thou- 
sand lamps  shining  through  niyriads  of  lustres  lights  up  the 
whole  scene  in  a  gorgeous  manner.  The  priests  erect  a  staging 
somewhere  in  the  vicinit}'^,  for  the  rehearsal  of  prayers  to  Yen 
iiHouj  (Yama  or  Pluto),  and  display  tables  covered  with  eatables 
for  the  hungry  ghosts  to  feed  on.  Their  acolytes  mark  the  time 
when  the  half-starved  ghosts,  who  have  no  childi-en  or  friends 
to  care  for  them,  rush  in  and  shoulder  the  viands,  which  they 
carry  off  for  their  year's  supply.  Bands  of  music  chime  in  from 
tiuie  to  time,  to  refresh  these  hungry  spirits  with  the  dulcet 
tones  they  once  heard  ;  for  the  Chinese,  judging  their  gods  by 
themselves,  provide  what  is  pleasing  to  those  who  pay  for  the 
entertainment,  as  well  as  to  those  who  are  supposed  to  be  bene- 
fited by  it.  After  the  services  are  performed  the  crowd  carry 
off  what  is  left,  but  when  this  is  permitted  the  priests  sometimes 
cheat  them  with  merely  a  cover  of  food  on  the  tops  of  the 
baskets,  the  bottoms  being  filled  with  shavings. 

Another  festival  in  August  is  connected  with  this,  called  .shau 
i,  or  '  burning  clothes,'  at  which  pieces  of  paper  folded  in  the 
form  of  garments  are  burned  for  the  use  of  the  suffering  ghosts, 
with  a  large  quantity  of  what  maybe  properly  caWcdJiat  money, 
paper  ingots  which  become  valuable  chiefly  when  they  are 
burned.  Paper  houses  with  proper  furniture,  and  puppets  to 
represent  household  servants,  are  likewise  made.  IMedhurst  adds 
that  "  writings  are  drawn  up  and  signed  in  the  presence  of  wit- 
nesses to  certify  the  conveyance  of  the  property,  stipulating 
that  on  its  arrival  in  hades  it  sliall  be  duly  made  over  to  the  in- 
dividuals specified  in  the  bond  ;  the  houses,  servants,  clothes, 
money  and  all  are  then  burned  with  the  bond,  the  worshippers 
feeling  confident  that  their  friends  obtain  the  benefit  of  what 
they  have  sent  them."  Thus  "  they  make  a  covenant  with  the 
grave,  and  with  hell  they  are  at  agreement."  This  festival,  like 
all  others,  is  attended  with  feasting  and  nmsic.  In  order  still 
further  to  provide  for  childless  ghosts,  their  ancestral  tablets  are 


FESTIVALS    FOR   WANDERING   GHOSTS.  259 

collected  in  temples  and  placed  together  in  a  room  set  apart  for 
the  purpose,  called  irio  sz'  tan,  or  'orbate  temple,'  and  a  man 
hired  to  attend  and  burn  incense  before  them.  The  sensationa 
which  arise  on  going  into  a  room  of  this  sort,  and  seeing  one  or 
two  hundred  small  wooden  tablets  standing  in  regular  array,  and 
knowing  that  each  one,  or  each  pair,  is  like  the  silent  tombstone 
of  an  extinct  family,  are  such  as  no  hall  full  of  staring  idols  can 
ever  inspire.  The  tablets  look  old,  discolored,  and  broken,  cov- 
ered with  dust  and  black  with  smoke,  so  that  the  gilded  charac- 
ters are  obscured,  and  one  cannot  behold  them  long  in  their 
silence  and  forgetfulness  without  almost  feeling  as  if  spirits  still 
hovered  around  them.  All  these  ghosts  are  supposed  to  be  pro- 
pitiated by  the  sacrifices  on  All  Souls'  Day. 

The  patronage  given  to  idolatry  and  superstition  is  constant 
and  general  among  all  classes,  and  thousands  of  persons  get  their 
livelihood  by  shrewdly  availing  themselves  of  the  fears  of  their 
countrymen.  The  peepul,  j)^^-^'^  {Fimi.s  rdigiosa)  at  the  south 
and  the  Sophora  at  the  north,  w'itli  perhaps  other  aged  trees, 
are  worshipped  for  long  life.'  Special  efforts  are  made  from 
time  to  time  to  build  or  repair  a  temple  or  pagoda,  in  order  to 
insure  or  recall  prosperity  to  a  place,  and  large  sums  are  sub- 
scribed by  the  devout.  A  case  occurred  in  1843,  which  illus- 
trates this  spirit.  One  of  the  English  officers  brought  an  image 
of  Wa-kvxing,  the  god  of  fire,  from  Chinkiang  fu,  which  he 
presented  as  a  curiosity  to  a  lady  in  Macao.  It  remained  in  her 
house  several  months,  and  on  the  breaking  up  of  the  establish- 
ment, previous  to  a  return  to  India,  it  was  exposed  for  sale  at 
auction  with  the  furniturb.  A  large  crowd  collected,  and  the 
attention  of  the  Chinese  was  attracted  to  this  image,  wdiich  they 
examined  carefully  to  see  if  it  had  the  genuine  marks  of  its  or- 
dination upon  it ;  for  no  image  is  supposed  to  be  properly  an 
object  of  worship  until  the  spirit  has  been  inaugurated  into  it 
by  the  prescribed  ceremonies.  Having  satisfied  themselves,  the 
idol  was  purchased  for  thirty  dollars  by  two  or  three  zealous 

'  Compare  C.  F.  Koeppen,  Die  Relujwn  des  Buddha,  Berlin,  1857,  who  de- 
scribes the  peepul  (Bodhi)  tree — the  "symbol  of  the  spread  and  growth  of  the 
Buddhist  church  " — in  India.  E.  Bernouf,  Introduction  a  Vhistoire  du  Bud- 
dhisme  Indien,  Paris,  1844.     Notes  and  Queries  on  C.  and  J., Vol.  III.,  p.  100. 


260  tup:  middle  kingdom. 

persons,  and  carried  off  in  trininpli  to  a  shop  and  respectfully 
installed  in  a  room  cleared  for  the  purpose.  A  public  meeting 
was  shortly  after  called,  and  resolutions  passed  to  improve  the 
propitious  opportunity  to  obtain  and  preserve  the  protecting 
power  of  so  potent  a  deity,  by  erecting  a  pavilion  where  he 
would  have  a  respectable  lodgment  and  receive  due  worship. 
A  subsci'iption  was  thereupon  started,  some  of  its  advocates  put- 
ting down  fifty  and  others  thirty  dollars,  until  about  one  thou- 
sand two  hundred  dollars  were  raised,  with  which  a  small  lot  was 
purchased  on  the  island  west  of  Macao,  and  a  pavilion  or  tenr 
pie  erected  where  Wa-hwang  was  enshrined  with  pompous 
parade  amid  theatrical  exhibitions,  and  a  man  hired  to  keep 
him  and  his  domicile  in  good  order. 

Ko  people  are  more  enslaved  by  fear  of  the  unknown  than 
the  Chinese,  and  none  resort  more  frequently  to  sortilege  to  as- 
certain whether  an  enterprise  will  be  successful  or  a  pi-oposed 
remedy  avail  to  cure.  This  desire  actuates  all  classes,  and  thou- 
sands and  myriads  of  persons  take  advantage  of  it  to  their  own 
profit.  The  tables  of  fortune-tellers  and  the  shops  of  geoman- 
cers  are  met  at  street  corners,  and  a  strong  inducement  to  re- 
pair to  the  temples  is  to  cast  lots  as  to  the  success  of  the  prayers 
offered.  One  way  of  divining  is  to  hold  a  bamboo  root  cut  in 
halves,  resembling  in  size  and  color  a  common  potato,  and  let  it 
drop  as  the  petition  is  put  up.  Sometimes  the  worshipper  drops 
it  many  times,  in  order  to  see  if  a  majority  of  trials  will  not  be 
favorable,  and  when  disappointed  the  first  time  not  unfrequently 
tries  again,  if  mayhap  he  can  force  the  gods  to  be  more  propitious. 
The  devotee  may  determine  himself  what  position  of  the  blocks 
shall  be  deemed  auspicious,  but  usually  one  face  up  and  one  doAvn 
is  regarded  as  pi-omising.  The  countenances  of  worshippers  as 
they  leave  the  shrines,  some  beaming  with  hope  and  resolutioii 
to  succeed,  and  others,  notwithstanding  their  repeated  knocking^ 
and  divinings,  going  away  Avith  vexation  and  gloom  written  on 
their  faces  at  the  ol)duracy  of  the  gods  and  sadness  of  tlieir  pros- 
pects, offer  a  study  not  less  melancholy  than  instructive.  "  Such 
is  the  weakness  of  mortals :  they  dread,  even  af  tei-  mature  re- 
flection, to  undertake  a  project,  and  then  entei-  blindly  upon  it 
at  a  chance  after  consultin<r  chance  itself  as  blind.''' 


SORTILEGE   AND    FOHTrXK-TELLING, 


2G1 


Tlie  fortune-tellers  also  consult  fate  by  means  of  bamboo 
slips  bearing  certain  characters,  as  the  sixty-four  diagrams, 
titles  of  poetical  responses,  or  lists  of  names,  etc.  The  appli- 
cant* con)es  up  to  the  table  and  states  his  desire  ;  he  wishes  to 
know  whether  it  will  be  fair  weather,  which  of  a  dozen  doctors 
shall  be  selected  to  cure  his  child,  what  sex  an  unborn  infant 
will  be,  where  his  stolen  property  is,  or  any  other  matter.  Se- 
lecting a  slip,  the  diviner  dissects  the  character  into  its  compo- 
nent parts,  or  in  some  other  way,  and  writes  the  parts  upon  a 
board  lying  before  him,  joining  to  them  the  time,  the  names  of 
the  person,  live  planets,  colors,  viscera,  and  other  heterogeneous 
things,  and  from  them  all,  putting  on  a  most  cabalistic,  sapient 
look,  educes  a  sentence  which  contains  the  required   answer. 


Consulting  a   Fortune-teller. 

The  man  receives  it  as  confidently  as  if  he  had  entered  the 
sybil's  cave  and  heard  her  voice,  pays  his  fee,  and  goes  away. 
Others,  less  shrewd,  refer  to  books  in  which  the  required  answ^er 
is  contained  in  a  sort  of  equivocal  delphian  distich.  The  Chinese 
method  of  sortilege  is  not  far  different  from  that  practised  by  the 
ancient  Romans.  "  The  lots  preserved  at  Preneste  were  slips 
of  oak  with  ancient  characters  engraved  on  them.  They  were 
shaken  up  together  by  a  boy,  and  one  of  them  was  drawn  for  the 
person  who  consulted  the  oracle.  They  remind  us  of  the  Runic 
staves.     Similar  divining  lots  Avere  found  in  other  places."  * 

'  Niebuhr,  History  of  Rome,  Vol.  I.,  p.  246.  See,  further,  Doolitlle's  Sncia). 
Life,  Vol.  II.,  Chap.  IV.  Gray's  China,  Chap.  XII.  Prof.  Douglas,  China, 
Chap.  XV. 


262  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

Tlie  purcliase  of  a  building  lot,  and  especially  the  selection 
of  a  grave,  involve  much  expense,  sortilege,  and  inquiry. 
When  a  succession  of  misfortunes  comes  upon  a  family,  they 
will  sometimes  disinter  all  their  relatives  and  bury  them  in  a 
new  place  to  remov'e  the  ill  luck.  I'efore  a  house  is  built  a 
written  prayer  is  tied  to  a  pole  stuck  in  the  ground,  petitioning 
for  good  luck,  that  no  evil  spirits  may  arise  from  beneath  ; 
when  the  ridge-pole  is  laid  another  prayer  is  pasted  on  and 
charms  hunc;  to  it  to  insure  the  building  against  fire  ;  and 
lastly,  when  the  house  is  done  it  is  dedicated  to  some  patron, 
and  petitions  offered  for  its  safety.  Prayers  are  sometimes  of- 
fered according  to  forms,  at  others  the  suppliant  himself  speaks. 
Two  middle-aged  women,  attended  by  a  maid-servant,  were  once 
found  opposite  (^anton  in  the  fields  among  the  graves.  They 
had  placed  a  small  paper  shrine  upon  a  tomb  near  the  pathway, 
and  one  of  them  was  kneeling  before  it,  her  lips  moving  in 
prayer ;  there  was  nothing  in  the  shrine,  but  over  it  M'as  writ- 
ten the  most  common  petition  known  in  China,  "Ask  and  ye 
shall  receive." 

Answers  are  looked  for  in  various  \vays.  A  man  was  once 
met  at  dusk  repairing  a  lonely  grave  before  which  candles  were 
burning  and  plates  of  rice  and  cups  of  spirits  arranged.  lie 
knelt,  and  knocking  his  head  began  to  repeat  some  words  in  a 
half  audible  manner,  when  he  M-as  asked  if  the  spirits  of  his 
ancestors  heard  his  supplications.  At  the  instant  a  slight  puff 
of  air  blew  the  candles,  when  he  replied,  "  Yes;  see,  they  have 
come;  don't  interrupt  me."  Contingent  vows  are  often  made, 
and  useful  acts  performed  in  case  the  answer  be  favorable.  A 
sick  man  in  Macao  once  made  a  vow  that  if  he  recovered  he 
would  repave  a  bad  piece  of  road — which  he  actually  performed, 
aided  a  little  by  his  neighboi-s ;  but  it  Mas  deemed  eminently 
unlucky  that  a  toper  who  was  somewhat  flustered,  passing  soon 
after,  should  fall  into  the  public  well.  Persons  sometimes  in- 
sult the  gods,  spit  at  them  or  whip  them,  or  even  break  the 
ancestral  tablets,  in  their  vexation  at  having  been  deluded 
into  foolish  deeds  or  misled  by  divination.  Legends  are  told 
of  the  vengeance  which  has  followed  such  impiety,  as  well  r$ 
the  rewards  attending  a  different  course;  and   tlio  Kanyinc 


WORSHIPPEIJS    AT    W  AYSIDK    SIIlilNKS,  263 

Pien^  or  '  Tlook  of  Rewards  and  Punishments,'  has  strengtli- 
ened  tliese  :«entiinents  by  its  stories  of  the  results  of  human 
acts. 

The  worship  of  street  divinities  is  not  altogether  municipal ; 
some  of  the  shrines  in  Canton  are  resorted  to  so  much  by 
women  as  to  obstruct  the  patli.  The  unsocial  character  of 
heathenism  is  observable  at  such  places  and  in  temples  ;  how- 
ever great  the  crowd  may  be,  each  one  worships  b}'  himself  as 
much  as  if  no  one  else  were  present.  Altars  are  erected  in 
fields,  on  which  a  smooth  stone  is  placed,  where  offerings  are 
presented  and  libations  poured  out  to  secure  a  good  crop.  Few 
farmers  omit  all  worship  in  the  spring  to  the  gods  of  the  land 
and  grain  ;  and  some  go  further  and  present  a  thanksgiving 
after  harvest.  Temples  are  open  night  and  da}',  and  in  towns 
are  the  resort  of  crowds  of  idle  fellows.  Worshippers  go  on 
with  their  devotions  amid  all  the  hubbub,  strike  the  druin 
and  bell  to  arouse  the  god,  burn  paper  prayers,  and  knock  their 
heads  upon  the  ground  to  implore  his  blessing,  and  then  re- 
tire. 

The  Chinese  collectively  spend  enormous  sums  in  their  idola- 
try, though  they  are  more  economical  of  time  and  money  than 
the  Hindus.  Rich  families  give  much  for  the  services  of 
priests,  papers,  candles,  etc.,  at  the  interment  of  their  friends, 
but  when  a  large  sacrifice  is  provided  none  goes  to  the  priests, 
who  are  prohibited  meat.  The  aggregate  outlay  to  the  whole 
people  is  very  large,  made  up  of  repairs  of  temples,  purchasing 
idols,  petty  costs,  such  as  incense-sticks,  candles,  paper,  etc., 
charms  and  larger  sacrifices  prepared  from  time  to  time.  The 
sum  cannot  of  course  be  ascertained,  but  if  the  daily  expendi- 
ture of  each  person  be  estimated  at  one-third  of  a  cent,  or  four 
cash,  the  total  will  exceed  four  hundred  millions  of  dollars  per 
annum,  and  this  estimate  is  more  likely  to  be  under  than  over 
the  mark,  owing  to  the  universality  and  constancy  of  the  daily 
service, 

Tliis  bi'ief  sketch  of  Chinese  religious  character  will  be  in- 
complete without  some  notice  of  the  benevolent  institutions 
found  among  them.  Good  acts  are  required  as  proofs  of  sin- 
cerity ;  tlie  classics  teach  benevolence,  and  the  religious  books 


264  THE   MIDDLE    KIXGDOM. 

of  the  Buddhists  JTiculcate  coiiipassioii  to  the  poor  and  relief  of 
tlie  sick.  I'rivate  alms  of  rice  or  clothes  are  fre(|uently  given, 
and  tlie  modes  of  collecting  the  poor-tax  are  very  direct  and 
economical,  bringing  the  lionseholders  into  some  intercourse 
with  the  beggars  in  their  neighborhoods,  but  offering  no  re- 
wards to  tramps  and  idlers.  A  retreat  for  poor  aged  and  infirni 
or  blind  people  is  situated  near  the  east  side  of  Canton,  the  ex- 
penses of  which  are  stated  at  about  seven  thousand  dollars,  but 
the  number  of  persons  relieved  is  not  mentioned.  The  pecu- 
hition  and  bad  faith  of  the  managci-s  vitiate  many  of  these  in- 
stitutions, and  indispose  the  charitable  to  ]iatronize  them.  La.- 
zarettos  are  established  in  all  large  towns  in  Southern  China, 
where  a  large  entrance  fee  will  secure  a  comfortable  living  for 
these  outcasts  to  the  end  of  their  days ;  the  prevalence  of  the 
disease  leads  everybody  to  aid  the  measures  taken  to  restrict  its 
ravages.  A  full  account  of  the  report  issued  by  the  directors 
of  a  long-established  foundling  hospital  in  Shanghai  is  given 
in  the  Ckinese  Repository  (Vol.  XIY.),  and  shows  the  method- 
ical character  of  the  people,  and  that  no  pi-iests  ai-e  joined  in 
its  management.  In  the  report  full  credit  is  given  to  the  bene- 
factors, and  an  appeal  made  for  funds  to  cany  it  on,  as  it  is 
nearly  out  of  supplies.  A^arious  modes  of  raising  money  are 
proposed,  and  arguments  are  brought  forward  to  induce  people 
to  give,  all  in  the  same  manner  as  is  common  with  charitable 
institutions  in  western  lands,  as  its  closing  paragraph  shows : 

Tf,  for  the  extension  of  kindness  to  our  fellow  creatures,  and  to  those  poor 
.ind  destitute  who  have  no  father  and  mother,  all  the  good  and  benevolent 
would  daily  give  one  cash  (n^rn  of  a<l()llai),  it  would  V)e  sufficient  for  the  main- 
tenance of  the  foundlings  one  day.  Let  no  one  consider  a. small  good  unmeri- 
torious,  nor  a  small  subscription  as  of  no  avail.  Either  you  may  induce  others 
to  subscribe  by  the  vernal  breeze  from  your  month,  or  you  may  nourish  tlie 
blade  of  benevolence  in  the  field  of  happiness,  or  cherish  the  already  sprout- 
ing bud.  Thus  by  taking  advantage  of  opportunities  as  they  present  tliem- 
fielves,  and  using  your  endeavors  to  accomplish  your  object,  you  may  immeas' 
urably  benefit  and  extend  the  institution. 

The  deaths  are  reported  as  being  nearly  one-half  of  the  ad- 
missions, and  the  number  of  inmates  about  one  hmidred  and  thirty 
in  all.     The  details  of  the  receipts  and  expenditures  are  given 


BENEVOLENT   INSTITUTIONS   IN   CHINA.  265 

at  the  end  of  the  report  in  a  business-like  manner.  The  annual 
disbursement  was  about  one  thousand  live  hundred  and  fifty  dol- 
lar:^,  and  the  receipts  from  all  sources  more  than  that,  so  that  a 
balance  of  five  thousand  dollars  is  reported  on  hand,  four-fifths 
of  whicli  was  derived  fi-om  interest  on  subscriptions  invested 
and  on  wares  from  pawnbrokers. 

Similar  establishments  are  found  in  all  large  towns,  some  of 
them  partly  supported  by  the  government.  That  in  Canton 
was  founded  in  1698,  and  contains  accommodations  for  three 
liundred  children,  wliose  annual  support  was  reckoned  at  three 
thousand  five  hundred  dollars  in  1833,  at  which  date  the  money 
was  filched  from  foreigners  by  a  tax  on  their  ships.  These  hos- 
pitals seem  to  be  of  modei'u  origin,  less  than  two  centuries  old, 
and  may  have  been  imitated  from  or  suggested  by  the  Roman 
Catholics.  Candida,  a  distinguished  convert  about  1710,  did 
much  to  establish  them  and  show  the  excellence  of  the  religion 
she  professed.  Mr.  Milne,  who  visited  one  at  IS^ingpo,  says, 
after  entering  the  court :  "  A  number  of  coarse-looking  women 
were  peeping  through  the  lattice  at  us,  with  squallababies  at 
their  breasts  and  squalid  boys  and  girls  at  their  heels  ;  these 
Nvomen  are  the  nurses,  and  these  children  are  the  foundlings, 
each  woman  having  two  or  three  to  look  after.  But  I  have 
rarely  beheld  such  a  collection  of  filthy,  nnwashen,  ragged 
brats.  There  are  at  present  between  sixty  and  seventy  children, 
the  boys  on  one  side,  the  girls  on  the  other.  Boys  remain  here 
till  the  age  of  fourteen,  when  they  are  hired  out  or  adopted  ; 
girls  stay  till  sixteen,  when  they  are  betrothed  as  wives  or  taken 
as  concubines  or  servants.  It  is  supported  by  the  rental  of  lands 
and  houses,  and  by  an  annual  tax  of  thirty-six  stone  or  shiJi 
(about  five  hundred  pounds)  of  rice  from  each  district  in  the  de- 
partment." 

In  large  towns  other  voluntary  societies  are  found,  having 
for  their  object  the  relief  of  suffering,  which  ought  to  be  men- 
tioned, as  the  Chinese  have  not  been  fairly  credited  with  what 
they  do  in  this  line.  Humane  societies  for  restoring  life  to  per- 
sons rescued  from  the  water,  and  providing  coflins  if  they  are 
dead,  exist  along  the  riverine  towns.  Associations  to  give  de- 
cent interment  to  the  poor  in  a  public  potter's  field  are  found  in 


266  THE   MIDDLE   KIXGDOM. 

large  cities,  where  gi-atiiitons  vaccination  is  often  given  to  all 
who  apply.  Soup-kitchens  are  constantly  opened  as  cold  weather 
comes  on,  and  houses  prepared  for  vagrants  and  outcasts  who 
have  been  suddenly  reduced.  Societies  for  the  relief  of  indi- 
gent and  virtuous  widows  are  of  long  standing,  and  a  kind  of 
savings  bank  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  a  man  to  get  married  or 
to  bury  his  parent  exists  among  the  people.' 

Charity  is  a  virtue  which  thrives  poorly  in  the  selfish  soil  of 
heathenism,  but  even  badly  managed  establishments  like  these 
are  praiseworthy,  and  promise  something  better  when  higher 
teachings  shall  have  been  engrafted  into  the  public  mind.  The 
government  is  obliged  to  expend  large  sums  almost  every  year 
for  relieving  the  necessities  of  the  starving  and  the  distressed, 
and  strong  calls  are  made  on  the  rich  to  give  to  these  objects. 
During  the  great  famine  in  1877-78  in  the  north-eastern  prov- 
inces, the  common  hal)its  of  industry,  thrift,  and  order  were 
united  with  these  practices  of  voluntary  benevolence  among  the 
people,  and  aided  greatly  in  enabling  those  who  distributed 
food  and  money  to  reach  the  greatest  number  possible  with  the 
means.  The  sufferers  had  already  learned  that  violence  and 
robbery  would  only  increase  their  miseries  and  liasten  their 
end. 

The  general  condition  of  religion  among  the  Chinese  is  effete; 
and  the  stately  formalities  of  im])eri:d  worship,  the  doctrines  of 
Confucius,  the  ceremonies  of  the  Buddhists,  the  sorceries  of  the 
Rationalists,  alike  fail  to  comfort  and  instruct.  But  the  fear  of 
evil  spirits  and  the  worship  of  ancestoi's,  the  two  beliefs  which 
hold  all  ranks  and  abilities  in  their  thrall,  are  still  strong ;  and 
the  principal  sway  the  two  sects  exert  is  owing  to  the  con- 
nection of  their  priests  M'ith  the  ceremonies  of  burial.  Each 
has  exerted  its  greatest  possible  power  over  the  })eople,  but 
all  have  failed  to  impart  present  happiness  or  assure  future 
joy  to  their  votaries.  Confucianism  is  cold  and  unsatisfactoiy 
to  the  affectionate,  the  anguished,  or  the  in(]uiring  mind,  and 
the  transcendentalism  of  Rationalism  or  the  vagaries  of  Bud' 

^Chineae  Reponitary,  Vol.  XTV.,  pp.  177-195.  Lockhart,  Medical  Missionary 
in  China,  Cliapter  II.,  Lundoii,  18()1. 


SECRET   SOCIETIES.  267 

dhisin  are  a  little  worse.  All  classes  are  the  prey  of  unfounded 
fears  and  superstitions,  and  dwell  in  a  mist  of  ignorance  and 
error  which  the  light  of  true  religion  and  knowledge  alone  can 
dissipate. 

Besides  the  two  leading  idolatrous  sects,  there  are  also  many 
comhinations  existing  among  the  people,  partly  religious  and 
partly  political,  one  of  which,  the  Plh-lien  Mao,  or  the  Triad 
Society,  has  already  been  mentioned  in  Chapter  VIII.  The 
Wan  klang,  or  '  Incense-burning  sect,'  is  also  denounced  in  the 
Sacred  Commands,  but  has  not  been  mentioned  in  late  times. 
The  Triad  Society  is  comparativelj'  peaceful  throughout  China 
Proper  in  overt  acts,  the  members  of  the  auxiliai'y  societies  con- 
tenting themselves  with  keeping  alive  the  spirit  of  resistance  to 
the  Manchus,  getting  new  members,  and  countenancing  one 
another  in  their  opposition  ;  but  in  Siam,  Singapore,  Malacca, 
and  the  Archipelago,  it  has  become  a  powerful  body,  and  great 
cruelties  are  committed  on  those  who  refuse  to  join.  The  mem- 
bers are  admitted  with  formalities  bearing  strong  resemblance  to 
those  of  the  Freemasons,  and  the  professed  objects  of  the  so- 
ciety are  the  same.  The  novice  swears  before  an  idol  to  main- 
tain inviolate  secrecy,  and  stands  under  naked  swords  while 
taking  the  oath,  which  is  then  read  to  him ;  he  afterward  cuts 
off  a  cock's  head,  the  usual  form  of  swearing  among  all  Chinese, 
intimating  that  a  like  fate  awaits  him  if  treacherous.  There 
are  countersigns  known  among  the  members,  consisting  of  grips 
and  motions  of  the  fingers.  Such  is  the  secrecy  of  their  opera- 
tions in  Cliina,  however,  that  very  little  is  known  of  their  num- 
bers, internal  organization,  or  character ;  the  dislike  of  their 
machinations  is  the  best  security  against  their  ultimate  success. 
Local  delusions,  caused  by  some  sharp-witted  fellow,  now  and 
then  arise  in  one  part  and  another  of  the  country,  but  they  are 
speedily  put  down  or  dissipate  of  themselves.  There  has  trans- 
pired not  an  item  of  news  concerning  any  of  these  seditious 
organizations  since  the  suppression  of  the  Tai-ping  rebellion  in 
1868.  None  of  them  are  allowed  to  erect  temples  or  make  a 
public  exhibition  or  procession,  and  exhortations  are  from  time 
to  time  issued  by  the  magistrates  against  them  ;  while  the  pen- 
alties annexed  to  the  statute  against  all  illegal  associations  give 


268  THE  MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

the  rulers  great  power  to  crush  whatever  they  may  deem  sus* 
picious  or  treasonable.' 

The  introduction  of  Islamism  into  China  was  so  gradual  that 
it  is  not  easy  to  state  the  date  or  manner.  The  trade  between 
China  and  ports  lying  on  the  Arabian  Sea  early  attracted  its 
adherents  (called  Ilwai-hwul  I'lao)  to  the  Middle  Kingdom, 
and  as  long  ago  as  the  Tang  dynasty  its  missionaries  came  to 
the  seaports,  especially  of  Canton  and  Hangchau.  They  like- 
wise formed  a  large  portion  of  the  caravans  which  went  to  and 
fro  through  Central  Asia,  and  seem  to  have  been  received  with- 
out resistance,  if  not  with  favor,  until  they  grew  by  natural 
increase  to  be  a  large  and  an  integral  })art  of  the  population. 
Mosques  were  built,  schools  taught,  pilgi'iuuiges  made,  books 
printed,  and  converts  allowed  to  exercise  their  rites  without 
serious  hindrance  almost  from  the  first.  The  two  great  features 
of  the  faith — the  existence  of  one  only  true  God  and  the  M-ick- 
edness  of  idolatry — have  not  been  kept  hidden ;  but,  though 
promulgated,  the}'  have  not  been  accepted  outside  of  the  sect 
and  have  not  made  the  least  impression  upon  the  State  re- 
ligion. 

The  reasons  for  this  are  not  far  to  seek.  The  jigid  rule  that 
the  Koran  must  not  be  translated  has  kept  this  book  out  of 
reach  of  the  literati,  and  the  faithful  could  not  even  appeal  to 
it  in  support  of  their  belief,  for  not  one  in  thousands  know  how 
to  read  it.  The  Chinese  naturally  neither  could  nor  would 
learn  Arabic,  and  there  was  no  sword  hanging  over  them,  as 
was  the  case  in  Persia,  to  force  them  into  Moslem  ranks.  The 
simplicity  of  the  State  religion  and  ancestral  worship  gave  very 
little  handle  to  icronoclasts  to  declaim  against  polytheism  and 
idolatry.  The  })rohibition  of  pork  to  all  true  believers  seemed 
a  senseless  injunction  among  a  frugal  people  which  depended 
largely  on  swine  for  meat  and  had  never  felt  any  the  worse, 
bodily  or  mentall}',  from  its  use.  The  inhibition  of  wine,  more- 
over, was  needless  among  so  temperate  a  race  as  the  Chinese. 
Those  who  liked  to  keep  Fridays  or  other  days  as  fasts,  ])ractisG 
circumcision  as  a  symbol  of  faith,  and  worship  in  a  temple  with< 

'  Compare  the  Chinese  'Repository,  Vol.  XVIII.,  p.  281. 


MOHAMMEDANISM   IN   CHINA.  269 

out  images,  could  do  so  if  tliey  chose ;  but  they  must  obey  the 
laws  of  the  laud  and  honor  the  Eni})ei-or  as  good  subjects.  They 
luive  done  so,  and,  generally  speaking,  have  never  been  molested 
on  account  of  their  beliefs.  Their  chief  strength  lies  in  the 
northern  part.  The  recent  struggle  in  the  north-western  prov- 
inces, which  cost  so  many  lives,  began  almost  wholly  at  the  insti- 
gation of  Turk  or  Tartar  sectaries,  and  was  a  simple  trial  of 
strength  as  to  who  should  rule.  While  cities  and  towns  in 
Kansuh  occupied  by  them  were  destroyed  (in  lSGO-73),  the  two 
liundred  thousand  Moslems  in  Peking  remained  perfectly  quiet 
and  were  unmolested  by  the  authorities. 

Some  hold  office,  and  pass  through  the  examinations  to  obtain 
it,  most  of  them  being  military  men.  In  their  mosques  they  ex- 
liibit  a  tablet  with  the  customary  ascription  of  reverence  to  the 
Emperor,  but  place  the  Prophet's  name  behind.  They  have  no 
images  or  other  tablets  in  the  mosques,  but  suspend  scrolls  re- 
ferring to  the  tenets  of  the  faith.  The  Plain  Pagoda  in  Canton 
was  built  during  the  Tang  dynasty  and  called  '  Remember-the- 
Iloly  Temple  ; '  it  is  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  cubits  high  ;  it 
was  built  by  foreigners,  who  used  to  go  to  the  top  during  the 
fifth  and  sixth  moons  at  dawn  and  pray  to  a  golden  weathercock 
there,  crying  out  in  a  loud  voice.  These  notices  are  taken  from 
the  native  Tojxxjraphij,  where  also  is  reference  to  the  tomb  of 
a  maternal  uncle  of  IMohammed  buried  north  of  the  city.  The 
mosques  throughout  China  are  similar  in  their  arrangement  and 
resemble  temples  in  many  respects,  the  large  arches  and  inscrip- 
tions in  Arabic  on  the  walls  forming  the  chief  peculiarities. 
Arabic  is  studied  under  great  difficulties  by  the  mollahs,  and 
few  of  the  faithful  can  read  or  speak  it,  contenting  themselves 
with  observing  its  ritual  relating  to  circumcision,  abstinence 
from  pork,  and  idolatry.  So  fai-  as  can  be  seen,  their  worship 
of  the  true  God  under  the  name  of  Chu^  or  Lord,  has  not  had 
the  least  influence  on  the  polytheism  of  the  nation  or  in  ele- 
vating the  tone  of  morals.  A  well-digested  summaiy  of  their 
tenets  has  been  published  at  Canton  by  an  unknown  author 
under  the  title  of  True  Coinineids  on  the  Correct  Doctrine,  in 
two  volumes,  pp.  240,  1801.  Ko  restrictions  have  been  laid  on 
this  sect  by  the  government  during  the  present  dynast}' ;  the 


270  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

struggle  which  continued  during  the  last  twent}'  years  between 
them  was  simply  a  question  of  dominion,  not  of  religion. 

Mr.  Milne  visited  the  mosque  in  Xingpo  and  made  the  ac- 
quaintance of  the  mollah.  "lie  is  a  man  about  forty-five  years 
of  age,  of  a  remarkably  benign  and  intelligent  countenance  and 
{gentlemanly  bearing.  His  native  place  is  Shantung,  but  his 
ancestors  came  from  Medina,  lie  readily  reads  the  Arabic 
scriptures  and  talks  that  language  fluently,  but  can  neither  read 
nor  write  Chinese,  which  is  somewhat  surprising  considering  he 
can  talk  it  well,  was  liorn  in  China,  and  is  a  minister  of  religion 
among  the  Chinese.  His  supporters  number  between  twenty 
and  thirty  families,  and  one  or  two  of  his  adherents  are  officers. 
He  took  me  into  the  place  of  worship  which  adjoins  his  apart- 
ments. A  flight  of  steps  leads  into  a  room,  covered  with  a  plain 
roof,  on  either  side  of  which  lay  a  mass  of  dusty  furniture  and 
agricultural  implements ;  the  pillars  are  ornamented  with  sen- 
tences out  of  the  Koran.  Facing  you  is  an  ornamented  pair  of 
small  doors  hung  upon  the  wall,  within  which  the  sacred  seat  is 
supposed  to  lie,  and  on  one  side  is  a  convenient  bookcase  con- 
taining their  scriptures.  He  showed  me  his  usual  officiating 
dress — a  white  robe  with  a  painted  tui-ban — but  he  never  wears 
this  costume  except  at  service,  appearing  hi  the  Chinese  habit  at 
other  times.  They  have  a  weekly  day  of  rest,  which  falls  on 
our  Thursday.  On  asking  if  I  might  be  permitted  to  attend  any 
of  their  services,  he  replied  that  if  their  adherents  had  business 
on  that  day  they  did  not  trouble  themselves  to  attend.  The 
stronghold  of  his  religion  is  in  Ilangchau  fu,  where  are  several 
mosques,  but  the  low  state  of  Moluunmedanism  seemed  to 
dampen  liis  spirits.  Happening  to  see  near  the  entrance  a 
tablet  similar  to  that  found  in  every  other  temple,  with  the 
inscription,  'The  Enq)eror,  ever-living,  maybe  live  forever!' 
I  asked  him  how  he  could  allow  such  a  blasphemous  monument 
to  stand  in  a  spot  which  he  regarded  as  consecrated  to  the  wor- 
ship of  Aloha,  as  he  styles  the  true  God.  He  protested  he  did 
not  and  never  could  worship  it,  and  pointed  to  the  low  })lace 
given  it  as  evidence  of  this,  and  added  that  it  was  only  for  the 
sake  of  expediency  it  was  allowed  lodgment  in  the  building,  for 
if  they  wei-e  ever  charged  with  disloyalty  by  the  enemies  of 


JEWS    IN    CHINA.  271 

their  faith  they  could  appeal  to  it !  His  reigning  desire  was  to 
make  a  pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  and  he  inquired  particularly  re- 
specting the  price  of  a  passage."  ' 

Since  the  introduction  of  steamers  great  numbers  of  pilgrims 
visit  Mecca,  who  cannot  fail  to  extend  the  knowledge  of  western 
lands  as  they  return  among  their  people.  The  Mohammedan 
inhabitants  of  Turkestan  and  111  are  distinguished  into  three 
classes  by  the  color  and  shape  of  their  turbans ;  one  has  red  and 
another  white  sugar-loaf,  tlie  third  the  common  iirab  turban. 
The  number  throughout  the  region  north  of  the  Yangtsz'  liiver 
cannot  be  stated,  but  it  probably  exceeds  ten  millions.  In 
some  places  they  form  a  third  of  the  population ;  a  mission- 
ary in  Sz'chuen  reckons  eighty  thousand  living  in  one  of  its 
cities." 

The  existence  of  Jews  in  China  has  long  been  known,  but 
the  information  possessed  relative  to  their  past  number,  condi- 
tion, and  residences  is  very  imperfect.  They  were  once  num- 
bered by  thousands,  and  are  supposed  by  Mr.  Finn  to  have 
belonged  to  the  restoration  from  Chaldea,  as  they  had  portions 
of  Malachi  and  Zechariah,  adopted  the  era  of  Seleucus,  and 
had  many  rabbinical  customs.  They  probably  entered  China 
through  the  north-western  route,  and  there  is  no  good  reason 
for  rejecting  their  own  date,  during  the  llan  dynasty.  Witliin 
the  last  three  centuries  all  have  lived  in  Kaifung,  the  capital 
of  Honan,  wherever  they  may  have  lived  in  earlier  days.  Marco 
Polo  just  mentions  their  existence  at  (^and)aluc,  as  do  John  of 
Montecorvino  and  Marignolli  about  the  same  time,  and  Ibn 
Batuta  at  an  earlier  date.  In  the  Chinese  annals  of  the  Mon- 
gol dynasty  the  Jews  are  first  referred  to  in  1329,  and  again 
in  135-1,  when  they  were  invited  to  Peking  in  the  decline  of 
its  power  to  join  the  army  of  the  Imperialists,  They  are  styled 
Shic-htvuh,  or  Jehudi,  and  must  have  been  numerous  enough 


'  Compare  Milne's  Life  in  China,  p.  96,  London,  1857. 

'  Chtnem  Repository,  Vols.  XIII.,  p.  ;i'2  ;  XX.,  pp.  77-84;  II.,  p.  250.  De 
Guignes,  Voyar/ex  d  Pekinf/,  Tome  II.,  p.  08.  Gray,  China,  I.,  pp.  137-142. 
Edkins,  IMirjion.H  in  China,  Chap.  XV.  Annules  de  la  Foi,  II.,  p.  245.  Ret 
uaud,  Relation  des  Voyages  d  la  Chine. 


« 

272  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

to  make  them  worth  noticing  with  Aloluunmedans,  and  their 
lielp  in  men  and  means  implored  ;  hut  no  hint  is  given  of  their 
places  of  ahode.  Further  research  into  Chinese  histories  may 
disclose  other  notices  of  their  existence. 

The  Jews  were  early  known  hy  the  term  of  Tiao-Jcin  hiaOj 
or  the  '  sect  which  pulls  out  the  sinew.'  Do  Guignes  says  they 
are  also  called  Laa-niao  Iltoul-tsz\  or  '  Mohammedans  with 
Blue  Caps,'  because  they  wore  a  blue  cap  in  the  synagogue  ;  but 
this  latter  must  be  a  local  name.  The  first  description  of  this 
colony  was  written  by  the  Jesuit  Gozani,  about  the  year  1700, 
and  shows  that  the  Tsing-cMn  sz\  or  '  Pure  and  True  Temple,' 
Avas  then  a  large  establisliment  consisting  of  four  separate 
courts,  various  buildings  enclosed  for  residence,  worship,  and 
work.  The  Li-jpai  ss\  or  Synagogue,  measured  about  sixty 
by  forty  feet,  having  a  portico  with  a  double  row  of  four  columns 
before  it.  In  the  centre  of  the  room,  between  the  I'ows  of  pil- 
lars, is  the  throne  of  Moses,  a  magnificent  and  elevated  chair 
with  an  embroidered  cushion,  upon  which  they  place  the  book 
of  the  law  while  it  is  read. 

This  account  of  Gozani  remained  as  the  latest  information 
until  Bishop  Smith  sent  two  native  Christians  from  Shanghai 
to  Kaifung  to  learn  the  present  condition  of  the  Jews.  They 
were  ignorant  of  llebi-ew,  but  had  been  instructed  hoM^  to  copy 
the  letters,  and  did  their  work  very  creditably,  bringing  away 
with  them  some  portions  of  the  Old  Testament  wi-itten  on 
vellum-like  paper  of  an  old  date.  The  synagogue  had  suffered 
during  the  great  inundation  of  18-fi>,  and  the  colony  of  two 
hundred  individuals  was  found  in  abject  poverty,  ignorance,  and 
dejection.  Not  on6  of  them  knew  a  word  of  Hebrew,  and 
many  of  their  buildings  had  been  sold  for  the  matei'ials  to  sup- 
port their  lives. 

In  February,  ISGG,  Rev.  W.  A.  P.  Mai'tin,  President  of  the 
Tung-wun  Kwan  at  Peking,  visited  Kaifung,  and  learned  that 
during  the  interval  of  fifteen  years  they  had  become  still  more 
imj)overished.  Having  learned  from  the  mollah  of  a  mosque 
where  they  lived,  he  "  passed  through  streets  crowded  Mith  curi- 
ous spectators  to  an  open  square,  in  the  centre  of  wliich  there 
stood  a  solitary  stone.    On  one  side  was  an  inscription  connnem- 


THEIR   MISEUAHLK   CONDITION.  273 

orating  the  erection  of  the  synagogue  in  a.d.  11S3,  and  on  the 
other  of  its  rebuilding  in  14SS.  .  .  .  'Are  there  among 
you  any  of  tlie  family  of  Israel '( '  J  inquired.  '  I  am  one,'  re- 
sponded a  young  man,  whose  face  corroborated  his  assertion  ;  and 
then  another  and  another  stepped  forth,  until  I  saw  before  me 
representatives  of  six  of  the  seven  families  into  which  the 
colony  is  divided.  There,  on  that  melancholy  spot  where 
the  very  foundations  of  the  synagogue  had  been  torn  from 
tlie  ground,  and  there  no  longer  I'emained  one  stone  upon 
another,  they  confessed,  with  shame  and  grief,  that  their  lioly 
and  beautiful  house  had  been  demolished  by  their  own  hands. 
It  had  long  been,  they  said,  in  a  ruinous  condition  ;  they  had 
no  money  to  make  repairs.  They  liad  lost  all  knowledge  of 
the  sacred  tongue ;  the  traditions  of  the  fathers  were  no  longer 
handed  down,  and  their  ritual  worship  had  ceased  to  be  ob- 
served. They  had  at  last  yielded  to  the  pressure  of  necessity, 
and  disposed  of  the  timbers  and  stones  of  the  venerable  edifice 
to  obtain  relief  for  their  bodily  wants." 

They  estimated  their  number  at  between  thi-ee  hundred 
and  four  hundred  persons,  all  of  them  poor,  and,  now  that 
the  centre  of  attraction  had  disappeared,  likely  to  become  dis- 
persed and  lost.  The  entrance  tablet  in  gilt  characters,  stat- 
ing that  the  building  was  "Israel's  Possession,"  had  been 
placed  in  a  mosque,  and  some  of  the  colony  had  entered  its 
worship. 

Since  that  date  one  of  their  own  race,  now  Bishop  Schere- 
schewsky,  of  Shanghai,  has  also  visited  them,  but  the  literati 
of  the  city  refused  to  allow  him  to  remain  among  them.  A 
company  of  the  colony  came  up  to  Peking  about  twelve 
years  ago,  but,  finding  that  no  money  was  to  be  obtained 
for  their  support,  ere  long  went  back.  It  is  probable  that  in 
a  few  years  their  unity  will  be  so  desti-oyed  in  the  removal 
of  their  synagogue  that  they  will  be  quite  mingled  with  their 
countrymen.  One  or  two  are  now  Buddhist  priests,  others 
are  literary  graduates,  and  all  of  them  are  ignorant  of  their 
peculiar  rites  and  festivals.  Like  the  Mohammedans,  they 
have  never  translated  their  sacred  books  into  Chinese ;  but 
during  their  long  existence  in  China  they  have  remained  in- 
YoL.  II. -18 


274  THE  MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

deed,  as  Dr.  Martin  says,  like  "a  rock  rent  from  the  sidea 
of  Mount  Zion  by  some  great  national  catastrophe,  and  pro- 
jected into  the  central  Plain  of  China,  which  has  stood  there 
while  the  centm-ies  rolled  by,  sublime  in  its  antiquity  and 
solitude." ' 

>  CUnese  liepository,  Vol.  XX.,  pp.  4:^6-466.  Yule's  Marco  Polo,  1871,  Vol. 
I.,  p.  809.  Cathay,  pp.  225,  341,  497.  James  Finn,  Jews  in  Cliina,  1843.  Bp. 
Smith,  Mission  of  Inquiry  to  Jeics  at  Kai-funy,  1851.  Dr.  Martin,  The  Chinese, 
N.  Y.,  1881.  Journal  of  Royal  Geog.  Soc,  London,  Vol.  XXVII.,  p.  297. 
Versuch  einer  Geschkhtc  der  JiuJen  in  Sina,  nelisf  P.  J.  Kof/ler^s  Rschreibung 
ihrer  ?ieiligen  Bucher,  herausg.  von  C.  G.  von  Murr,  Halle,  180G.  Milne, 
Life  in  China,  p.  403. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

CHBISTIAN  MISSIONS  AMONG  THE  CHINESE. 

The  earliest  recorded  attempt  to  impart  the  knowledge  of  the 
true  God  to  the  Chinese  ascribes  it  to  the  Nestorian  church  in 
the  seventh  century  ;  though  the  voice  of  tradition,  and  detached 
notices  in  ecclesiastical  writers  of  the  Eastern  Empire  collated  by 
Fabricius,  lead  to  the  belief  that  not  many  years  elapsed  after 
the  times  of  the  apostles  before  the  sound  of  the  gospel  was 
heard  in  China  and  Chin-India.  If  the  tradition  contained  in 
the  breviary  used  among  the  Malabar  Christians,  that  by  Saint 
Thomas  himself  the  Chinese  were  converted  to  the  truth,  be  not 
received,  Mosheim  well  remarks  that  "  we  may  believe  that  at 
an  early  period  the  Christian  religion  extended  to  the  Chinese, 
Seres,  and  Tartars.  There  are  various  arguments  collected  from 
learned  men  to  show  that  the  Christian  faith  was  carried  to 
China,  if  not  by  the  apostle  Thomas,  by  the  first  teachers  of 
Christianity."  Arnobius,  a.d.  300,  speaks  of  the  Christian  deeds 
done  in  India,  and  among  the  Seres,  Persians,  and  Medes.  The 
Nestorian  monks  who  brought  the  eggs  of  the  silk- worm  to  Con- 
stantinople (a.d.  551)  had  resided  long  in  China,  where  it  is 
reasonable  to  suppose  they  were  not  the  first  nor  the  only  ones 
who  went  thither  to  preach  the  gospel.  The  extent  of  their 
success  must  be  left  to  conjecture,  but  "  if  such  beams  have 
travelled  down  to  us  through  the  darkness  of  so  many  ages,  it 
is  reasonable  to  believe  they  emanated  from  a  brighter  source." 

The  time  of  the  arrival  of  the  Kestorians  in  China  cannot 
be  specified  certainly,  but  there  are  grounds  for  placing  it  as 
early  as  a.d.  505.  Ebedjesus  Sobiensis  remarks  that  "  the 
Catholicos  Salibazacha  created  the  metropolitan  sees  of  Sina  and 
Samarcand,  though  some  say  they  were  constituted  by  Acbseus 


27G 


THE    MIDDLK    KIXCDO.Ar. 


and  Silas."  Silas  was  patriarch  of  the  Xcstorians  fi-oni  a.d.  505 
to  520 ;  and  Achneus  was  archbishop  at  Scleucia  in  415.  The 
metropolitan  bishop  of  Sina  is  also  mentioned  in  a  list  of  those 
subject  to  this  patriarch,  published  by  Amro,  and  it  is  placed 
in  the  list  after  that  of  India,  accordmg  to  the  priority  of 
foundation. 

The  only  record  yet  found  in  China  itself  of  the  labors  of  the 
Nestorians  is  the  celebrated  monument  which  w'as  discovered 
at  Si-ngan  fu  in  Shensi,  in  1625  ;  and  though  the  discussion  re- 


garding its  authenticity  has  been  rather  warm  between  the  Jesuits 
and  their  opponents,  the  weight  of  evidence,  both  interiml  and 
external,  leaves  no  doubt  regarding  its  vei'ity.  It  has  been  found 
quite  recently  to  be  in  good  preservation,  and  i-ubbings  taken 
from  it  are  nearly  perfect.  The  Syi-iac  characters  composing 
the  signatures  of  Olopun  and  his  associates  have  made  it  an  ob- 
ject of  much  interest  to  the  natives;  these,  as  Avell  as  the  singu- 
lar cross  on  its  top  (seen  in  the  illustration),  have  doubtless 
contributed  to   its  preservation.     It  was  set  up  in   1850  by  a 


NESTOKIATs^    MISSION    IN    CHINA.  277 

Chinese  who  liad  so  much  regard  for  it  as  to  rebuild  it  in  tlic 
brick  wall  where  it  had  once  stood  outside  of  the  citv.  The 
stone  seems  to  be  a  coarse  marble. 

It  has  been  often  translated  since  the  first  attempt  by  Boime, 
published  with  the  original  by  Kircher  in  Holland.  In  1845 
Dr.  E.  C.  Bridgman  published  Kircher's  Latin  translation  with 
the  French  version  of  Dalquie,  and  another  of  his  own,  which 
brought  it  more  into  notice.  The  style  is  very  terse,  and  the 
exact  meaning  not  easily  perceived  even  by  learned  natives.  As 
Dr.  Bridgman  says,  "  Were  a  hundred  Chinese  students  emploj^ed 
on  the  document  they  would  probably  each  give  a  different  view 
of  the  meaning  in  some  parts  of  the  inscription."  This  is  ap- 
parent when  four  or  five  of  them  are  compared.  The  last  one, 
by  A.Wylie,  of  the  London  Mission  at  Shanghai,  goes  over  the 
whole  subject  with  a  fullness  and  care  which  leaves  little  to  be 
desired.' 

TABLET  EULOGIZING  THE  PROPAGATION  OF  THE  ILLUSTRIOUS 
RELIGION  IN  CHINA,  WITH  A  PREFACE ;  COMPOSED  BY  KING- 
TSING,  A  PRIEST  OF  THE  SYRIAN  CHURCH. 

Behold  the  unchangeably  true  and  invisible,  who  existed  through  all  eternity 
without  origin  ;  the  far-seeing  perfect  intelligence,  whose  mysterious  existence 
is  everlasting ;  operating  on  primordial  substance  he  created  the  universe, 
being  more  excellent  than  all  holy  intelligences,  inasmuch  as  he  is  the  source 
of  all  that  is  honorable.  This  is  our  eternal  true  lord  God,  triune  and  mys- 
terious in  substance.  He  appointed  the  cross  as  the  means  for  determining  the 
four  cardinal  points,  he  moved  the  original  spirit,  and  produced  the  two  prin- 
ciples of  nature ;  the  sombre  void  was  changed,  and  heaven  and  earth  were 
opened  out;  the  sun  and  moon  revolved,  and  day  and  night  commenced ; 
having  perfected  all  inferior  objects,  he  then  made  the  first  man ;  upon  him 
he  bestowed  an  excellent  disposition,  giving  him  in  charge  the  government  of 
all  created  beings ;  man,  acting  out  the  original  principles  of  his  nature,  was 
pure  and  iinostentatious  ;  his  unsullied  and  expansive  mind  was  free  from  the 
least  inordinate  desire ;  until  Satan  introduced  the  seeds  of  falsehood,  to  de- 
teriorate his  purity  of  principle ;  the  opening  thus  commenced  in  his  virtue 

'  Visdelou  in  Bthliotheque  Oriental,  Vol.  IV.  Kircher's  China  Illustrata, 
Part  I.,  Antwerp,  1667.  Chinese  Eejwsitory,  XIV.,  pp.  201-329.  Hue,  Chris- 
tianity in  Chinti,  I.,  pp.  49-58.  Wylie,  North  China  Herald,  1855,  reprinted 
in  Journal  of  Am.  Oriental  8oc.,  Vol.  V.,  p.  277.  Archimandrite  Palladius  pub- 
lished a  Russian  version.  Williamson,  Journeys  in  North  China,  I.,  p.  382. 
Le  ('(itholicimne  en  Chine  au  VIIl"  Sierle  de  notreere  arec  nne  nourelle  traduction 
de  ^inscription  de  Sif-nr/a/ifoK,  par  P.  D.  de  Thiersant,  Paris,  1877. 


278  THE    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

gradually  enlarged,  and  by  this  crevice  in  his  nature  was  obscured  and  ren- 
dered vicious ;  hence  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  sects  followed  each  other 
in  continuous  track,  inventing  every  species  of  doctrinal  complexity ;  while 
soYne  pointed  to  material  objects  as  the  source  of  their  faith,  others  reduced 
all  to  vacancy,  even  to  the  annihilation  of  the  two  primeval  principles ;  some 
sought  to  call  down  blessings  by  prayers  and  supplications,  while  others  by  an 
assumption  of  excellence  held  themselves  up  as  superior  to  their  fellows  ;  their 
intellects  and  thoughts  continually  wavering,  their  minds  and  affections  in- 
cessantly on  the  move,  they  never  obtained  their  vast  desires,  but  being  ex- 
hausted and  distressed  they  revolved  in  their  own  heated  atmosphere  ;  till  by 
an  accumulation  of  obscurity  they  lost  their  path,  and  after  long  groping  in 
darkness  tliey  were  unable  to  return.  Thereupon,  our  Trinity  being  divided 
in  nature,  the  illustrious  and  honorable  Messiah,  veiling  his  true  dignity,  ap- 
peared in  the  world  as  a  man  ;  angelic  powers  promulgated  the  glad  tidings,  a 
virgin  gave  birth  to  the  Holy  One  in  Syria ;  a  bright  star  announced  the  felic- 
itous event,  and  Persians  '  observing  the  splendor  came  to  present  tribute; 
the  ancient  dispensation,  as  declared  by  the  twenty-four  holy  men,'-  was  then 
fulfilled,  and  lie  laid  down  great  principles  for  the  government  of  families  and 
kingdoms  ;  lie  established  the  new  religion  of  the  silent  operation  of  the  pure 
spirit  of  the  Triune  ;  he  rendered  virtue  subservient  to  direct  faith ;  he  fixed 
the  extent  of  the  eight  boundaries,"'  thus  completing  the  truth  and  freeing  it 
from  dross  ;  he  opened  the  gate  of  the  three  constant  principles,^  introducing 
life  and  destroying  death ;  he  suspended  the  bright  sun  to  invade  the  cham- 
bers of  darkness,  and  the  falsehoods  of  the  devil  were  thereupon  defeated ;  he 
set  in  motion  the  vessel  of  mercy  by  which  to  ascend  to  the  bright  mansions, 
whereupon  rational  beings  were  then  released;  liaving  thus  completed  the 
manifestation  of  his  power,  in  clear  day  he  ascended  to  his  true  station. 
Twenty-seven  sacred  books  ^  have  been  left,  which  disseminate  intelligence  by 
unfolding  the  original  transforming  principles.  By  the  rule  for  admission,  it 
is  the  custom  to  apply  the  water  of  baptism,  to  wash  away  all  superficial  show 
and  to  cleanse  and  purify  the  neophytes.  As  a  seal,  they  hold  the  cross,  whose 
influence  is  reflected  in  every  direction,  uniting  all  without  distinction.  As 
they  strike  the  wood,  the  fame  of  their  benevolence  is  diffused  abroad ;  wor- 
shipping toward  the  east,  they  hasten  on  the  way  to  life  and  glory  ;  they  pre- 

'  Po-sz\  '  Persians.'  This  name  was  well  known  to  the  Chinese  at  that  time, 
being  the  designation  of  an  extensive  sect  then  located  in  the  Empire,  and  the 
name  of  a  nation  with  which  they  had  held  commercial  and  political  inter- 
course for  several  centuries.  The  statement  here  is  in  admirable  harmony 
with  the  general  tradition  of  the  early  church,  that  the  Magi  or  wise  men 
mentioned  in  Matthew's  gospel  were  no  other  than  philosophers  of  the  Parsee 
sect. 

'  The  "  holy  men  "  denote  the  writers  of  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament. 

■''The  "eight  boundaries"  are  inexplicable;  some  refer  them  to  the  beati- 
tudes 

■•The  "three  constant  iiiiiiciplfs"  may  j)erhaps  mean  faith,  hope,  and 
charity. 

'  Exactly  the  number  we  have  in  the  New  Testament. 


THE  TABLET   OF    SI-NGAN   FIT.  279 

serve  the  bea^d  to  symbolize  their  outward  actions,  they  shave  the  crown  to 
indicate  the  absence  of  inward  affections  ;  they  do  not  keep  slaves,  but  put 
noble  and  mean  all  on  an  equality ;  they  do  not  amass  wealth,  but  cast  all 
their  property  into  the  common  stock ;  they  fast,  in  order  to  perfect  them- 
selves by  self-inspection  ;  they  submit  to  restraints,  in  order  to  strengthen  them- 
selves by  silent  watchfulness ;  seven  times  a  day  they  have  worship  and  praise, 
for  the  benefit  of  the  liring  and  the  dead  ;  once  in  seven  days  they  sacrifice, 
to  cleanse  the  heart  and  return  to  purity. 

It  is  difficult  to  find  a  name  to  exj^ress  the  excellence  of  the  true  and  un- 
changeable doctrine  ;  but  as  its  meritorious  operations  are  manifestly  displayed, 
by  accommodation  it  is  named  the  Illustrious  Religion.  Now  without  lioly 
men,  principles  cannot  become  expanded  ;  without  principles,  holy  men  can- 
not become  magnified ;  but  with  holy  men  and  right  principles,  united  as  the 
two  parts  of  a  signet,  the  world  becomes  civilized  and  enlightened. 

In  the  time  of  the  accomplished  Emperor  Taitsung,  the  illustrious  and 
magnificent  founder  of  the  dynasty,  among  the  enlightened  and  holy  men  who 
arrived  was  the  Most-virtuous  Olopun,  from  the  country  of  Syria.  Observing 
the  azure  clouds,  he  bore  the  true  sacred  books  ;  beholding  the  direction  of 
the  winds,  he  braved  difficulties  and  dangers.  In  the  year  A.D.  G35  he  ar- 
rived at  Chang-an;  the  Emperor  sent  liis  Prime  Minister,  Duke  Fang  Hiuen- 
ling ;  who,  carrying  the  official  .staff  to  the  west  border,  conducted  his  guest 
into  the  interior  ;  the  sacred  books  were  translated  in  the  imperial  library,  the 
sovereign  investigated  the  subject  in  his  private  apartments;  when  becoming 
deeply  impressed  with  the  rectitude  and  truth  of  the  religion,  he  gave  special 
orders  for  its  dissemination.  In  the  seventh  month  of  the  year  A.  D.  G38  the 
following  imperial  proclamation  was  issued  : 

"Right  principles  have  no  invariable  name,  holy  men  have  no  invariable 
station ;  instruction  is  established  in  accordance  with  the  locality,  with  the 
object  of  benefiting  the  people  at  large.  The  Greatly-virtuous  Olopun,  of  the 
kingdom  of  Syria,  has  brought  his  sacred  books  and  images  from  that  distant 
part,  and  has  presented  them  at  our  chief  capital.  Having  examined  the 
principles  of  this  religion,  we  find  them  to  be  purely  excellent  and  natural ; 
investigating  its  originating  source,  we  find  it  has  taken  its  rise  from  the  es- 
tablishment of  important  truths ;  its  ritual  is  free  from  perplexing  expressions, 
its  jjrinciples  will  survive  when  the  framework  is  forgot ;  it  is  beneficial  to 
all  creatures  ;  it  is  advantageous  to  mankind.  Let  it  be  published  throughout 
the  Empire,  and  let  the  proper  authority  build  a  Syrian  church  in  the  capital 
in  the  l-ning  Way,  which  shall  be  governed  by  twenty-one  priests.  When  the 
virtue  of  the  Cliau  dynasty  declined,  the  rider  on  the  azure  ox  ascended  to  the 
west ;  the  principles  of  the  great  Tang  becoming  resplendent,  the  Illustrious 
breezes  have  come  to  fan  the  East." 

Orders  were  then  issued  to  the  authorities  to  have  a  true  portrait  of  the 
Emperor  taken  ;  when  it  was  transferred  to  the  wall  of  the  church,  the  daz- 
zling splendor  of  the  celestial  visage  irradiated  the  Illustrious  portals.  The 
sacred  traces  emitted  a  felicitous  infiuence,  and  shed  a  perpetual  splendor  over 
tlie  holy  precincts.  According  to  the  Illustrated  Memoir  of  the  Western 
Regions,  and  the  historical  books  of  the  Han  and  Wei  dynasties,  the  kingdom 
ii  Syria  reaches  south  to  the  Coral  Sea ;  on  the  north  it  joins  the  Gem  Moun- 


280  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

taius ;  on  the  west  it  extends  toward  the  borders  of  the  immortals  and  ths 
flowery  forests ;  on  the  east  it  lies  open  to  the  violent  winds  and  tideless 
waters.  The  country  produces  fire-proof  cloth,  life-restoring  incense,  bright 
moon-pearls,  and  night-lustre  gems.  Brigands  and  robbers  are  unknown,  but 
the  people  enjoy  happiness  and  peace.  None  but  Illustrious  laws  prevail ; 
none  but  the  virtuous  are  raised  to  sovereign  power.  The  land  is  broad  and 
ample,  and  its  literary  productions  are  perspicuous  and  clear. 

The  Emperor  Kautsung  respectfully  succeeded  his  ancestor,  and  was  still 
more  beneficent  toward  the  institution  of  truth.  In  every  province  ho 
caused  Illustrious  churches  to  be  erected,  and  ratified  the  honor  conferred 
npon  Olopun,  making  him  the  great  conservator  of  doctrine  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  State.  While  this  doctrine  pervaded  every  channel,  the  State 
became  enriched  and  tranquillity  abounded.  Every  city  was  full  of  churches, 
and  the  royal  family  enjoyed  lustre  and  happiness.  In  the  year  A.i).  (iD!)  the 
Buddhists,  gaining  power,  raised  their  voices  in  the  eastern  metropolis ; '  in 
the  year  a.d.  713,  some  low  fellows  excited  ridicule  and  spread  slanders  in  the 
western  capital.  At  that  time  there  was  the  chief  priest  Lo-han,  the  Greatly- 
virtuous  Kie-leih,  and  others  of  noble  estate  from  the  golden  regions,  lofty- 
minded  priests,  having  abandoned  all  worldly  interests;  who  unitedly  main- 
tained the  grand  princii)les  and  preserved  them  entire  to  the  end. 

The  high-principled  Emperor  Iliuentsung  caused  the  Prince  of  Ning  and 
others,  five  princes  in  all,  personally  to  visit  the  felicitous  edifice  ;  he  estab- 
lished the  place  of  worship ;  .he  restored  the  consecrated  timbers  which  had 
been  temporarily  thrown  down ;  and  re-erected  the  sacred  stones  which  for  a 
time  had  been  desecrated. 

In  742  orders  were  given  to  the  great  general  Kau  Lih-sz',  to  send  the  five 
sacred  portraits  and  have  them  placed  in  the  church,  and  a  gift  of  a  hundred 
pieces  of  silk  accompanied  these  pictures  of  intelligence.  Although  the  drag- 
on's beard  was  then  remote,  their  bows  and  swords  were  still  within  reach  ; 
while  the  solar  horns  sent  forth  their  rays,  and  celestial  visages  seemed  close 
at  hand.' 

In  744  the  priest  Kih-ho,  in  the  kingdom  of  Syria,  looking  toward  the  star 
(of  China),  was  attracted  by  its  transforming  influen,  e,  and  observing  the  sun 
{i.e.,  Emperor),  came  to  pay  court  to  the  most  honorable.  The  Emperor  com- 
manded the  priest  Lo-han,  the  priest  Pu-lun,  and  others,  seven  in  all,  to- 
gether with  the  Greatly-virtuous  Kih-ho,  to  perform  a  service  of  merit  in  the 
Hing-king  palace.  Thereupon  the  Emperor  composed  mottoes  for  the  sides  of 
the  church,  and  the  tablets  were  graced  with  the  royal  inscriptions  ;  the  ac- 
cumulated gems  emitted  their  effulgence,  while  their  sparkling  brightness 
vied  with  the  ruby  clouds ;  the  transcripts  of  intelligence  suspended  in  the 

'  "Eastern  metropolis"  is  Tiiiu/  Chan,  literally  'Eastern  Chau.'  The  Em- 
pire was  at  this  time  under  the  government  of  the  Empress  Wu  Tsili-tien,  who 
had  removed  lu!r  residence  from  Chang-an  to  Lohyang  in  Honan. 

'Tliese  personages  are  the  first  five  Emperors  of  the  Tang  dynasty,  Hiuen- 
tsung's  predeces.sors.  Their  portraits  were  so  admirably  ]>ainted  that  they 
seemed  to  be  present,  their  arms  could  almost  be  handled,  and  their  foreheads, 
or  "  horns  of  the  sun,"  radiated  their  intelligence. 


THE  TABLET   OF   SI-NGAX   FU.  281 

void  shot  fortli  tlieir  rays  as  reflected  by  the  sun  ;  the  bountiful  gifts  exceeded 
the  height  of  the  southern  hills  ;  the  bedewing  favors  were  deep  as  the  eastern 
Bea.  Nothing  is  beyond  the  range  of  ri'rht  principle,  and  what  is  permissible 
may  be  identilied  ;  nothing  is  beyiunl  tin^  jiower  of  the  holy  man,  and  tliat 
wliicli  is  practicable  may  be  related. 

The  accomplished  and  enlightened  Emperor  Suhtsung  rebuilt  the  Illustrious 
churches  in  Ling-wu  and  four  other  places ;  great  benefits  were  conferred,  and 
felicity  began  to  increase ;  great  munificence  was  displayed,  and  the  imperial 
State  became  established. 

The  accomplished  and  military  Emperor  Taitsung  magnified  the  sacred  suc- 
cession, and  honored  the  latent  principle  of  nature ;  always,  on  the  incarna- 
tion-day, he  bestowed  celestial  incense,  and  ordered  the  performance  of  a 
service  of  merit ;  he  distributed  of  the  imperial  viands,  in  order  to  shed  a 
glory  on  the  Illustrious  Congregation.  Heaven  is  munificent  in  the  dissemina- 
tion of  blessings,  whereby  the  benefits  of  life  are  extended  ;  the  holy  man  em- 
bodies the  original  principle  of  virtue,  whence  he  is  able  to  counteract  noxious 
influences. 

Our  sacred  and  sage-like,  accomplished  and  military  Emperor  Kienchung 
appointed  the  eight  branches  of  government,  according  to  which  he  advanced 
or  degraded  the  intelligent  and  dull ;  he  opened  up  the  nine  categories,  by 
means  of  which  he  renovated  the  illustrious  decrees  ;  his  transforming  influ- 
ence pervaded  the  most  abstruse  principles,  while  openness  of  lieart  distin- 
guished his  devotions.  Thus,  by  correct  and  enlarged  purity  of  principle,  and 
undeviating  consistency  in  sympathy  with  others  ;  by  extended  commisera- 
tion rescuing  multitudes  from  misery,  while  disseminating  blessings  on  all 
around,  tlie  cultivation  of  our  doctrine  gained  a  grand  basis,  and  by  gradual 
advances  its  influence  was  diffused.  If  the  winds  and  rains  are  seasonable, 
tlie  world  will  be  at  rest ;  men  will  be  guided  by  principle,  inferior  objects  will 
be  pure  ;  the  living  will  be  at  ease,  and  the  dead  will  rejoice  ;  the  thoughts 
will  produce  their  appropriate  response,  the  affections  will  be  free,  and  the 
eyes  will  be  sincere ;  such  is  the  laudable  condition  which  we  of  the  Illustri- 
ous Religion  are  laboring  to  attain. 

Our  great  benefactor,  the  Imperially-conferred-purple-gown  priest,'  I-sz', 
titular  Great  Statesman  of  the  Banqueting-hou.se,  Associated  Secondary  Mili- 
tary Commissioner  for  the  Northern  Region,  and  Examination-palace  Over- 
seer, was  naturally  mild  and  graciously  disposed  •,  his  mind  susceptible  of 
sound  doctrine,  he  was  diligent  in  the  performance  ;  from  the  distant  city  of 
Rajagriha,^  he  came  to  visit  China;  his  principles  more  lofty  than  those  of  the 

'  It  was  no  rare  occurrence  for  priests  to  occupy  civil  and  military  offices  in 
the  State  during  the  Tang  and  preceding  dynasties.  Of  the  three  titles  here 
given,  the  first  is  merely  an  indication  of  rank,  by  which  the  bearer  is  entitled 
to  a  certain  emolument  from  the  State  ;  the  second  is  his  title  as  an  officer  ac- 
tively engaged  in  the  imperial  service  ;  and  the  tliird  is  an  honorary  title, 
which  gives  to  the  possessor  a  certain  status  in  the  capital,  without  any  duties 
or  emolument  connected  therewith. 

-  WaiHj-s/ii'?!,  literally  'Royal  residence,'  which  is  also  the  translation  of  the 
Sanskrit  word  Rajagriha,  is  the  name  of  a  city  on  the  banks  of  the  Ganges, 


282  THE  MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

tliret:'  dynasties,  liis  practice  was  perfect  in  every  department ;  it  first  he  ap< 
plied  himself  to  duties  pertaining  to  the  palace,  eventually  his  name  was  in- 
scribed on  the  military  roll.  When  the  Duke  Koh  Tsz'-i,  Secondary  Minister 
of  State  and  Prince  of  Fan-yang,  at  first  conducted  the  military  in  the  north- 
ern region,  the  Emperor  Suhtsung  made  him  (1-sz')  his  attendant  on  liis  trav- 
els ;  although  he  was  a  private  chamberlain,  he  assumed  no  distinction  on  the 
march  •,  he  was  as  claws  and  teeth  to  the  duke,  and  in  rousing  the  military  he 
was  as  ears  and  eyes ;  he  distributed  the  wealth  conferred  upon  him,  not  ac- 
cumulating treasure  for  his  private  use  ;  he  made  offerings  of  the  jewelry 
which  had  been  given  by  imperial  favor,  he  spread  out  a  golden  carpet  for  de- 
votion ;  now  he  repaired  the  old  churches,  anon  he  increased  the  number  of 
religious  establishments;  he  honored  and  decorated  the  various  edifices,  till 
they  resembled  the  plumage  of  the  pheasant  in  its  Hight  ;  moreover,  practising 
the  discipline  of  the  Illustrious  Religion,  he  distributed  his  riches  in  deeds  of 
benevolence ;  every  year  he  assembled  those  in  the  sacred  oflice  from  four 
churches,  and  respectfully  engaged  them  for  fifty  days  in  purification  and 
preparation ;  the  naked  came  and  were  clothed  ;  the  sick  were  attended  to  and 
restored ;  the  dead  were  buried  in  repose  ;  even  among  the  most  pure  and  self- 
denying  of  the  Buddhists,  such  excellence  was  never  heard  of ;  the  white-clad 
members  of  the  Illustrious  Congregation,  now  considering  these  men,  have  de- 
sired to  engrave  a  broad  tablet,  in  order  to  set  forth  a  eulogy  of  their  magnani- 
mous deeds. 

ODE. 

The  true  Lord  is  without  origin, 

Profoiand,  invisible,  and  unchangeable  ; 

With  power  and  capacity  to  perfect  and  transform, 

He  raised  up  the  earth  and  established  the  heav^ens. 

Divided  in  nature,  he  entered  the  world, 
To  save  and  to  help  without  bounds  ; 
The  sun  arose,  and  darkness  was  dispelled, 
All  beai-ing  witness  to  his  true  original. 

The  glorious  and  resplendent,  accomplished  Emperor, 
Whose  principles  embraced  those  of  i)receding  monarchs, 
Taking  advantage  of  the  occasion,  suppressed  turbulence  ; 
Heaven  was  spread  out  and  the  earth  was  enlarged. 

When  the  pure,  bright  Illustrious  Religion 

Was  introduced  to  our  Tang  dynasty, 

The  Scriptures  were  translated,  and  churches  built, 

And  the  vessel  set  in  motion  for  the  living  and  the  dead; 

Every  kind  of  blessing  was  then  obtained, 

And  all  the  kingdoms  enjoyed  a  state  of  peace. 


which  occurs  in  several  Buddhist  works.  As  this  was  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant of  the  Buddhist  cities  in  India,  it  is  natural  to  suppose  that  1-sz'  was  a 
Buddhist  priest. 


THE   TABLET   OF   SI-NGAJS    Fl'.  283 

When  Kautsung  succeeded  to  his  ancestral  estate, 
He  rebuilt  the  edifices  of  purity  ; 
Palaces  of  concord,  largo  and  light, 
Covered  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land. 

The  true  doctrine  was  clearly  announced. 

Overseers  of  the  church  wore  appointed  in  due  form ; 

The  people  enjoyed  liappiness  and  peace, 

While  all  creatures  were  exempt  from  calamity  and  distress. 

When  Hiuentsung  commenced  his  sacred  career, 

He  applied  himself  to  the  cultivation  of  truth  and  rectitude  ; 

His  imperial  tablets  shot  forth  their  effulgence, 

And  the  celestial  writings  mutually  reflected  their  splendors. 

The  imperial  domain  was  rich  and  luxuriant. 
While  the  whole  land  rendered  exalted  homage  ; 
Every  business  was  flourishing  throughout, 
And  the  people  all  enjoyed  prosperity. 

Then  came  Suhtsung,  who  commenced  anew, 

And  celestial  dignity  marked  the  imperial  movements ; 

Sacred  as  the  moon's  unsullied  expanse, 

While  felicity  was  wafted  like  nocturnal  gales. 

Happiness  reverted  to  the  imperial  household. 
The  autumnal  influences  were  long  removed ; 
Ebullitions  were  allayed,  and  risings  suppressed. 
And  thus  our  dynasty  was  firmly  built  up. 

Taitsung  the  filial  and  just 

Combined  in  virtue  with  heaven  and  earth  ; 

By  his  liberal  bequests  the  living  were  satisfied, 

And  property  formed  the  channel  of  imparting  succor. 

By  fragrant  mementoes  he  rewarded  the  meritorious. 
With  benevolence  he  dispensed  his  donations  ; 
The  solar  concave  appeared  in  dignity, 
And  the  lunar  reti-eat  was  decorated  to  extreme. 

When  Kienchung  succeeded  to  the  throne, 
He  began  by  the  cultivation  of  intelligent  virtue ; 
His  military  vigilance  extended  to  the  four  seas. 
And  his  accomplished  purity  influenced  all  lands. 

His  light  penetrated  the  secresies  of  men, 
And  to  him  the  diversities  of  objects  were  seen  as  in  a  mirror ; 
He  shed  a  vivifying  influence  through  the  whole  realm  of  nature, 
And  all  outer  nations  took  him  for  example. 


284  THE    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

The  true  doctrine  liow  expansive  I 
Its  responses  are  minute  ; 
How  difficult  to  name  it ! 
To  elucidate  the  three  in  one. 

The  sovereign  has  the  power  to  act  f 
While  the  ministers  record  ; 
We  raise  this  noble  monument  1 
To  the  praise  of  great  felicity. 

This  was  erected  in  the  2d  year  of  Kienchung,  of  the  Tang  dynasty  (A.n 
781),  on  the  7th  day  of  1st  month,  being  Sunday. 

Written  by  Lu  Siu-yen,  Secretary  to  Council,  formerly  Military  Superin- 
tendent for  Taichau  ;  while  the  Bishop  Ning-shu  had  the  charge  of  tlie  con- 
gregations of  the  Illustrious  in  the  East. 

Tlie  two  lines  of  Syriac,  of  whieli  the  following  is  a  tran- 
script, are  in  the  Estrangelo  character,  and  run  down  the  right 
and  left  sides  of  the  Chinese  respectively  : 

Adam  Kasiso  Vicur-apiskupo  in  Papasi  de  Zinstun. 

Beyumi  aba  dahaliotha  Mar  liana  Jemia  katholihi  patriarcJds. 

Kircher  translates  this  as  follows  : 

"Adam,  Beacon,  Vicar-episcopal  and  Pope  of  China. 

In  the  time  of  the  Father  of  Fathers,  the  Lord  John  Joshua,  the 
Universal  Patriarch." 

The  transcript  of  the  Sjriac  at  the  foot  of  the  stone  is  given 
here  on  the  authority  of  Kircher  : 

Bemnatli  alf  utisaain  vtarten  diaranoie.  Mor  Jihuznd  Kasiso  Vcurapt'skupo 
de  Cnmdan  mediiialt  malcutho  bur  niJih  napso  Militi  Kama  dincn  Balehh  me- 
dintho  Tahhurstan  Akim  Luclio  7iono  Papa  dictabon  bch  medabarniitho  dphirw 
kan  Vcm'uzutJion  dabhain  didnat  malclte  dizinio. 

"  In  the  year  of  the  Greeks  one  thousand  and  ninety-two,  the  Lord  Jazed- 
buzid.  Priest  and  Vicar-episcopal  of  Cumdan  the  royal  city,  son  of  the  enlight- 
ened Mailas,  Priest  of  Balach  a  city  of  Turkestan,  set  up  this  tablet,  whereon 
is  inscribed  tlie  Dispensation  of  our  Redeemer,  and  the  preaching  of  tlie  apos- 
tolic missionaries  to  the  King  of  China. " 

After  this,  in  Chinese  characters,  is  "  The  Priest  Lingpau." 
Then  follows : 


THE   TABLET   OF   SI-NGAN    FU.  285 

Adam  mesclmmschdno  Bar  Jiclbuzad  Ciirapishupo. 

Mar  Snnju  Kasiso,  Vcurapiskiqyo. 

8abar  Jchiui  Kasiso. 

Oabriel  Kasiso  Varcodiakun,  VriscJi  medintho  de  Cumdan  vdasrag. 

*♦  Adam  the  Deacon,  sou  of  Jazeclbiizid,  Vicar-episcopal. 
The  Lord  Sergius,  Priest  and  Vicar-episcopal. 
Sabar  Jesus,  Priest.  . 
Gabriel,  Priest,  Archdeacon,  and  Ecclesiarch  of  Cumdan  and  Sarag." 

Tlie  following  subscription  is  appended  in  Chinese : 

"  Assistant  Examiner  :  the  High  Statesman  of  the  Sacred  rites,  the  Imperi- 
jilly-conferred-purple-gown  Chief  Presbyter  and  Priest  Yi-li." 

On  the  left  hand  edge  are  the  Sjriac  names  of  sixty-seven 
priests,  and  sixty-one  are  given  in  Chinese. 

This  trnly  oriental  writing  is  the  most  ancient  Christian  in- 
scription yet  found  in  Asia,  and  shows  plainly  that  Christianity 
had  made  great  progress  among  the  Chinese.  Kircher  and  Le 
Comte  claimed  it  as  a  record  of  the  success  of  the  Itomisli 
church  in  China,  but  no  one  now  doubts  that  it  commemorates 
the  exertions  of  the  Nestorians. 

Timothy,  a  patriarch,  sent  Subchal-Jesus  in  780,  who  labored 
in  Tartary  and  China  for  many  years,  and  lost  his  life  on  his 
return,  when  his  place  was  supplied  by  Davidis,  who  was  con- 
secrated metropolitan.  In  the  year  845  an  edict  of  Wu-tsung 
commanded  the  priests  that  belonged  to  the  sect  that  came  from 
Ta  Tsin,  amounting  to  no  less  than  three  thousand  persons,  to 
retire  to  private  life.  The  two  Arabian  travellers  in  the  ninth 
century  report  that  many  Christians  perished  in  the  siege  of 
Canfu.  Marco  Polo's  frequent  allusions  lead  us  to  conclude 
that  the  Kestorians  were  both  numerous  and  respected. 

He  mentions  the  existence  of  a  church  at  Ilangchau,  and 
two  at  Chinkiang,  built  by  the  prefect  Marsarchis,  who  was 
himself  a  member  of  that  church,  and  alludes  to  their  residence 
in  most  of  the  towns  and  countries  of  Central  Asia. 

The  existence  of  a  Christian  prince  called  Prester  John,  in 
Central  Asia,  is  spoken  of  by  Marco  Polo  and  Montecorvino. 
The  exact  position  of  his  dominions,  and  the  extent  of  his  intlu- 
ence  in  favor  of  that  faith,  have  been  examined  by  Col.  Yule  and 


286  TIIK   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

M.  Paiithier  in  tlieir  editions  of  tlie  Venetian,  and  the  glamour 
whic'li  once  suiTounded  him  lias  been  found  to  liave  arisen 
mostly  from  hearsay  I'eports,  and  from  eonfounding  different 
persons  under  one  name.  When  the  conquests  of  (Tenghis  khan 
and  his  descendants  threw  all  Asia  into  commotion,  this  Prester 
John,  ruler  of  the  Kara  Kitai  Tartars  in  northern  China, 
fell  before  him,  a.d.  1203.  The  Xestorians  suffered  much,  but 
maintained  a  precarious  footing  in  China  during  the  time  of  the 
Yuen  dynasty,  having  been  cut  off  from  all  help  and  inter- 
course with  the  mother  church  since  the  rise  of  the  Moslems. 
They  had  ceased  long  before  this  period  to  maintain  the  purity 
of  the  faith,  however,  and  had  apparently  done  nothing  to 
teach  and  diffuse  the  Bible,  which  the  tal)let  intimates  was  in 
part  or  in  whole  translated  l)y  Olopun,  under  the  Emperor's 
auspices. 

At  the  present  time  no  works  composed  by  their  priests, 
or  remains  of  any  churches  belonging  to  them  or  buildings 
erected  by  them,  are  known  to  exist  in  the  Empire,  though  per- 
haps some  books  may  yet  be  found.  The  buildings  erected  by 
the  Nestorians  for  churches  and  dwellings  were,  of  course,  no 
better  built  than  other  Chinese  edifices,  and  would  not  long 
remain  when  deserted  ;  while,  to  account  still  further  for  the 
absence  of  books,  the  Buddhists  and  other  opposers  may  have 
sought  out  and  destroyed  such  as  existed,  which  even  if  care- 
fully kept  would  not  last  many  generations.  The  notices  of  the 
tablet  in  Chinese  authors,  which  Mr.  Wylie  has  brought  to- 
gether, prove  that  those  writei's  had  confounded  the  King  h'lao 
with  Zoroastrianism  and  Manicheism,  and  such  a  confusion  is 
not  surprising.  The  records  of  futurity  alone  will  disclose  to 
ns  the  names  and  labors  of  the  devoted  disciples  and  teachers 
of  true  Christianity  in  the  Xestorian  church,  who  lived  and 
died  for  the  gospel  among  the  (^hinese.' 

The  efforts  of  the  Roman  (^'atholics  in  China  have  been  great, 
but  not  greater  than  the  importance  of  the  field  demanded. 

'  Yvxle's  'Marco  Polo,  Vol.  I.,  p.  275,  passim.  N.  0.  Ai^.  Soc.  Jonrnnl,  Arch. 
Palladius'  notes  on  it,  Vol.  X.,  pp.  20-2:5.  Hue,  (Un-isiiHuHy  in  Chiiiu,  Chaj) 
II.  Pauthi.T's  )r,irro  Polo,  Chaps.  XLVIII.-L.  Yule,  Cothuy  and  the  Way 
7 hither,  \o\.  I.,  i)p.  174-1»:5. 


TRACES   OF   THE   NESTORlAN   MISSIONARIES.  287 

They  have  met  with  varied  success,  and  their  prudence  in  tlie 
choice  of  measures  and  zeal  in  the  work  of  evangelizing  have 
reflected  the  highest  credit  upon  them,  and  would  probably,  if 
their  object  had  simply  been  that  of  preaching  the  gospel,  have 
gradually  made  the  entire  mass  of  the  p()pulati<»n  acquainted 
with  the  leading  doctrines  of  Christianity.  The  history  of  their 
missions  is  voluminous,  and  the  principles  on  which  they  have 
been  conducted  can  be  learned  from  their  own  writings,  espe- 
cially the  Lettres  Edijiantes^  the  Annales  de  la  Foi,  and  in  the 
elaborate  works  of  Hue  and  Marshall  in  later  times.  The  pres- 
ent sketch  need  embrace  only  the  principal  points,  for  which  we 
shall  depend  chiefly  upon  those  writers  who  have  already  exam- 
ined these  sources. 

The  first  epoch  of  their  missions  in  China  is  the  thirteenth 
century.  Subsequent  to  the  mission  of  John  of  Piano  Carpini 
to  Kuyuk  khan  in  1246-47,  there  were  several  envoys  sent  by 
one  party  to  the  other  whose  intercourse  resulted  in  nothing 
permanent.  The  first  attempt  which  can  be  called  a  settled 
mission  was  that  of  John  of  Montecorvino,  from  Nicholas  T\., 
in  1288.  Corvino  arrived  in  India  in  1291,  and  after  preaching 
there  a  twelvemonth,  during  which  time  he  baptized  a  hundred 
persons,  he  joined  a  caravan  going  to  Catha}^  and  was  kindly 
received  by  Kublai  khan.  The  Nestorians  opposed  his  progress, 
and  for  eleven  years  he  carried  on  the  work  alone,  but  not  till 
the  latter  part  of  this  period  with  much  success.  He  built  a 
church  at  Cambaluc,  "  which  had  a  steeple  and  belfry  with 
three  bells  that  were  rung  every  hour  to  summon  the  new  eon- 
verts  to  prayer."  He  baptized  nearly  six  thousand  persons 
during  that  time,  "and  bought  one  hundred  and  fifty  children, 
whom  he  instructed  in  Greek  and  Latin  and  composed  for  them 
several  devotional  books." ' 

Clement  V.,  hearing  of  Corvino's  success,  appointed  him 
archbishop  in  1307  and  sent  him  seven  suffragan  bishops  as. 
assistants.  Two  letters  of  his  are  extant  in  which  he  gives  a 
pleasing  account  of  his  efforts  to  preach  the  gospel,  but  of  the 


'  Chinese  Bepositoi'y,  Vol.  III.,  p.  112;  Vol.  XIII.,  passim.     Lowrie,  Land 
of  Sinim. 


288  THE   MIDDLE   KIXGDOM. 

subsequent  success  of  the  endeavors  made  by  him  and  his  coad- 
jutors to  propagate  tlie  faith  there  are  only  imperfect  records. 
Corvino  was  ordei'ed  to  have  tlie  mysteries  of  tlie  Bible  repre- 
sented by  pictures  in  all  his  churches,  for  the  purpose  of  capti- 
vating the  eyes  of  the  barbarians.  He  died  in  1328,  when  about 
eighty  years  of  age,  "  after  having  converted  more  than  thirty 
thousand  iniidels."  One  of  the  accounts  relates  that  at  his 
funeral  "  all  the  inhabitants  of__Cambaluc,  \vithout  distinction, 
mourned  for  the  man  of  God,  and  both  Christians  and  pagans 
were  present  at  the  funeral  ceremony,  the  latter  rending  their 
garments  in  token  of  grief,  .  .  .  and  the  place  of  his 
burial  became  a  pilgrimage  to  which  the  inhabitants  of  Cam- 
baluc  resorted  with  pious  eagerness."  It  is  not  easy  to  estimate 
the  real  value  of  the  labors  of  this  priest  and  his  successors,  nor 
to  decide  how  much  better  they  were  than  those  of  the  Xestorians 
in  making  known  the  Cross  of  Christ  among  the  Mongols.  The 
short  record  preserved  of  Corvino  speaks  well  of  his  character 
and  favorably  of  the  toleration  granted  by  the  Mongols  to  his 
efforts  to  instruct  them.  It  is  affec^ting  to  hear  him  say,  "  It  is 
now  twelve  years  since  I.  have  heard  any  news  from  the  West. 
I  am  become  old  and  grayheaded,  but  it  is  rather  through  labors 
and  tribulations  than  through  age,  for  I  am  onlv  lifty-eight 
years  old.  I  have  learned  tlie  Tartar  language  and  literature, 
into  which  I  have  translated  the  whole  New  Testament  and  the 
Psalms  of  David,  and  liave  caused  them  to  be  transcribed  with 
the  utmost  care.  I  write  and  read  and  preach  openly  and  freely 
the  testimony  of  the  law  of  Christ." 

The  Pope  sent  Nicholas  to  succeed  Montecorvino  at  Peking, 
and  a  company  of  twenty-six  Franciscans  with  him,  but  no  au- 
thentic record  of  their  arrival  there  has  been  preserved.  In  1336 
the  last  Mongol  Emperoi-,  Shunti,  whose  reign  was  then  called 
Chiyuen,  sent  Andre,  a  Frank,  as  his  ambassador  to  the  Pope, 
to  whom  was  also  addressed  a  letter  from  the  Alain  Christians 
asking  for  a  bishop  to  take  Corvino's  place,  Nicholas  not  having 
then  reached  his  see.  Benedict  XII.  sent  four  nuncios,  one  of 
whom,  John  of  Florence,  returned  to  Europe  in  1353,  after 
residing  and  travelling  in  China  twelve  years,  bringing  friendly 
letters  from  the  Emperor  ^hunti.     At  this  period  there  was 


EOMAN   CATHOLIC    MISSIONS — MONTECORVINO.        289 

another  bishopric  among  tlie  Mongols  at  Ih',  or  Kuldja,  and  a 
letter  from  Pascal,  a  Spanish  friar,  dated  from  that  city  in  1338, 
lias  been  preserved.  It  would  seem  that  during  the  sway  of  the 
Mongol  princes  these  missionaries  carried  on  their  work  chiefly 
among  their  tribes.  It  is,  if  such  was  the  case,  less  surprising, 
therefore,  that  we  hear  nothing  of  them  and  their  converts  after 
the  Chinese  troops  had  expelled  Kublai's  weak  descendants  from 
the  country  in  1368,  since  they  would  naturally  follow  them 
into  Central  Asia.  After  the  final  establishment  of  the  Ming 
dynasty  almost  nothing  is  known  concerning  either  them  or  the 
Nestorians,  and  it  is  probable  that  during  the  wanderings  of  the 
defeated  Mongols  the  adherents  of  both  sects  gradually  lapsed 
into  ignorance  and  thence  easily  into  Mohammedanism  and 
Buddhism.  There  is  no  reasonable  doubt,  however,  that  during 
the  three  centuries  ending  with  the  accession  of  Hungwu,  the 
greater  part  of  Central  Asia  and  Northern  China  was  the  scene 
of  many  flourishing  Christian  communities. 

The  second  period  in  the  history  of  Romish  missions  in  China 
includes  a  space  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  years,  extending  from 
the  time  when  Matteo  Ricci  first  established  himself  at  Shan- 
king in  1582  to  the  death  of  the  Emperor  Ynngching  in  1736. 
Before  Ricci  entered  the  country  there  had  been  some  efforts 
made  to  revive  the  long-deferred  work  among  the  Chinese,  but 
the  Portuguese  and  Spanish  merchants  were  opposed  to  the  ex- 
tension of  a  faith  which  their  flagitious  conduct  so  outrageously 
belied.  The  Chinese  government  was  still  more  strongly  op- 
posed to  the  residence  of  the  foreign  missionaries.  Francis 
Xavier  started  from  Goa  in  1552  in  company  with  an  ambassa- 
dor to  China,  but  the  embassy  was  hindered  by  the  Governor  of 
Malacca,  who  detained  Pereyra  and  his  ship,  and  Xavier  was 
obliged  to  go  alone.  He  died,  however,  at  Shangchnen,  Sancian, 
or  St.  John's,  an  island  about  thirty  miles  south-west  of  Macao, 
disappointed  in  his  expectations  and  thwarted  in  his  plans  by 
the  untoward  opposition  of  his  countrymen.  Other  attempts 
were  made  to  accomplish  this  design,  but  it  was  reserved  for 
the  Jesuits  to  carry  it  into  effect.  Valignani,  the  Superior  of 
their  missions  in  the  East,  selected  Michael  Ruggiero,  or  Roger, 
for  this  enterprise.  He  arrived  at  Macao  in  1580  and  com- 
VoL.  II.— 19 


290  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

menced  the  study  of  the  language.  Soon  after  he  was  joined 
by  Matthew  Ricci,  and  aftgr  a  series  of  efforts  and  disappoint- 
ments they  succeeded,  in  1582,  in  obtaining  lodgment  at  IShau- 
king,  then  the  residence  of  the  Governor  of  Kwangtung.  He 
granted  them  permission  to  build  a  house  there,  as  they  had 
told  him  that  "  they  had  at  last  ascertained  with  their  own  eyes 
that  the  Celestial  Empire  was  even  superior  to  its  brilliant 
renown.  They  therefore  desired  to  end  their  days  in  it,  and 
wished  to  obtain  a  little  land  to  construct  a  house  and  a  church 
where  they  might  pass  their  time  in  prayer  and  study,  in 
solitude  and  meditation,  which  they  could  not  do  at  Macao  on 
account  of  the  tumult  and  bustle  which  the  perpetual  activity 
of  commerce  occasioned."  A  beginning  like  this  indicated  the 
policy  which  has  marked  the  progress  of  their  work  during  the 
thi'ee  centuries  now  passed.  Xothing  is  said  of  making  known 
Christ  and  him  crucified  as  the  great  theme  of  their  preaching. 
Hue  tells  us,  too,  that  they  took  down  the  picture  of  the  Vir- 
gin, because  "  the  report  had  been  spread  that  the  strangers 
worshipped  a  woman,"  and  replaced  it  by  an  image  of  the 
Saviour;  and  in  this  also  they  set  the  example,  which  successive 
ages  have  strengthened,  of  upholding  the  native  idolatry.  In 
their  intercourse  with  the  people  of  all  classes  they  won  good 
opinions  by  their  courtesy,  presents,  and  scientific  attainments, 
and  Hue  sums  up  their  principles  in  his  approving  remark, 
"they  thought  justly  that  the  philosopher  would  make  more 
impression  than  the  priest  upon  minds  so  sceptic  and  so  imbued 
with  literary  conceit."  The  appointed  means  given  by  the 
Founder  of  Christianity  for  its  propagation  are  never  mentioned 
as  their  guide  and  authority,  and  the  building  corresponds  to 
the  foundations  laid. 

In  151)-i  Yalignani  advised  Ricci  and  his  associates  to  ex- 
change their  garb  of  Buddhist  priests  for  the  nu)re  respected 
dress  of  the  literati ;  and  soon  after  he  set  out  from  Shauchau,  in 
the  north  of  Kwangtung,  for  Tsanchang,  the  capital  of  Kiangsi, 
and  thence  made  his  way  to  Nanking,  still  a  place  of  great 
importance,  althougli  not  the  capital  of  the  Empire.  He  was 
directed  to  depart,  and  returned  to  Nanchang,  where  he  was 
permitted  to  lay  the  foundation  of  a  religious  institution  and 


FATTTEK   MATTEO    RICCI.  291 

establish  his  associates,  lie  tlien  left  again  for  ^Nanking,  but 
finding  many  obstacles  proceeded  to  Suchau,  the  capital  of 
Kiangnan,  and  there,  too,  established  a  school.  The  times  be- 
coming favorable,  he  appeared  a  third  time  at  Xanking,  in  1598, 
where  he  was  received  with  amity,  frankness,  and  good  breeding, 
and  his  lectures  on  the  exact  sciences  listened  to  with  rapture.  The 
progress  of  the  mission  had  been  so  considerable  that  Valignani 
had  appointed  Ricci  its  Su])erior-General,  which  gave  him  power 
to  regulate  its  internal  concerns,  for  which  he  was  well  fitted. 

An  officer  whom  he  had  known  in  Shauchau,  and  who  had  been 
appointed  President  of  the  Board  of  Civil  Office,  was  induced  to 
take  him  to  Peking  on  his  return  there  from  a  mission  to  Hai- 
nan ;  but  opposition  arising  this  friend,  Kwang,  advised  him 
to  return  M'ith  him  to  Nanking,  as  tlie  officials  at  the  capital 
were  much  disappointed  to  find  that  he  knew  nothing  about 
making  silver  and  gold,  which  w^as  wanted  to  pay  for  the  ex- 
pedition to  Japan.  After  Kwang's  departure  he  and  his  col- 
league, Cataneo,  found  themselves  nearly  penniless,  and  he  de- 
cided to  return  south,  although  it  was  wintei*.  lie  reached 
Suchau  in  a  very  weak  condition,  but,  having  recovered,  went 
to  Xanking  in  1599,  where  the  high  provincial  authorities  vis- 
ited and  aided  him,  heard  his  discourses  on  astronomy,  and 
enabled  him  to  get  a  house. 

Everything  progressed  favorably,  and  Cataneo  had  returned 
from  Macao  with  funds  and  presents.  Eicci  availed  himself 
of  a  timely  proposal  from  a  eunuch  to  go  with  him  to  Peking, 
and  started  in  a  junk  with  his  presents.  The  eunuch,  however, 
wished  to  keep  the  latter,  and  by  misrepresentations  contrived 
to  detain  Ricci  and  his  companion,  Pantoja,  at  Tientsin  for  six 
months,  at  the  end  of  which  the  villany  was  exposed,  and  the 
foreigners  invited  to  court  by  imperial  orders.  They  reached 
Peking  January  4,  1601,  twenty-one  years  after  Ricci  landed 
in  Macao.  The  pleasing  manners  and  extensive  acquirements 
of  Picci,  joined  to  a  distribution  of  presents,  gained  him  the 
favor  of  men  in  authority.  He  soon  numbered  some  of  them 
among  his  adherents,  among  whom  Sii,  baptized  Paul,  was  one 
of  his  earliest  and  most  efficient  co-operators,  and  assisted  him 
in  translating  Euclid. 


292  THE   MIDDLE   KIXGDOM. 

Tlie  Emperor  AVanleih  received  liini  with  kinJnos?,  and  al- 
lowed him  and  Pantoja  to  be  accommodated  at  the  phvce  where 
foreign  envoys  usually  remained  ;  he  subsequently  permitted 
them  to  hire  a  house,  and  assigned  them  a  stipend.  In  the 
meantime  other  Jesuits  joined  him  at  Peking,  and  were  also 
settled  in  all  the  intermediate  stations,  where  they  carried  on 
the  work  of  their  missions  under  his  direction  with  success  and 
favor.  Paul  Sii  and  his  widowed  daughter,  M'ho  took  the  bap- 
tismal name  of  Candida,  proved  efficient  supporters  of  the  new 
faith.  The  new  religion  encountered  many  obstacles,  and  the 
officers  who  saw  its  progress  felt  the  necessity  of  checking  its 
growth  before  it  got  strength  to  set  at  naught  the  commands 
of  government.  Much  excitement  arose  in  1005  between  the 
Portuguese  and  the  officials  at  Canton  in  consequence  of  a 
rumor  of  the  former  going  to  attack  the  city ;  and  it  was  car- 
ried to  such  a  height  that  the  latter  seized  a  convert  named 
Martinez  and  punished  him  so  severely  that  he  died.  A  de- 
cree in  1617  ordered  the  missionaries  to  dejiart  from  court  to 
Canton,  there  to  embark  for  Euro2)e,  but,  like  many  others  of 
the  same  import  subsequently  issued,  it  received  just  as  much 

v_5>bedience  as  they  thought  expedient  to  give  it — and  properly 
too  ;  for  if  they  were  not  disturbers  of  the  peace  or  seditious, 
they  ought  not  to  be  sent  out  of  the  country.  This  edict  hin- 
dered their  work  only  partially,  and  such  Avas  their  diligence 

•  that  by  the  year  163(3  they  had  published  no  fewer  than  three 
hundred  and  forty  treatises,  some  of  them  religious,  but  mostly 
on  natural  philosophy  and  mathematics.  Ilicci  formulated  a  set 
of  rules  for  their  guidance,  in  Avhicli  he  allowed  the  converts  to 
practise  the  rites  of  ancestral  worship,  because  he  considered 
them  purely  civil  in  their  luiture.  The  matter  subsequently 
became  a  bone  of  contention  between  the  Jesuits  and  Francis- 
cans. 

The  talented  founder  of  these  missions  died  in  1G1(»,  at  the 
age  of  tifty-eight,  and  for  skill,  perseverance,  learning,  and 
tact,  his  name  deservedly  stands  highest  among  their  mission- 
aries. His  withholding  the  l)ible  fi'om  the  Chinese,  and  sub- 
stitution of  image  worship,  ritualism,  and  ])riestly  ordinances 
for  the  pure  truths  of  the  gospel,  have  been  maintained  by  his 


M\S    LI  IF,    AND    ClIAHACTKR.  293 

successors,  for  tliey  are  essential  features  of  the  churcli  which 
sent  them  forth.  He  lias  been  extolled  by  the  Jesuits  as  a  man 
possessed  of  every  virtue.  Another  writer  of  the  same  church 
gives  liim  the  following  character :  "  Ricci  was  active,  skilful, 
full  of  schemes,  and  endowed  with  all  the  talents  necessary  to 
render  him  agreeal)le  to  the  great  or  to  gain  the  favor  of 
princes  ;  but  at  the  same  time  so  little  versed  in  matters  of 
faith  that,  as  the  Bishop  of  Conon  said,  it  was  sufficient  to  read 
his  work  on  the  time  religion  to  be  satistied  that  he  was  igno- 
rant of  the  first  principles  of  theology.  Eeiiig  more  a  politi- 
cian than  a  theologian,  he  discovered  the  secret  of  remaining 
peacefully  in  China.  The  kings  found  in  him  a  man  full  of 
complaisance  ;  the  pagans  a  minister  who  accommodated  him- 
self to  their  superstitions ;  the  mandarins  a  polite  courtier 
skilled  in  all  the  trickery  of  courts  ;  and  the  devil  a  faithful 
servant,  who,  far  from  destroying,  established  his  reign  among 
the  heathen,  and  even  extended  it  to  the  Christians.  lie 
preached  in  China  the  religion  of  Christ  according  to  his  own 
fancy ;  that  is  to  say,  he  disfigured  it  by  a  faithful  mixture  of 
pagan  superstitions,  adopting  the  sacrifices  offered  to  Confucius 
and  ancestors,  and  teaching  the  Christians  to  assist  and  co- 
operate at  the  worship  of  idols,  provided  they  only  addressed 
their  devotions  to  a  cross  covered  with  flowers,  or  secretly  at- 
tached to  one  of  the  candles  which  were  lighted  in  the  temples 
of  the  false  gods." '  His  work  was  described  by  Trigault  in 
1616,  w'hen  full  materials  were  accessible,  so  that  his  actions 
and  motives  are  known  more  fully  than  many  who  have  come 
after  him. 

After  his  death  his  place  was  filled  by  Longobardi,  whose 
experience,  learning,  and  judgment  well  fitted  him  for  the 
post.  The  efforts  of  many  enemies  caused  a  reaction  in  1616, 
and  an  edict  was  issued  ordering  all  missionaries  to  leave  the 
country  ;  but  they  w'ere  sheltered  b}^  their  converts,  especially 
through  the  exertions  of  Sii,  who  in  1622  obtained  the  reversal 
of  the  edict  of  expulsion,  and   thereby  caused  the  persecution 


'  Anecdotes  de  la  Chine,  Tome  I.,  Pref.  vi,  vii.     Hue,  Christianity  in  China^ 
Vol.  II.,  Chaps.  II.  toV.     Remusat,  Kouceaux  MelaiKjcs,  Tome  II.,  p.  207. 


204  THE   MIDDLE   KITfGDOM. 

to  cease.'  The  talents  and  learning  of  Schaal,  a  German 
Jesuit,  who  was  recommended  by  Sii  to  the  Emperor's  regard 
in  162S,  soon  placed  him  at  the  head  of  all  his  brethren  and 
ranked  him  among  the  most  distinguished  men  in  the  Empire. 
The  Dominicans  and  Franciscans  also  flocked  to  the  land 
which  had  thus  been  opened  by  the  Jesuits,  but  they  were  not 
welcomed  by  those  who  wished  to  build  up  their  own  power. 
After  the  death  of  Wanleih,  in  1620,  and  those  converts 
within  the  palace  who  had  favored  the  cause,  new  influences 
against  it  arose,  and  during  the  short  reign  of  his  young  grand- 
son, Tienlii,  troubles  increased.  Amid  the  breaking  up  of 
the  Ming  dynasty  and  the  establishment  of  the  present  family 
on  the  throne  (1630-1660),  the  missions  suffered  much,  their 
spiritual  guides  retired  to  places  of  safety  from  the  molestations 
of  soldiers  and  banditti,  and  converts  were  necessarily  left 
without  instruction.  The  missionaries  in  the  north  sided  with 
the  Manchus,  and  Schaal  became  a  favorite  with  the  new  mon- 
arch and  his  advisers,  by  whom  he  was  appointed  to  reform 
the  calendar.  lie  succeeded  in  showing  the  incompetency  of 
the  persons  who  had  the  supervision  of  it,  and  after  its  revision 
was  appointed  president  of  the  Kin  Tien  Kien,  an  astronomical 
board  established  for  this  object,  and  invested  with  the  insignia 
and  emoluments  of  a  grandee  of  the  first  class.  He  employed 
his  influence  and  means  in  securing  the  admission  of  other 
missionaries,  and  to  build  two  churches  in  the  capital  and 
repair  many  of  those  which  had  fallen  to  decay  in  the 
provinces. 

The  exertions  of  the  native  converts  did  nuich  to  advance 
the  cause  of  religion,  and  the  baptismal  names  of  Leon,  Michel, 
etc.,  have  been  preserved  among  these  early  confessors  ;  but 
none  are  more  famous  than  Sii  and  his  daughter,  Candida.  He 
gave  his  influence  in  its  favor  and  his  property  to  assist  in 
building  churches,  while  his  revision  of  their  Avritings  made 
them  acceptable  to  fastidious  scholars.  His  daughter  also  spent 
her  life  in  good  works.  According  to  Du  TIalde,  she  exhibited 
the  sincerity  of  her  profession  by  building  thirty-nine  churches 

'Sii's  Apology  is  given  in  full  in  the  CMnese  Repository ^  Vol.  XIX.,  p.  118. 


LABORS    OF   MISSIONARIES   AND   CONVERTS.  295 

in  different  provinces,  and  printing  one  liundred  and  thirty 
Christian  books  for  tlie  instruction  of  her  countrymen.  Hav- 
ing hearcl  that  the  pagans  in  several  of  the  provinces  were 
accustomed  to  abandon  their  cliildren  as  soon  as  born,  she  estab- 
lished a  foundling  hospital  ;  and  seeing  many  blind  people 
telling  idle  stories  in  the  streets  for  the  sake  of  gain,  she  got 
them  instructed  and  sent  fortli  to  relate  the  different  events  of 
the  gospel  history.  A  few  years  before  her  death  the  Em- 
peror conferred  on  her  the  title  of  shojin,  or  'virtuous  woman,' 
and  sent  her  a  magnificent  habit  and  head-dress  adorned  with 
pearls,  which  it  is  said  she  gradually  sold,  expending  the  pro- 
ceeds in  benevolent  works.  She  received  the  last  sacrament 
with  a  lively  faith  of  being  united  to  that  God  whom  she  .had  so 
zealously  loved  and  served.  She  and  her  father  have  since 
been  deified  by  the  people,  and  are  worshipped  now  at  Shang- 
hai for  their  good  deeds.  The  large  mission  establishment  at 
Sikawe  (properly  Su  ITia-wei,  or  the  '  Sii  Family  Hamlet '),  situ- 
ated near  that  city,  under  the  care  of  the  Roman  Catholics,  now 
covers  the  same  ground  once  owned  by  this  eminent  man.  Can- 
dida's example  was  emulated  by  another  lady  of  high  connec- 
tions, named  Agatha,  who  was  zealous  in  carrying  on  the  same 
works.  We  can  but  hope  that  although  the  worship  of  these 
converts  was  mixed  with  much  error,  and  Mary,  Ignatius,  and 
others  received  their  homage  as  well  as  Christ,  their  faith  was 
genuine  and  their  works  done  by  an  actuating  spirit  of  humble 
love.' 

The  Romish  missionaries  had  friends  among  the  high  fami- 
lies in  the  land  during  the  first  hundred  years  of  their  labors, 
besides  converts  of  both  sexes.  Few  missions  in  pagan  countries 
have  been  more  favored  with  zealous  converts,  or  tlieir  mission- 
aries more  aided  and  countenanced  hy  rich  and  noble  support- 
ers, than  the  early  papal  missions  to  China.  Le  Comte  speaks 
of  the  high  favor  enjoyed  by  all  the  laborers  in  this  work 
through  the  reputation  and  influence  of  Scliaal  at  court.  One 
of  those  who  obtained  celebrity  was  Faber,  whose  efforts  in 
Shensi  were  attended  with  great  success,  and  who  wrought  many 

'  Medhurst's  China,  p.  188.    Du  Halde's  China,  Vol.  II.,  p.  8. 


296  TiiK  :^[ir)DLK  kixgdom. 

miracles  during  liis  ministry  in  tliat  province.  Among  otliera 
lie  mentions  that  "  the  town  of  Hang  ching  was  at  a  certain 
time  overrun  with  a  prodigious  multitude  of  locusts,  which  ate 
up  all  the  leaves  of  the  trees  and  gnawed  the  grass  to  the  very 
I'oots,  The  inhabitants,  after  exhausting  all  the  resources  of 
their  own  superstitions  and  charms,  applied  to  Faber,  who 
promised  to  deliver  them  from  the  2)lague  provided  they  would 
become  Christians.  When  they  consented  he  marched  in  cere- 
mony into  the  highways  in  his  stole  and  surplice,  and  sprinkled 
up  and  down  the  holy  water,  accompanying  this  action  with  the 
prayers  of  the  church,  but  especially  with  a  lively  faith.  God 
heard  the  voice  of  his  servant,  and  the  next  day  all  the  insects 
disappeared.  But  the  people  refused  to  perform  their  promise, 
and  the  plague  grew  worse  than  before.  AVitli  much  contrition 
they  came  to  the  father,  confessing  their  fault  and  entreating 
his  renewed  interposition  ;  again  he  sprinkled  the  holy  water, 
and  the  insects  a  second  time  disappeared.  Then  the  Avhole 
borough  was  converted,  and  many  years  afterward  was  reckoned 
one  of  the  devoutest  missions  in  China.  His  biographer  men- 
tions that  Falser  was  carried  over  rivers  through  the  air  ;  he 
foretold  his  own  death,  and  did  several  other  such  wonders ; 
but  the  greatest  mii-acle  of  all  was  his  life,  which  he  spent  in 
the  continual  exercise  of  all  the  apostolical  virtues  and  a  tender 
devotion  to  the  mother  of  God." 

The  increase  of  churches  and  converts  in  the  northern  prov- 
inces was  rapid  during  the  reign  of  Shunchi,  but  the  southern 
parts  of  the  Empire  not  being  completely  subdued,  the  claim- 
ant to  the  throne  of  Ming  w^as  favored  by  the  missionaries  there, 
and  his  troops  led  on  by  two  Christian  Chinese  otRcers,  called 
Thomas  Kiu  and  Luke  Chin.  His  mother,  wife,  and  son  were 
baptized  with  the  names  of  Helena,  Maria,  and  Constantine, 
and  the  former  wrote  a  letter  to  Pope  Alexander  VH.,  ex- 
pressing her  attachment  to  the  cause  of  Christianity,  and  wish- 
ing to  put  the  country  through  him  under  the  protection  of  God. 
He  kindly  answered  her,  but  the  expectations  of  the  llomanists 
were  disappointed  by  the  death  of  Tunglieh,  the  Emperor. 

During  the  reign  of  Shunchi  Schaal  and  his  coadjutors  stood 
high  at  Peking,  and  missions  prospered  in  the  provinces ;  but 


THE   JESUIT    FATHER    ADAM   SOHAAL.  297 

on  the  Emperor's  deatli  tlie  administration  fell  into  the  hands 
of  four  regents,  and  as  they  were  known  to  be  opposed  to  the 
new  sect,  a  memorial  was  sent  to  court  setting  forth  the  evils 
likely  to  arise  if  it  was  not  repressed.  It  should  be  mentioned 
that  several  monks  of  the  Dominican  and  Franciscan  orders, 
especially  of  Fuhkien  province,  where  Capellas,  a  Spaniard,  had 
been  martyred  in  1648,  had  i-esumed  the  labors  of  Archbishop 
John  of  Montecorvino  at  Peking,  more  than  thirty  years 
before  this  date.  "  Their  presence  had  been  resisted  by  the 
Jesuits  [so  ran  the  memorial],  and  the  strifes  between  these  or- 
ders about  the  meaning  and  worship  of  tien  and  shanfjti  (words 
used  for  the  Supreme  Being)  revealed  the  important  secret  that 
the  principles  of  the  new  doctrine  were  made  to  subserve  the  pur- 
poses of  those  who  were  aspiring  to  influence.  It  was  remem- 
bered also  that  while  the  Catholics  continued  in  Japan,  nothing 
but  intrigue,  schism,  and  civil  war  was  heard  of,  calamities  that 
might  sooner  or  later  befal  China  if  the  criminal  eagerness  of 
the  missionaries  in  enlisting  people  of  all  classes  was  not  checked. 
The  members  of  the  different  orders  wore  distinctive  badges  of 
medals,  rosaries,  crosses,  etc.,  and  were  always  ready  to  obey  the 
calls  of  their  chiefs,  who  could  have  no  scruple  to  lead  them  on 
to  action  the  moment  a  probability  of  success  in  subverting  the 
existing  political  order  and  the  ancient  worship  of  China  should 
offer."  The  regents  took  the  memorial  into  consideration,  and 
in  1665  the  tribunals  under  their  direction  decreed  that "  Schaal 
and  his  associates  merited  tlie  punishment  of  seducers,  who  an- 
nounce to  the  people  a. false  and  pernicious  doctrine." 

Notwithstanding  the  honora])le  position  Schaal  held  as  tutor 
of  the  young  Emperor  Kanghi,  he  was  proscril)ed  and  degraded 
with  several  high  officers  who  had  been  baptized.  Some  of  them 
perished,  Schaal  himself  dying  of  grief  and  suffering  August 
16th  of  the  same  year,  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight,  having  been 
thirty-seven  years  in  imperial  employ,  under  five  monai-chs. 
Verbiest  and  others  were  imprisoned,  one  of  whom  died ;  and 
twenty-one  Jesuits,  with  some  of  other  sects,  were  sent  out  of  the 
country.  Magaillans  says  he  himself  was  "  loaden  for  four  whole 
months  together  with  nine  chains,  three  about  his  neck,  his  arms^ 
and  his  legs  ;  he  was  also  condenmed  to  have  foi-ty  lashes,  and 


298  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

to  be  banished  out  of  Tartaiy  as  long  as  he  lived.  But  a  great 
earthquake  that  happened  at  that  time  at  Peking  delivered  both 
him  and  the  rest  of  his  companions.'"  '  Their  relief,  however, 
was  probably  owing  more  to  the  favor  of  Kanghi  on  taking  the 
reins  of  government  in  1671  than  to  the  earthquake ;  he  soon 
released  Verbiest  to  appoint  him  astronomer,  and  allowed  the 
missionaries  to  return  to  their  stations,  though  he  forbade  his 
subjects  embracing  Christianity.  This  favorable  change  is  partly 
ascribed,  too,  to  the  errors  Verbiest  pointed  out  in  the  calendar, 
which  showed  an  utter  ignorance  of  the  commonest  principles 
of  astronomy  On  the  part  of  those  who  prepared  it.  An  inter- 
calary month  had  been  erroneously  introduced,  and  the  unfor- 
tunate astronomers  wei'e  made  to  exchange  places  with  the 
imprisoned  missionaries,  while  their  intercalary  month  was 
discarded  and  the  year  shortened,  to  the  astonishment  of  the 
common  people.  It  may  reasonably  be  doubted  whether  the 
priest  acted  with  sagacity  and  prudence  in  thus  exasperating 
those  in  high  places  by  this  public  ridicule  of  their  incompetency. 
Verbiest  also  prepared  an  astronomical  work  entitled  "  The 
Perpetual  Astronomy  of  the  Emperor  Kanghi,"  which  he  gra- 
ciously received  and  conferred  the  title  of  tajln,  or  '  magnate,'  on 
him,  and  ennobled  all  his  kindred.  "  He  had  no  relatives  in  China, 
but  as  the  Jesuits  called  each  other  brother,  they  did  not  hesitate 
to  use  the  same  title.  Tiio  gi-eatest  part  of  the  religious  caused 
it  to  be  inscribed  on  the  doors  of  their  houses.*"' 

The  favor  of  the  Empei-or  continued,  and  the  missionaries  re- 
(piited  his  kindness  with  many  signal  services,  besides  those  of 
a  literaiy  and  ustron(Mnicul  nature,  among  which  was  casting 
camion  for  his  army.  In  1636  Scliaal  had  made  a  mimber  for 
Tsungching,  and  Verbiest,  his  successor,  cast  several  hundreds  in 
all  for  the  Emperor  Kanghi.  On  one  occasion,  in  1680,  the  })ieces, 
three  hundred  and  twenty  of  all  sizes,  were  to  be  tested  in  the 
presence  of  the  coui't;  but  before  doing  so  Verbiest  "  had  an  altar 
prepared  on  which  he  placed  a  cross.  Then,  clothed  in  his  surplice 
and  stole,  he  worshipped  the  true  (Jod,  prostrating  himself  nine 
times,  and  striking  the  earth  nine  times  with  his  forehead,  in 

'  Magaillans'  C'hiinf,  p.  147.      Chinese  Itepository,  Vol.  I.,  p.  434. 


QUESTION    OF   THE   KITES.  299 

the  Chinese  manner  of  expressing  adoration  ;  and  after  that  he 
read  the  prayers  of  the  church  and  sprinkled  the  cannon  with 
holy  water,  having  bestowed  on  each  of  them  the  name  of  a  fe- 
male saint,  which  he  had  himself  drawn  on  the  breech."  '  Some 
of  the  high  othcers  were  still  opposed  to  the  toleration  of 
foreign  priests,  and  the  Governor  of  Chehkiang  undertook  to 
cany  into  effect  the  laws  against  their  admission  into  the  country 
and  their  proselyting  labors  ;  but  Verbicst,  on  informing  the  Em- 
peror of  their  character  as  excellent  mathematicians  and  scholars, 
obtained  their  liberation.  Ko  foreigner  has  ever  enjoyed  so 
great  favor  and  confidenee  from  the  inilers  of  China  as  this  able 
priest.  lie  seems  indeed  to  have  deserved  this  for  his  diligence, 
knowledge,  and  purity  of  conduct  in  devoting  all  his  energies 
and  opportunities  to  their  good.  His  residence  of  thirty  years 
at  Peking  (1G5S-1G8S)  was  passed  under  the  eyes  of  suspicious 
observers ;  but  his  modesty  in  the  end  won  their  confidence  as 
his  writings  and  devotions  called  forth  their  approval. 

During  all  this  time — or  at  least  since  the  other  sects  came  to 
assist  in  the  work — there  had  been  constant  disputes,  as  has  al- 
ready been  intimated,  between  the  disciples  of  Loyola,  Dominic, 
and  Francis,  excited  probably  by  rivalry,  but  ostensibly  relating 
to  the  rites  paid  to  deceased  ancestors  and  to  Confucius.  Ricci 
had  drawn  up  rules  for  the  regulation  of  the  Jesuits,  in  which 
he  considered  these  customs  to  be  merely  civil  and  secular,  and 
such  as  might  l)e  tolerated  in  their  converts.  Morales,  a  Spanish 
Dominican,  however,  opposed  this  view,  declaring  them  to  be 
idolatrous  and  sinful,  and  they  were  condemned  as  such  by  the 
Propaganda,  which  sentence  was  confirmed  by  Innocent  X.  in 
1645.  This  decree  of  the  see  at  Home  gave  the  Jesuits  some 
annoyance,  and  they  set  themselves  at  work  to  procure  its  re- 
vision. Martinez  was  sent  to  Home  as  their  principal  agent  in 
this,  and  by  nuiny  explanations  and  testimonials  proved  to  the 
satisfaction  of  the  tril)unal  of  inquisitors  their  civil  nature,  and 
Alexander  Yll.,  in  1050,  approved  this  opinion.  There  were 
thus  two  infallible  decrees  nearly  opposed  to  each  other,  for 
Alexander  took  care  not  to  directly  contradict  the  bull  of  Inno- 

'Hue,  Christianity  in  Cliina,  Vol.  III.,  p,  81. 


SOO  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

cent,  and  worded  his  decision  so  that  botli  claimed  it.  When 
all  the  missionaries  were  imprisoned  or  sent  to  Canton,  a  good 
opportunity  offered  for  mutual  consultation  and  decision  upon 
these  and  other  points.  Twenty-three  priests  met  in  the  Jesuit 
seminary  at  Canton  in  1665,  and  drew  up  forty-two  articles  to 
serve  hereafter  for  rules  of  conduct,  all  of  which  were  unani- 
mously adopted.  The  one  relating  to  the  ceremonies  was  as 
follows : 

In  respect  to  the  customs  by  whicli  the  Chinese  worship  Confucius  and 
the  deceased,  the  answer  of  the  congregation  of  tlie  universal  Inquisition, 
sanctioned  in  1(556  by  his  Holiness  Alexander  VII.,  shall  be  invariably  fol- 
lowed :  for  it  is  founded  upon  the  most  probable  opinion,  without  any  evident 
proof  to  the  contrary  ;  and  this  probability  being  admitted,  the  door  of  salva- 
tion must  not  be  shut  against  innumerable  Chinese,  who  would  abandon  our 
Christian  religion  were  they  forbidden  to  attend  to  those  things  that  they  may 
lawfully  and  without  injury  to  their  faith  attend  to,  and  forced  to  give  up 
what  cannot  be  abandoned  without  serious  consequences. 

One  member  of  this  meeting,  the  Dominican  Navarette,  soon 
expressed  his  dissent,  and  the  dispute  was  renewed  as  virulently 
as  ever.  The  opponents  of  the  Jesuits  complained  that  they 
taught  their  converts  that  there  was  but  little  difference  gener- 
allj^  between  Christianity  and  their  own  belief,  and  allowed 
them  to  retain  their  old  superstitions ;  they  were  chai'ged,  more- 
over, with  luxurj^  and  ambition,  and  neglecting  the  duties  of 
their  ministry  that  they  might  meddle  in  the  affaii's  of  State. 
These  allegations  were  rebutted  l)y  the  Jesuits,  though  it  ap- 
pears from  Mosheim  that  some  of  them  partially  acknowledged 
their  ti'uth.  In  1098  Maigrot,  a  bishoj)  and  apostolic  vicar  liv- 
ing in  China,  issued  a  mandate  on  his  own  authority  diametri- 
cally opposed  to  the  decision  of  the  Inquisition  and  the  Pope, 
in  which  he  declared  that  tten  signified  nothing  niore  than  the 
material  heavens,  and  that  the  Chinese  customs  and  I'ites  were 
idolatrous.  In  1699  the  Jesuits  l)r()ught  the  matter  before  the 
Empei'or  in  the  folhnving  memorial  : 

We,  your  faithful  subjects,  although  originally  from  distant  countries,  re- 
spectfully supi)licate  your  Majesty  to  give  us  clear  instructions  on  the  follow- 
ing points.  The  scholars  of  Euro])e  have  understood  that  the  Chinese  practise 
certain  ceremonies  in  honor  of  Confucius,  that  they  o!Ter  sacrifices  to  heaven, 
and  that  tlicy  oliserve  peculiar  rites  toward   their  ancestors  ;   but  persuaded 


POPE   CLEMENT   XI.   AXD    KANGHI.  301 

that  these  ceremonies,  sacrifices,  and  rites  are  founded  in  reason,  though  igno- 
rant of  their  true  intention,  earnestly  desire  us  to  inform  them.  We  have 
always  supposed  that  Confucius  was  honored  in  China  as  a  legislator,  and  that 
it  was  in  this  character  alone,  and  with  this  view  solely,  tliat  th(j  ceremonies 
established  in  his  honor  were  practised.  We  believe  that  the  ancestral  rites 
are  only  observed  in  order  to  exhibit  tlie  love  felt  for  them,  and  to  hallow  tlie 
remembrance  of  the  good  receive<l  from  them  during  their  life.  We  believe 
that  the  sacririces  offered  to  heaven  are  not  tendered  to  the  visible  heavens 
which  are  seen  above  us,  but  to  the  Supreme  Master,  Author,  and  Preserver  of 
heaven  and  earth,  and  of  all  they  contain.  Such  are  the  interpretation  and 
the  sense  which  we  liave  always  given  to  these  Chinese  ceremonies  ;  but  as 
strangers  cannot  be  considered  competent  to  pronounce  on  these  'mportant 
points  with  the  same  certainty  as  the  Chinese  themselves,  we  presume  to  re- 
quest your  Majesty  not  to  refuse  to  give  us  the  explanations  which  we  desire 
concerning  them.     We  wait  for  them  with  respect  and  submission.' 

The  Emperor's  reply  in  1700  to  this  petition,  and  another 
one  presented  to  him,  was  sent  to  the  Pope  ;  in  it  he  decLared 
that  "  tien  means  the  true  God,  and  that  tlie  customs  of  China 
are  political."  The  enemies  of  the  Jesuits  say  that  they  "  con- 
firmed the  sentiments  expressed  in  the  imperial  rescript  by  the 
oaths  which  they  exacted  from  a  multitude  of  Chinese,  among 
whom  were  many  from  the  lowest  classes,  not  only  entirely 
ignoi-ant  of  the  meaning  of  many  characters  in  their  own 
language,  but  even  of  Christian  doctrine."  The  strongest  efforts 
were  made  by  both  parties  to  influence  the  decision  of  the  Pope, 
but  the  Jesuits  failed.  In  1701:  a  decree  of  Clement  XI.  con- 
firmed the  decision  of  Bishop  Maigrot.  It  had  been  reached 
after  careful  and  candid  "examination,  and  was  substantially  as 
follows:  "  As  the  true  God  cannot  conveniently  be  named  in 
the  Chinese  language  with  European  words,  we  must  employ  the 
words  Tien  Chu,  i.e.,  '  Lord  of  Heaven,'  in  use  for  a  long  time 
in  China,  and  approved  by  both  missionaries  and  their  converts. 
AVe  must,  on  the  contrary,  absolutely  reject  the  aj^pellation  of 
Tien  (Heaven)  and  Shangtl  (August  Emperor) ;  and  for  this 
reason  it  must  on  no  accoimt  be  permitted  that  tablets  shall  be 
suspended  in  churches  with  the  inscription  King  Tien  (Adore 
Heaven)."  The  court  of  the  Vatican  had  already  dispatched  a 
legate  d  latere  and  apostolic  visitor  to  China  in   the  person  of 

'  Life  of  Saint-Manin,  p.  292. 


302  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

Tounion,  who  was  consecrated  Patriarch  of  Antioch  in  order  to 
give  him  a  title  of  sufficient  dignity  in  the  distant  regions  to 
which  he  was  bound. 

The  legate  landed  at  Macao  in  April,  17(>5,  and  was  received 
with  a  show  of  honor  by  the  governor  and  bishop.  He  arrived  at 
Peking  in  December,  but  the  Jesuits  had  already  prejudiced  the 
Emperor  against  him,  and  at  an  audience  accorded  to  him  in 
June,  1706,  the  former  brought  forward  the  subject  to  learn  the 
legate's  views.  After  some  delay,  however,  the  patriarch  issued 
the  Pope's  mandate,  which  was  contrary  to  the  monarch's  de- 
cision. Kanghi  was  not  the  num  who  would  transfer  to  a  pope 
the  right  of  legislating  over  his  own  subjects,  and  in  December, 
1706,  he  decreed  that  he  would  countenance  those  missionaries 
who  preached  the  doctrines  of  Ricci,  but  persecute  those  who 
followed  the  opinion  of  Maigrot.  Examiners  were  a])pointed 
for  ascertaining  their  sentiments,  but  Tournon,  who  had  been 
banished  to  Macao,  forbade  the  missionaries,  under  ])ain  of  ex- 
communication, holding  any  discussion  on  these  points  with  the 
examiners.  The  Bishop  of  Macao  conlined  the  legate  in  a  pri- 
vate house,  and  M-hen  he  used  his  ecclesiastical  authority  and 
powers  against  his  enemies,  stuck  up  a  monitory  on  the  very 
door  of  his  residence,  exhorting  him  to  revoke  his  censures 
within  tliree  days  midcr  pain  of  excommunication,  and  exhibit 
proofs  of  his  legation  to  his  diocesan.  This  was  re-echoed  from 
Tournon  by  a  still  severer  sentence  against  the  bishop.  Three 
new  missionaries  reached  Macao  at  this  jun(;ture  in  January, 
1710,  and  one  of  them,  l*cre  Ilipa,  gives  an  account  of  a  noc- 
turnal visit  they  paid  the  legate  in  his  })rison  after  eluding  the 
vigilance  of  his  guards.  Ripa  renuirks  that  about  forty  mis- 
sionaries of  different  religious  orders  were  confined  with  Tour- 
non, who  had  lately  been  nuide  a  cardinal,  but  he  himself  and 
his  companions  were  left  at  liberty.  Ills  eminence  sent  a  re- 
monstrance to  the  Governor  of  Canton  against  his  imprison- 
ment, and  also  a  memorial  to  the  Emperor  stating  that  six 
missionaries  had  arrived  from  Europe,  three  of  whom  were 
acquainted  with  mathematics,  music,  and  painting.  Kipa,  who 
was  to  be  the  painter,  says  that  he  knew  only  the  rudiments  of 
the  art,  and  records  his  dissatisfaction  at  this  change  in  his  vo- 


QUARRELS    OF   THE   JESUITS   AND   DOMINICANS.       303 

cation,  Lut  soon  resigned  himself  to  obedience.     Touruon  died 
in  his  coniinenient  in  July  of  the  same  year. 

The  proceedings  of  Tournon  were  mainly  confirmed  by  the 
Pope,  and  in  1715  he  dispatched  Mezzabarba,  another  legate,  by 
way  of  Lisbon,  who  was  favorably  received  at  Peking,  lie 
"  was  instructed  to  express  the  Pope's  sincere  gratitude  to 
Kanghi  for  his  magnanimous  kindness  toward  the  missionaries, 
to  beg  leave  to  remain  in  China  as  their  head  or  as  superior  of 
the  whole  mission,  and  to  obtain  from  Kanghi  his  consent  that 
the  Christians  in  China  might  submit  to  tlie  decision  of  his 
Holiness  concerning  the  rites.''  The  Emperor  evaded  all  refer- 
ence to  the  rites,  and  the  legate,  soon  perceiving  that  his  Maj- 
esty would  not  surrender  any  part  of  his  inherent  authoiity, 
solicited  and  obtained  permission  at  his  last  audience  to  re- 
turn to  Europe,  which  he  did  March  3,  1721.  The  first  fifteen 
years  of  the  eighteenth  century  was  the  period  of  the  great- 
est prosperity  to  the  Pomish  missions  in  China.  It  is  stated 
that  in  the  governor-generalship  of  Kiangnan  and  Kiangsi  alone 
there  were  one  hundred  churches  and  a  hundred  thousand  con- 
verts. The  survey  of  the  Empire  was  carried  on  by  the  Em- 
peror's connnand  from  1708  to  171S,  under  the  direction  of 
ten  Jesuits,  of  whom  Pegis,  Bouvet,  and  Jartoux  were  the  most 
prominent.'  It  was  a  great  work  for  that  day,  and  considering 
the  instruments  they  had,  the  vast  area  they  traversed,  and  tlic 
imperfect  education  of  their  assistants,  its  accuracy  and  com- 
pleteness form  the  best  index  of  the  ability  of  the  surveyors. 

The  disputes  between  the  various  orders  of  missionaries  and 
the  resistance  of  some  converts  to  the  Emperor's  commands 
respecting  the  ancestral  rites,  together  with  the  representations 
of  his  own  ofiicers  upon  the  tendency  of  the  new  religion  to 
undermine  his  own  authority,  gradually  opened  his  eyes  to  the 
true  character  of  the  propagandists.  In  1718  he  forbade  any 
missionary  remaining  in  the  country  without  permission  from 
himself,  given  only  after  their  promise  to  follow  tlie  rules  of 
Picci.      Yet  no  European   missionary  could  repair  to  China 


'  An  additional  re-survey  was  made  and  presented  to  the  Emperor  Kienlung 
in  ITGl  by  Beuoit  and  AUerstein. 


304  THE  MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

without  subscribing  a  funnuhi  in  which  he  proniised  fully  and 
entirely  to  obey  the  orders  of  Cleiiieut  XI.  upon  these  ceremo- 
nies, and  observe  those  injunctions  without  any  tergiversation. 
Kan^^hi  was  made  acquainted  with  all  these  nuitters  and  took 
his  measures,  gradually  i-estraining  the  missionaries  in  their 
work  and  keeping  them  about  him  at  court,  while  he  allowed 
persecuting  measures  to  be  carried  on  in  the  provinces.  Tho 
work  of  Ripa  affords  evidence  of  this  plan,  and  it  was  charac- 
teristic of  Chinese  policy. 

After  the  death  of  Kanghi  in  1723  the  designs  of  the  govern 
ment  under  his  son  Yungching  were  still  more  evident.  In 
172-i  an  order  was  promulgated  in  which  every  effort  to  propa- 
gate the  Tien  C/m  klao,  or  '  Religion  of  the  Lord  of  Heaven,' 
as  it  was  then  and  has  ever  since  been  called,  was  strictly  pro- 
hibited. All  missionaries  not  required  at  Peking  for  scientitic 
purposes  were  ordered  to  leave  the  country,  by  which  more  than 
three  hundred  thousand  converts  were  deprived  of  teachers. 
Many  of  the  missionaries  secreted  themselves,  and  the  converts 
exhibited  the  greatest  fidelity  in  adhering  to  them  even  at  the 
risk  of  death.  AVhen  the  missionaries  reached  Canton,  where 
tliey  were  allowed  to  remain,  they  devised  measures  to  return 
to  their  flocks,  and  frequently  succeeded.  The  influence  of 
those  remaining  at  Peking  was  exerted  to  regain  their  former 
toleration,  but  wdth  partial  success.  Their  enemies  in  the 
provinces  harassed  the  converts  in  order  to  extort  money,  and 
found  plenty  of  assistants  who  knew  the  names  and  condition 
of  all  the  leading  adherents  of  the  proscribed  faith,  and  aided 
in  compelling  them  to  violate  their  consciences  or  lose  their 
property. 

The  edict  of  Yungching  forms  an  epoch  in  the  Uoniish  mis- 
sions in  China.  Since  that  time  they  have  experienced  various 
degrees  of  quiet  and  storm,  but  on  the  whole  decreasing  in 
number  and  influence  until  the  new  era  inaugurated  by  the 
treaties  of  1S58.  The  troubles  in  France  and  Europe  toward 
the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  centui-y  withdi-ew  the  a»ttention 
of  the  supporters  of  missions  from  those  in  China,  while  in  the 
country  itself  the  maintenance  of  the  laws  against  the  ])ropa- 
gation  of  Christianity,  and  an  occasional  seizure  of  })i-iests  and 


THE  CATHOLICS  EXPELLED  FUOM  CHIXA.      30."i 

converts  by  a  zealous  officer,  caused  a  still  further  diminution. 
Tlie  edicts  of  Kienluiig,  soon  after  his  accession  in  1T3(),  showed 
that  no  countenance  was  to  be  expected  from  court ;  the  rulers 
were  thoroughly  dissatisfied  with  the  foreigners,  and  ready  to 
take  almost  any  measures  to  relieve  the  country  of  them.  Per- 
haps their  personal  conduct  had  something  to  do  with  this 
course  of  procedure,  for  Ripa,  wlio  cannot  be  accused  of  par- 
tiality, says,  when  speaking  of  the  number  of  converts,  that 
"if  our  European  missionaries  in  China  would  conduct  them- 
selves with  less  ostentation,  and  accommodate  their  manners  to 
persons  of  all  ranks  and  conditions,  the  number  of  converts 
would  be  immensely  increased.  Their  garments  are  made  of 
the  richest  materials  ;  they  go  nowhere  on  foot,  but  always  in 
sedans,  on  horseback,  or  in  boats,  and  with  numerous  attendants 
following  them.  AVith  a  few  honorable  exceptions,  all  the  mis- 
sionaries live  in  this  manner ;  and  thus,  as  they  never  mix  with 
the  people,  they  make  but  few  converts.  The  diifusion  of  our 
holy  religion  in  these  parts  has  been  almost  entirely  owing  to 
the  catechists  who  are  in  their  service,  to  other  Christians,  or 
to  the  distribution  of  Christian  books  in  the  Chinese  language. 
Thus  there  is  scarcely  a  single  missionary  who  can  boast  of  hav- 
ing made  a  convert  by  his  own  preaching,  for  they  merely  bap- 
tize those  who  have  been  already  converted  by  others.'' '  But 
this  missionary  himself  afterward  assigns  a  nnich  better  reason 
for  their  not  preaching,  when  he  adds  that,  up  to  his  time  in 
ITl-i,  "none  of  the  missionaries  had  been  able  to  surmount  the 
language  so  as  to  make  himself  understood  by  the  people  at 
large."  This  remark  must,  however,  be  taken  with  some  ex- 
planations. There  had  l)een  al^out  five  hundred  missionaries  sent 
from  Europe  between  1580  and  172-1:,  wliich  was  less  than  an 
annual  average  of  four  individuals  during  a  centurv  and  a  half. 
When  the  intentions  of  the  new  Emperor  were  known,  there 
Avould  not  lono;  be  wantino;  occasions  to  harass  the  Christians. 
In  1747  a  persecution  extended  over  all  the  provinces,  and 
Bishop  Sanz  and  five  Dominican  priests  in  Fuhkien  lost  their 
lives.  All  the  foreign  priests  who  could  be  found  elsewhere  were 

'  Residence  at  PeMnr/,  p.  43. 
Vol.  II.— 20 


306  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

sent  away — a  mark  of  leiiiency  tlie  more  striking  wlien  it  was 
supposed  by  the  Chinese  that  some  of  them  had  ah'eady  once 
returned  from  banishment.  The  missions  in  Sz'cliuen  and 
Shansi  suffered  most,  but  througli  the  zeal  of  their  pastors 
maintained  themselves  better  than  elsewhere ;  their  bishops, 
Mullener,  and  after  him  Pottier,  contrived  to  remain  in  the 
country  most  of  the  time  between  1712  and  1792.  The  mis- 
sions in  Yunnan  and  Kweichau  were  not  so  flourishing  as  that 
in  Sz'chuen.  In  this  province  M.  Gleyo  was  apprehended  in 
1767,  and  endured  nuich  suffering  for  the  faith  he  came  to 
preach  ;  he  remained  in  prison  ten  years,  when  he  was  liberated 
through  the  efforts  of  a  Jesuit  in  the  employ  of  government. 
For  several  years  after  this  the  order  enjoyed  comparative 
quiet,  but  in  1784  greater  efforts  than  ever  were  made  to  dis- 
cover a*nd  apprehend  all  foreign  priests  aiid  their  abettors, 
owing  to  the  detection  of  four  Europeans  in  Ilukwang  while  they 
were  going  to  their  mission.  M.  de  la  Tour,  the  procureur  of 
the  mission  at  Canton,  through  whose  instrumentality  they  were 
sent  tlirough  the  country,  was  apprehended  and  carried  to  Pe- 
king ;  and  the  hong  merchant  who  had  been  his  security  was 
glad  to  purchase  his  own  safety  by  the  sacrifice  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty  thousand  taels  of  silver. 

Didier  Saint-Martin,  who  was  then  in  Sz'chuen,  gives  a  long 
account  of  his  own  capture,  trial,  and  imprisonment,  and  many 
particulars  of  the  sufferings  of  his  fellow  missionaries.  Eigh- 
teen Europeans  were  taken  away  from  the  missions  by  it,  but 
none  of  them  were  actually  executed ;  twelve  w-ere  sentenced  to 
perpetual  imprisonment,  six  having  died,  but  for  some  reason 
the  Emperor  revoked  the  decree  soon  after  it  was  made,  and 
gave  them  all  the  choice  to  enter  his  service  or  leave  the  coun- 
try ;  nine  of  the  twelve  preferred  to  depart,  the  other  three 
joining  the  priests  at  the  capital.  This  search  was  so  close  that 
few  of  the  foreigners  escaped.  Pottier  was  not  taken,  though 
he  was  obliged  at  one  time  to  conceal  liimself  for  a  month  in  a 
small  house,  and  in  so  confined  a  place  that  he  hardly  dared 
either  to  cough  or  to  spit  for  fear  of  being  discovered.  Saint- 
Martin  and  Dufresse  retired  to  Manila,  where  they  were  re- 
ceived with  great  honors,  and  were  enabled  to  return  after  a 


PERSECUTION   OF   THE   MISSIONARIES.    ^  307 

time  to  Sz'cliuen.  The  former  died  in  1801  in  peace,  but  Du- 
fresse  was  beheaded  in  1814 ; '  in  1816  M.  Triora  was  strangled 
in  Hupeh,  and  M.  Clet  three  years  after ;  in  the  interval, 
Schoeffler,  Bounard,  and  Diaz  perished,  and  Chapdelaine  in 
1856.  But  no  data  are  available  to  show  the  number  of  native 
priests  and  converts  who  suffered  death,  toiture,  imprisonment, 
and  banishment  in  these  storms.  The  records  of  constancy  and 
cheerful  fortitude  exhibited  under  tortures  and  cruel  mockings, 
given  in  the  writings  of  the  time,  show  their  faith  in  Christ. 
The  details  are  summarized  in  Marshall's  work,  and  probably 
the  number  may  reasonably  be  estimated  by  hundreds. 

The  period  which  elapsed  after  the  pronmlgation  of  the 
edicts  of  1767  up  to  1820  contains  less  to  interest  the  reader 
than  since  the  last  date.  At  that  time  restored  quiet  in  Europe 
urged  a  resumption  of  the  work  ;  and  the  Annalcs  ds  la  Foi 
henceforth  continue  the  narratives  of  the  missions,  formerly 
recorded  in  the  Lettres  Kdifiantes,  with  the  approval  of  the 
directors  and  bishops.  It  is  not  easy  at  any  period  to  learn 
their  condition  and  number,  for  only  vague  estimates  of  hun- 
dreds of  churches,  hundreds  of  thousands  of  converts,  scores 
of  missionaries,  schools,  catechists,  priests,  and  stations,  com- 
prise the  data  given  in  the  flourishing  days  of  Verbiest  and 
Parennin.  Perhaps  many  of  the  early  statistics  have  per- 
ished, yet  it  has  never  been  easy  to  obtain  accurate  data,  and 
often  they  have  been  withheld  from  public  knowledge.  There 
is  no  responsibility  or  reckoning  required  from  the  managers 
of  the  missions  by  the  body  of  the  church  as  to  wdiat  is  done 
with  the  funds,  as  among  Protestant  missions.  In  1820  an 
estimate  gives  6  bishops,  2  coadjutors,  23  foreign  missionaries, 
80  native  priests,  and  215,000  converts.  In  1839  a  table  in 
the  Annales  gives  for  that  year,  8  bishops,  57  foreigners,  ll-t 
native  priests,  and  303,000  converts.  In  1846  the  record  shows 
12  bishops,  7  or  8  coadjutors,  80  foreign  missionaries,  90  na- 
tives, and  400,000  converts;  54  boys'  and  114  girls'  schools 
are  put  down  for  Sz'chuen.     In  1866  they  report  20  bishops, 


'  Annales  de  la  Foi,  Tome   I.,    pp.    25,    53,   68.     Dufresse  was  afterward 
canonized. 


308  Tin;    MIDDLE   KINGDO^r. 

233  foreign  missionaries,  237  native  priests,  12  colleges,  331 
students  in  seven  of  them,  and  363,000  converts ;  these  figures 
include  only  those  in  the  Eighteen  Provinces.  In  1870  the  tahles 
show  254  foreigners,  bishops  and  missionaries,  13S  native 
priests  in  nine  provinces,  and  404,530  converts. 

Lastly,  from  the  Hong  Kong  Catholic  liegister  we  learn  that 
the  statistics  in  1881  were  :  Bishops,  41 ;  European  priests, 
664;  native  priests,  559  ;  converts  in  toto^  1,092,818  ;  colleges, 
34 ;  convents,  34.  The  paper  which  publishes  this  summary, 
"  from  a  most  reliable  source,"  gives  no  information  as  to  where 
the  missions  or  colleges  are  located,  or  what  numbers  are  found 
in  the  different  provinces.  It  is,  moreover,  somewhat  difficult 
to  learn  what  constitutes  a  college,  or  whether  the  grade  in 
these  institutions  is  uniform  throughout  the  land.  In  addition 
to  the  education  imparted  at  home,  a  number  of  Chinese  are 
yearly  sent  to  Tiome  to  be  educated  at  the  College  of  the  Pro- 
paganda. The  total  number  of  converts  includes  all  the  mem- 
bers of  the  various  families  who  give  an  outward  adherence  to 
the  rites  of  the  church.  In  the  persecutions  which  these  ad- 
herents have  endured  at  various  times,  some  have  left  the  faith, 
but  a  large  number  of  the  descendants  of  these  early  converts 
have  remained  faithful,  generation  after  generation,  to  the  re- 
ligion which  their  ancestors  had  embraced  under  more  favor- 
able auspices.  Hence  this  estimate  represents  the  number  now 
adhering  to  them,  many  of  them  being  the  descendants  of  early 
converts  ;  and  this  number  of  followers  has  become  so  numer- 
ous largely  by  natural  increase.  AVe  have  no  information  as 
to  the  number  of  converts  year  by  year.  In  one  village  of 
South  China,  where  there  are  some  Poman  Catholics  resident, 
it  has  been  noted  that  the  increase  is  almost  entirely  by  natural 
generation.  The  girls  of  Catholic  families  are  only  permitted 
co-religionists.  The  men  inarry  heathen  wives  on  the  promise 
that  they  will  become  Pomanists.  One  man  and  his  wife  of 
this  village  first  became  converts.  The  number  of  adherents  now 
hei-e  is  over  one  hundred,  all  descendants  of  this  first  pair;  and 
this  increase  is  entirely  by  natural  descent  and  by  marriage. 

With  the  increased  openings  since  the  treaties  of  1858  the 
regulation   of  the  missions  has  devolved  on  different  societies, 


STATISTICS    OF    CATHOLIC    MISSIONS    IN    CITIXA.  309 

which  liavc  apportioned  their  hiborers  in  the  provinces.  The 
Lazarists  have  Cliihh',  Iviangsi,  and  Chehkiang ;  the  Francis- 
cans, Sliantung,  Shansi,  Shensi,  and  llnkwang;  the  Jesuits, 
Kiangnan  and  eastern  Chihh ;  tlie  Dominicans,  Fnhkien ;  the 
Gallic  church,  all  the  western  and  south-western  rcirions,  with 
Manchuria;  one  society  in  Milan  has  charge  of  Ilonan,  and 
another  in  Belgium  labors  in  Mongolia.  The  successful  efforts 
of  M.  Lagrend,  the  French  envoy  to  China  in  1844,  to  obtain 
formal  recognition  of  the  Christian  religion  and  protection  to 
its  professors  from  their  own  rulers,  entitle  him  to  the  thanks 
of  every  well-Avisher  of  missions.  The  intention  of  the  Chinese 
authorities  in  tolerating  such  efforts  was  to  limit  them  to  the 
newly  opened  ports,  where  alone  churches  could  be  erected,  for 
the  missionaries  are  disallowed  free  entrance  into  the  country. 
This  partial  permission  of  1844  prepared  the  way  for  the 
toleration  articles  in  the  treaties  of  1858,  when  the  four 
Powers  present  at  Tientsin  obtained  a  more  explicit  acknowl- 
edgment from  the  Emperor  of  the  rights  of  Christian  laborers 
and  professors  among  the  Chinese.  Those  articles  have  been 
in  force  during  the  past  twenty  years,  and  have  proved  a  safe- 
guard and  a  warrant  for  the  faith  of  Christ  and  its  adherents 
even  beyond  the  hopes  of  those  who  first  proposed  them. 

The  exclusive  labors  of  the  Roman  Catholics  among  the 
Chinese  comprise  a  period  of  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  years 
from  the  date  of  Ricci's  reception  at  Peking.  The  various 
works  written  l)y  them  during  this  period  contained  not  only 
the  details  of  their  labors,  but  nearly  everything  that  was  then 
known  relating  to  the  Chinese.  The  essays,  translations,  his- 
tories, travels,  etc.,  of  Visdelou,  Mailla,  Trigault,  Semido, 
Amiot,  Le  Comte,  and  scores  of  others,  still  remain  to  inform 
those  wdio  seek  to  learn  their  acts."  Every  reader  must  honor 
the  men  who  thus  suffered  and  labored,  prospered  and  died,  in 
the  prosecution  of  their  work.  It  is  \vorthy  of  consideration, 
as  to  the  self-supporting  character  of  this  work,  that  their  con- 
stant experience  has  shown  that,  however  numerous  and  zealous 
the  converts,  the  presence  of  European  pastors  and  overseers  is 

■  Kemusat,  Nouveaux  Melanges,  pp.  207  ff. 


310  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

indispensable  to  their  spiritual  prosperity.'  "Whether  this  is 
owing  to  the  character  of  the  Chinese  mind,  or  to  the  little 
Christian  instruction  and  principle  these  converts  really  have, 
cannot  in  most  cases  be  easily  decided.  It  can  hardly  be  ex- 
pected that  pagans  should  perceive  much  difference  immediately 
between  their  old  worship  and  the  cei'emonies  of  the  new  fait)- 
in  the  presence  of  pictures,  images,  and  crosses,  before  which 
they  were  taught  to  prostrate  themselves.  The  native  priests 
and  catechists  were  not  instructed  to  maintain  the  authority 
of  the  law  and  word  of  God  above  all  human  teachings  in  this 
respect,  for  the  second  commandment  had  been  early  expunged 
from  the  Decalogue,  and  thus  the  connnand  of  God  made 
void,  which  prohibits  man  to  make,  to  servo,  or  to  bow  down 
to  such  things.  It  may  be  this  defect  in  their  religious  training 
which  keeps  these  native  priests  in  tutelage  under  the  foreign- 
ers, and  prevents  the  maintenance  of  self-supporting,  indigen- 
ous churches  under  their  oversight. 

In  former  days  the  entrance  of  missionaries  into  the  interior 
of  China  was  attended  with  considerable  hazard,  delay,  and 
uncertainty,  arising  from  the  weakness  or  ignorance  of  those 
guides  to  whose  care  they  were  entrusted,  and  the  risks  they 
ran  if  detected.  This  has  now  all  passed  awa}'^,  and  access  to 
all  parts  of  the  Empire  is  even  more  free  than  it  was  in  the 
days  of  the  Emperor  Kanglii.  In  those  early  times  the  de- 
velopment of  missionary  work  was  not  as  well  understood  as  it 
is  now  after  long  experience,  and  less  attention  was  paid  to 
education  and  self-support.  Those  points  were  not  appreciated 
even  in  Europe,  and  we  should  not  look  for  stronger  growth  in 
the  branches  of  the  tree  than  in  its  trunk.  Within  the  last 
twent}^  years,  not  only  have  the  theological  schools  of  the  Ro- 
mish missions  increa'Sed  so  that  eighteen  were  open  in  1859, 
but  with  the  introduction  of  the  Sisters  of  Cliarity  many  thou- 
sands of  young  children  are  taught  needlework,  reading,  and 
various  handicrafts  to  prepare  them  for  useful  lives.  These 
schools  and  oi-phanages  exert  a  widespread  and  lasting  influence. 

The  baptism  of  children  and  adults  has  ever  been  a  very 

^Lettrea  Mifiantes,  Tome  IV.,  p.  77. 


THE   BAPTISM    OF   DYING   INFANTS.  3J  1 

important  work  witli  the  Roman  Catholic  missionaries,  and 
especially  (if  its  fre(nient  mention  is  an  evidence)  the  baptism 
of  uioribumh,  or  dying  children  of  heathens.  The  agents  in 
this  work  are  usually  elderly  women,  says  Yerolles,  "  who  have 
experience  in  the  treatment  of  infantile  diseases.  Furnished 
with  innocent  pills  and  a  bottle  of  holy  water  whose  virtues 
they  extol,  they  introduce  themselves  into  the  houses  where 
there  are  sick  infants,  and  discover  whether  they  are  in  danger 
of  death  ;  in  this  case  they  inform  the  parents,  and  tell  them 
that  before  administering  other  remedies  they  must  wash  their 
hands  with  the  purifying  waters  of  their  bottle.  The  parents, 
not  suspecting  this  j}ieuse  ruse,  readily  consent,  and  by  these 
innocent  frauds  we  procure  in  our  mission  the  baptism  of  seven 
or  eight  thousand  infants  every  year.*'  Another  missionary, 
Dufresse,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  of  late  years,  says  : 
"  The  women  who  baptize  the  infants  of  heathen  parents  an- 
nounce themselves  as  consecrated  to  the  healing  of  infants,  and 
to  give  remedies  gratis,  that  they  may  satisfy  the  vow  of  their 
father  who  has  commanded  this  as  an  act  of  charity."  The 
number  of  baptized  children  thus  saved  from  perdition  is  care- 
fully detailed  in  the  annual  reports,  and  calculations  are  made 
by  the  missionaries  for  the  consideration  of  their  pati-ons  in 
France  and  elsewhere  as  to  the  expense  incun-ed  for  this  branch 
of  labor,  and  the  cost  of  each  soul  thus  saved  ;  and  appeals  for 
aid  in  sending  out  these  female  baptists  are  based  upon  the 
tabular  reports.  It  may,  however,  be  a  question,  even  with  a 
candid  Romanist  who  believes  that  unbaptized  infants  perish 
eternally,  whether  baptism  performed  by  women  and  unconse- 
crated  laymen  is  valid  ;  and  still  more  so,  whether  it  is  ritual 
when  done  by  stealth  and  under  false  pretences.  The  number 
thus  annually  baptized  in  all  the  missions  cannot  be  placed 
much  under  fifty  thousand,  and  some  years  it  exceeds  a  hundred 
thousand.  Xo  attention  seems  to  be  given  to  the  child  in  ordi- 
nary cases  if  it  happen  to  live  after  this  surreptitious  baptism. 

The  degree  of  instruction  given  to  the  converts  is  trifling, 
partly  owing  to  the  great  extent  of  a  single  diocese  and  partly  to 
imperfect  knowledge  of  the  language  on  the  part  of  mission- 
aries.    The  vexations  constantly  experienced  urge  them  to  be 


812  THE   MIDDLE    KIXODOM. 

cautious  ;  and  truly  if  a  missionai-y  believes  that  baptism,  confir- 
mation, confession,  and  absolution,  are  all  the  evidences  of  faith 
that  ai-e  required  in  a  convert  to  entitle  him  to  salvation,  it 
cannot  be  supposed  he  will  deem  it  necessary  to  give  them  long- 
continued  instruction.  The  canses  which  usually  bring  the  con- 
verts into  trouble  with  their  CDuntrymen  or  the  officials  were 
thus  described  many  years  ago  by  the  Bishop  of  Caradre  in 
Sz'chuen  ;  they  are  still  partly  applicable. 

First.  Christians  are  frequently  confounded  with  tlie  mem- 
bers of  the  Triad  Society,  or  of  the  AVhite  Lily  sect,  both  by 
their  enemies  and  by  persons  belonging  to  those  associations. 

Second.  The  Christians  refuse  to  contribute  to  the  erection 
or  repair  of  temples,  or  subscribe  to  idolatrous  feasts  and  super- 
stitious rites ;  though,  according  to  the  A)i7iales,  they  some- 
times defray  the  charges  of  the  theati'ical  exhibitions  which 
follow,  in  order  to  avoid  the  malice  of  their  adversaries. 

Third.  "  Espousals  are  ahnost  indissoluble  in  China,  and 
whenever  the  Christians  refuse  to  ratify  them  by  proceeding 
to  a  marriage  already  commenced,  they  are  regarded  as  law- 
breakers and  treated  as  such." '  This  is  the  most  common 
source  of  trouble,  especially  when  the  parents  of  the  girl  have 
become  converts  since  the  beti-othment,  and  the  other  party 
is  anxious  to  fulfil  the  contract.  These  engagements  are  some- 
times broken  in  a  sufficiently  unscrupulous  manner,  and  noth- 
ing draws  so  much  odium  upon  Christians  as  their  refusal  to 
adhere  to  these  conti-acts.  On  one  occasion  this  bishop  assisted 
in  breaking  up  such  an  engagment,  when  the  parents,  on  the 
death  of  a  sister  of  the  girl,  asserted  that  the  deceased  was  the 
one  who  had  been  betrothed.  He  adds  :  "  I  thirdc  the  faith  of 
the  parents  and  the  purity  of  their  motives  will  readily  ex- 
cuse them  before  God  for  the  sin  of  lying."  On  other  occasions 
the  missionaries  endeavor  to  dissolve  these  engagements  by  ex- 
horting the  believing  party  to  take  voavs  of  celibacy. 

Fourth.  All  connnunication  with  Europeans  being  interdicted, 
the  magistrates  seek  diligently  for  every  evidence  of  their  exist- 

■  Lettres  Edifiantes,  Tome  III.,  p.  37,  wliere  there  appear  two  or  three  cases 
wf  this  and  Saint-Martin's  reasonini,'  on  thu  point. 


GRIEVANCES   AGAINST   CATHOLIC    CONVERTS.  313 

eiicc  in  the  country,  by  searching  for  the  objects  used  in  wor- 
ship, as  crosses,  breviaries,  etc. 

Fifth.  The  little  respect  the  converts  have  for  their  ances- 
tors is  always  an  offence  in  the  eyes  of  the  pagans,  and  leads 
to  recrimination  and  vexatious  annoyances. 

Sixth.  As  the  converts  are  obliged  to  take  down  the  ancesti-al 
tablets  in  order  to  put  u]>  those  of  their  own  religion,  they  are 
seldom  forgiven  in  this  change,  and  occasion  is  taken  therefrom 
to  persecute. 

Seventh.  The  indiscreet  zeal  of  the  neophytes  leading  them 
to  break  the  idols  or  insult  the  objects  of  public  worship  is 
one  of  the  most  common  causes  of  persecution. 

Eightli.  The  disputes  between  the  missionaries  themselves, 
regarding  the  ceremonies,  have  frequently  excited  troubles. 

In  addition  to  these  causes,  some  of  'which  are  now  removed, 
there  are  others  which  have  grown  up  since  the  toleration 
granted  to  Christianit}^  by  the  treaties,  and  which  may  develop 
still  more.  They  are  discussed  in  the  minute  drawn  up  by  the 
Chinese  government  in  1871,  after  the  Tientsin  riot,  in  which 
eight  rules  for  their  regulation  are  proposed.  The  grievances 
refer  to  the  seclusion  of  children  in  orphanages  ;  to  the  pi-es- 
ence  of  w^omen  in  religious  assemblies ;  to  missionaries  inter- 
fering in  legal  cases  so  as  to  screen  criminals,  and  their  inter- 
changing passports  ;  to  the  neophytes  rescuing  criminals  from 
justice  ;  to  the  missionaries  affecting  the  style  of  native  officials ; 
and,  lastly,  to  their  demand  for  land  alleged  to  have  once  be- 
longed to  them,  whatever  ma\'  have  been  its  ownership  mean- 
while. This  has  since  ceased,  and  the  others  have  been  some- 
what restrained. 

Christians  sometimes  refuse  to  have  their  deceased  friends 
buried  with  the  idolatrous  ceremonies  required  by  their  rela- 
tives, upon  which  the  latter  occasionally  carry  the  matter 
before  the  officers,  or  resort  to  petty  annoyances.  In  order  to 
keep  up  the  spirit  of  devotion  among  the  neophytes,  crucifixes, 
reliquaries,  and  other  articles  were  given  them,  and  '"  God 
wrought  several  miracles  among  them  to  authorize  the  practice." 
These  articles,  in  the  estimation  of  both  priest  and  people, 
probably  have  no  little  influence  over  the  demons  which  vex  and 


314  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

harass  tlie  pagans,  l)nt  wliicli  never  trouble  Christians.  Saint- 
Martin,  writing  to  liis  father  from  the  capital  of  Sz'chnen  in 
1774,  says:  "The  most  sensible  proof  for  the  pagans,  and  one 
always  in  force,  is  the  power  the  Christians  have  over  demons.' 
It  is  astonisliing  how  these  poor  infidels  are  tormented,  and 
they  can  find  remedy  onl}"  in  the  prayers  of  Christians,  by 
whose  help  they  are  delivered  and  then  converted.  Seven  or 
eight  leagues  from  this  spot  is  a  house  which  has  been  infested 
with  demons  for  a  month ;  they  maltreat  all  who  come  near 
them,  and  have  set  the  dwelling  on  fire  at  different  times.  Tliey 
have  had  recourse  to  all  kinds  of  superstitious  ceremonies, 
calling  in  the  native  priests,  but  all  to  no  effect ;  and  the  mas- 
ter of  the  family  where  I  am  staying  has  now  gone  to  assist 
them.  He  is  a  man  of  lively  faith,  and  has  already  performed 
many  miraculous  cures." " 

It  is  interesting  to  compare  with  this  the  account  of  Friar 
Odoric,  "  How  the  friars  deal  with  devils  in  Tartary."  In  his 
Travels  we  read  that  "  God  Almighty  hath  bestowed  such  grace 
upon  the  Minor  friars  that  in  Great  Tartary  they  think  it  a 
mere  nothing  to  expel  devils  from  the  possessed,  no  more,  in- 
deed, than  to  drive  a  dog  out  of  the  house.  For  there  be  many 
in  those  parts  possessed  of  the  devil,  both  men  and  women, 
and  these  they  bind  and  bring  to  our  friars  from  as  far  as  ten 
days'  journey  off.  The  friars  bid  the  demons  depart  forth 
instantly  from  the  bodies  of  the  possessed,  in  the  name  of 
Jesus  Christ,  and  they  do  depart  immediately  in  obedience  to 
this  command.  Then  those  who  have  been  delivered  from 
the  demon  straightway  cause  themselves  to  be  baptized  ;  and 
the  friars  take  their  idols,  which  are  made  of  felt,  and  carry 
them  to  the  fire,  while  all  the  people  of  the  country  round 
assemble  to  see  their  neighbor's  gods  burnt.  The  friars  accord- 
ingly cast  the  idols  into  the  fire,  but  they  leap  out  again.  And 
so  the  friars  take  holy  water  and  sprinkle  it  upon  the  fire,  and 
that  straightway  drives  away  the  demon  from  the  fire ;  so  the 
friars  again  casting  the  idols  into  the  fire,  they  are  consumed. 

'  retires  ^diJian(£S,  Tomes  I.,  pp.  39  and  151,  passim,  and  IV.,  p.  27. 
^  TAfe  of  Didier  Saint-Martin,  p.  35. 


CARTIISrG   OUT   DEVILS. 


315 


And  then  the  devil  in  the  air  raises  a  shout,  saying :  '  See 
then !  see  then  !  how  I  am  expelled  from  my  dwelling  place  ! ' 
And  in  this  way  our  friars  baptize  great  numbers  in  that 
country." ' 

When  persons  educated  in  a  country  like  France  allow  their 
converts  to  entertain  such  ideas,  even  if  they  do  not  favor  them 


■:>Ss^ 


Roman   Catholic  Altar  near   Shanghai. 

themselves,  and  countenance  their  endeavors  to  exorcise  the 
possessed,  we  cannot  look  for  a  very  high  degree  of  knowledge 
or  piety.  If  they  are  l)rouglit  out  of  pagan  darkness,  it  is  but 
little  if  any  better  than  into  light  hardly  bright  enough  to  en- 
able them  even  to  distinguish  trees  from  men. 

The  points  of  similarity  between  Buddhism  and  Romanism 
have  already  been  noticed,  and  the  converts  from  one  to  the 

»  Yule,  Cathay  and  tlie  Way  TJiitlier,  Vol.  I.,  p.  155. 


31G  THE  MIDDLE  KINGDOM. 

other  see  but  little  more  change  than  they  do  when  going  from 
Buddhism  to  the  metaphysical  speculations  of  the  learned  ju 
Mao.  If  Romisli  ])riests  have  allowed  their  converts  to  wor- 
ship before  pagan  images,  provided  a  cross  is  put  into  the 
candles,  it  would  not  be  difficult  for  the  latter  to  put  the  names 
of  their  departed  parents  behind  the  "  tablets  of  religion,"  and 
worship  them  together.  Similar  to  such  a  permission  is  the 
combination  of  the  cross  and  dragon  carved  on  a  Romish  altar 
near  Shanghai,  given  on  the  preceding  page,  and  at  which  both 
pagans  and  Christians  could  alike  worship. 

Agnuses,  crosses,  etc.,  are  easily  substituted  for  coins  and 
charms,  and  it  does  not  surely  require  much  faith  to  believe  the 
former  as  effectual  as  the  latter.  The  neophyte  takes  away  the 
tablet  in  his  house  or  shop  having  shin,  'aeon'  or  '  spirit,'  writ- 
ten on  it,'  and  puts  up  another,  on  which  is  written  shin,  chin 
chu,  tsaotien  ti  jin-wuh,  or  '  God,  true  Lord,  Creator  of  heaven, 
earth,  man,  and  all  things,'  and  burns  the  same  incense  befoi-e 
this  as  before  that.  Chinese  demigods  are  changed  for  foreign 
saints,  with  this  difference,  tha'^  now  they  worship  they  know 
not  what,  while  before  they  knew  something  of  the  name  and 
character  of  the  ancient  hero  from  popular  accounts  and  his- 
torical legends.  They  cease,  indeed,  to  venerate  the  queen  of 
Heaven,  holy  mother  ISFa  tsupu,  but  Mhat  advance  in  true  re- 
ligion has  been  made  by  falling  down  before  the  Queen  of 
Heaven,  holy  mother  Mary  ?  The  people  call  the  Buddhist 
idols  and  the  Romish  images  by  the  same  name,  and  apply 
nmch  the  same  terms  to  their  ceremonies.  Such  converts  can 
easily  be  numbered  by  thousands ;  and  it  is  a  wonder,  indeed, 
when  one  considers  the  nature  of  the  case,  that  the  whole  pop- 
ulation of  China  have  not  long  since  become  "  devout  confes- 
sors "  of  this  faith.  Conversions  depend,  in  such  cases,  on 
almost  every  other  kind  of  influence  than  that  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  blessing  his  own  word  in  an  intelligent  mind  and  a 
quickened  conscience.  The  missionaries  write  that  '•  being 
forced  in   three  or  four  months  after  their  arrival  to  preach 


'  Converts  in  Sz'chuen  sometimes  steal  tlie  idols  from  the  roadside.      J.ettres 
^difiantes,  Tome  I.,  p.  219. 


CHARACTER   OF   CATHOLIC    MISSIONARY    WORK.       317 

when  they  do  not  know  tlie  language  sufficiently  either  to  be 
understood  or  to  understand  theniselves,  they  have  seen  tlieir 
auditors  inunediately  embrace  Christianity." 

We  pass  no  decision  upon  these  converts,  except  what  is 
given  or  drawn  from  the  writings  of  their  teachers.  Human 
nature  is  everywhere  the  same  in  its  great  lineaments,  and  the 
effect  of  living  godly  lives  in  Christ  Jesus  will  everywhere  ex- 
cite opposition,  calumny,  persecution,  and  death,  accordiug  to 
the  liberty  granted  the  enemies  of  the  truth.  There  may  have 
been  true  converts  among  the  adherents  to  Romanism  ;  but  what 
salutary  effects  has  this  large  body  of  Chi-istians  wrought  in  the 
vast  population  of  China  during  the  three  hundred  years  since 
Ricci  established  himself  at  banking  ?  T^one,  absolutely  none, 
that  attract  attention.  The  letters  of  some  of  the  missionaries 
written  to  their  friends  breathe  a  spirit  of  pious  ardor  and  true 
Christian  principle  worthy  of  all  imitation.  Among  the  best 
letters  contained  in  the  Annales  is  one  from  Dufresse  to  his 
pupils  then  at  Penang.  It  is  a  long  epistle,  and  contains 
nothing  (with  one  exception)  which  the  most  scrupulous  Pro- 
testant would  not  approve.  The  same  may  be  paid  of  most  of 
the  letters  contained  in  the  same  collection  written  in  prison 
by  Gagelin,  a  missionary  who  was  strangled  in  Annam  in 
1833.  It  is  hardly  possible  to  doubt,  when  reading  the  let- 
ters of  these  two  men,  both  of  whom  were  mai'tyred  for  the 
faith  they  preached,  that  they  sincerely  loved  and  trusted  in 
the  Saviour  they  proclaimed.  Many  of  their  converts  also  ex- 
hibit the  greatest  constancy  in  their  profession,  preferring  to 
suffer  persecution,  torture,  imprisonment,  banishment,  and 
death  rather  than  to  deny  their  faith,  though  every  induce- 
ment of  prevarication  and  mental  reservation  was  held  out  to 
them  by  the  magistrates  in  order  to  avoid  the  necessity  of  pro- 
ceeding to  extreme  measures.  If  undergoing  the  loss  of  all 
things  is  an  evidence  of  piety,  many  of  them  have  abundantly 
proved  their  title  to  this  virtue.  But  until  there  shall  be  a 
complete  separation  from  idolatry  and  superstitioTi  ;  until  the 
confessional  shall  be  abolished,  and  the  worship  of  the  A^irgin, 
wearing  crosses  and  rosaries,  and  reliance  on  ceremonies  and 
penances  be  stopped  ;  until  the  entire  Scriptures  and  Decalogue 


318  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

be  tauglit  to  tlie  converts;  until,  in  sliort,  the  essential  doctrine 
of  justitication  by  faitli  alone  be  substituted  for  the  many 
forms  of  justification  l)y  works,  tlie  mass  of  converts  to  lioman- 
ism  in  China  can  liai'dly  be  considered  as  much  better  than 
baptized  pagans.' 

Turn  we  now  to  a  brief  survey  of  tlie  efforts  of  Protestants 
among  the  Chinese,  and  the  results  which  have  attended  their 
labors.  Hardly  forty  years  have  passed  since  the  treaty  of  Nan^ 
king  opened  the  five  ports  to  their  direct  work  in  the  Empire, 
and  the  results  thus  far  necessarily  partake  of  the  incomplete- 
ness of  new  enterprises.  The  radical  distinction  between  their 
modes  of  operation  and  those  of  their  predecessors  is  indicated 
in  the  names  '  Tvclioion  of  Heaven's  Lord  '  and  '  lteli»j;ion  of 
Jesus ; '  the  Romanists  depend  much  on  their  teachings  and  cere- 

/  monies  to  convert  men,  the  Protestants  on  the  preaching  of  the 

'  word  of  God  and  a  blessing  on  its  vital  truths. 

The  first  Protestant  missionary  to  China  was  Rev.  Robert 
Morrison,  of  Morpeth,  England,  who  was  sent  out  by  the  London 
Missionary  Society,  lie  arrived  at  Canton,  by  way  of  Xew 
York,  in  Se])teniber,  1807,  and  lived  there  for  a  year,  in  a  quiet 
manner,  in  the  factory  of  Messrs.  Milner  and  Bull,  of  Xew  York. 
He  early  made  the  acquaintance  of  Sir  George  T.  Staunton, 
one  of  his  firmest  friends,  and  already  well  versed  in  Chinese 
studies;  Mr.  Robarts,  the  chief  of  the  British  factory,  advised 
hijii  to  avow  his  intention  to  the  Chinese  of  translating  the  Scrip- 
tures into  their  language,  on  the  ground  that  it  was  a  divine 
book  which  Christians  highly  esteemed  and  which  the  Chinese 
should  have  the  opportunity  of  examining.  In  consequence  of 
difficulties  connected  with  the  trade,  he  was  obliged  to  leave 
Canton  in  1S08  with  all  British  subjects  and  repair  to  Macao, 
where  he  deemed  it  prudent  to  maintain  a  careful  retirement  in 


'  An  exhaustive  collection  of  the  titles  of  every  work  of  importance  upon 
Catholic  missions  in  China,  as  well  as  a  rhuine  of  their  jieriodical  publications, 
may  be  found  in  M.  Cordier's  Diction ihiirc  hibii(H/riij)/iiqiU'  t/iK  oiirrKijfK  ChinotK, 
Tome  I.,  pp.  IJ^O-.ITH,  and  following  these  pages  are  the  works  concerning 
Protestant  missions,  pp.  .ITH-G'J;}.  Compare  also  Thos.  Marshall,  (Viristitui 
Mmioun:  their  Afieittx  it lul  their  lienidtn,  London,  IHO;^,  and  Chr.  H.  Kalkar, 
Oetchichte  der  christlichen  Mission  uiit<:r  den  J/eiih  n,  (iiitiTsloh,  1879-80. 


THE   PROTESTANTS   IN    CHINA — DR.   MORRISON.       319 

order  not  to  attract  nndue  notice  from  the  Portuguese  priests. 
His  associate,  Dr.  Milne,  observed,  with  reference  to  these  traits 
in  his  character,  that  "  the  patience  that  refuses  to  be  conqnered, 
the  diligence  that  never  tires,  the  caution  that  always  trembles, 
and  the  studious  habit  that  spontaneously  seeks  retirement  were 
best  adapted  for  the  tirst  Protestant  missionary  to  China." 

He  married  Miss  Mary  Morton  in  1809,  and  accepted  the  ap- 
pointment of  translator  under  the  East  India  Company,  in  whose 
service  he  continued  until  1834.  His  position  was  now  a  well- 
understood  one,  and  his  official  connexion  obtained  for  him  all 
necessary  security  so  that  he  could  prosecute  his  work  with  dili- 
gence and  confidence.  He  no  doubt  did  wisely  in  the  circum- 
stances in  wdiicli  he  was  placed,  for  his  dictionary  could  hardly 
have  been  printed,  or  his  translation  of  the  Scriptures  and  other 
works  been  so  successfully  carried  on,  without  the  countenance 
and  assistance  of  that  powerful  body.  The  entire  Xew  Testa- 
ment was  published  in  181-1:,  about  half  of  it  having  been  trans- 
lated by  Morrison  and  the  remainder  revised  from  a  mamiscript 
which  had  been  deposited  in  1739  in  the  British  Museum. 

Rev.  W.  Milne  arrived  in  July,  1813,  as  his  associate,  and  re- 
sided in  Canton,  leaving  his  wife  at  Macao.  In  1814  he  sailed 
for  the  Indian  Archipelago,  provided  with  about  seventeen 
thousand  copies  of  Testaments  and  tracts  for  distribution  among 
the  Chinese  there.  He  stopped  at  Banca  on  his  route,  and  then 
proceeded  to  Java,  where  he  was  received  by  Sir  Stamford 
Raffles,  a  man  far  in  advance  of  the  times  in  his  suppoi-t  and 
patronage  of  missions.  Milne  was  enabled  to  travel  over  the 
island  and  distribute  such  books  as  he  had.  From  Java  he 
went  to  Malacca,  then  a  Dutch  settlement,  afterward  return- 
ing to  Canton,  where  he  remained  undisturbed,  though  a  severe 
persecution,  in  which  Dufresse  lost  his  life,  was  waging  against 
the  Christians  throughout  the  Empire.  Milne,  finding  it  difficult 
to  prosecute  his  labors  in  China  (for  the  East  India  Company 
would  not  countenance  him),  embarked  for  Malacca  in  1815,  ac- 
companied by  a  teacher  and  workmen  for  printing  Chinese 
books  ;  here  he  resided  till  his  death  in  1822. 

The  leading  objects  in  sending  Morrison  to  Canton,  namely, 
the  translation  of  the  Bible  and  preparation  of  a  dictionary, 


320  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

occupied  the  greater  portion  of  his  time.  He  soon  commenced 
a  Sabbath  service  with  his  domestics  and  acquaintances  in  his 
own  apartments,  which  lie  never  relinquished,  though  it  did  not 
expand  into  a  regular  public  congregation  dui-ing  his  lifetime. 
He  considered  this  as  one  of  the  most  important  parts  of  his 
work,  and  was  much  encouraged  when  in  1814  one  of  his 
audience,  Tsai  A-ko,  made  a  profession  of  his  faith  and  was 
baptized.  He  was  the  first  convert,  and  it  is  reasonably  to  be 
hoped,  judging  from  his  after-life,  that  he  sincerely  believed  to 
salvation. 

The  compilation  of  the  dictionary  progressed  so  well  that  in 
1814  a  few  members  of  the  Company's  establishment,  among 
whom  Mr.  Elphinstone  and  Sir  George  Staujiton  were  promi- 
nent, interested  themselves  in  getting  it  printed.  The  Court  of 
Directors  responded  to  the  application  on  the  most  liberal  scale, 
sending  out  as  printer  P.  P.  Tlioms,  together  with  a  printing 
office.  The  first  volume  was  issued  in  1817,  and  the  whole  was 
completed  in  six  quarto  volumes,  containing  four  thousand  five 
hundred  and  ninety-five  pages,  in  1823,  at  an  expense  of  about 
twelve  thousand  pounds  sterling.  It  consisted  of  three  parts, 
viz.,  characters  arranged  according  to  their  radicals,  according  to 
their  pronunciation,  and  an  English  and  Chhiese  part.  This 
work  contributed  much  to  the  advancement  of  a  knowledge  of 
Chinese  literature,  and  its  aid  in  missions  has  been  manifold 
greater.  The  plan  was  rather  too  comprehensive  for  one  man 
to  fill  up,  and  also  involved  much  repetition ;  a  reprint  of  the 
second  part  was  issued  in  a  smaller  volume,  in  1854,  without 
material  addition. 

While  the  dictionary  was  going  through  the  press,  the  ti-ans- 
lation  of  the  Old  Testament  was  progressing  by  the  joint  labors 
of  Morrison  and  Milne,  and  in  November,  1818,  the  entire 
Bible  was  published.  Another  version,  by  Dr.  Marshman  at 
Serampore,  was  completed  and  printed  with  movable  types  in 
1822.  A  second  edition  of  the  Baptist  version  was  never  struck 
off,  and  comparatively  few  copies  have  ever  been  circulated 
among  the  Chinese.  Both  these  versions  are  such  that  a  sin- 
cere inquirer  after  the  truth  cannot  fail  to  comprehend  the 
meaning,  though  both  are  open  to  criticisms  and  contain  mistakes 


LABORS    OF    MORKISOX    AX  I)    MILNE.  321 

incident  to  first  translations.  Tliev  are  now  numbered  aniono- 
superseded  versions  like  those  of  AViclif  and  Tyndal,  the  Italic 
and  I'liilas  in  other  languages,  but  will  ever  be  regarded  Nvith 
gratitude.' 

During  the  years  he  was  thus  engaged  Morrison  published  a 
tract  on  Redemption,  a  translation  of  the  Assembly's  Catechism, 
church  of  England  liturgy,  a  synopsis  of  Old  Testament  history, 
a  hymn  book,  and  a  Tour  of  the  World  ;  altogether,  nearly  thirty 
thousand  copies  were  printed  and  distributed.  He  prepared  a 
Chinese  grammar  on  the  model  of  a  common  English  gram- 
mar, which  was  printed  at  Serampore  in  1815 ;  also  a  vol- 
ume of  miscellaneous  information  on  the  chronolog}',  festivals, 
geography,  and  other  subjects  relating  to  China,  under  the 
title  of  View  of  China  for  Philological  P>irj>oses.  The  list 
of  his  writings  comprises  thirty-one  titles,  of  which  nineteen  are 
in  English ;  each  work  bears  witness  to  his  learning  and  piety. 

In  1821  Mrs.  Morrison  died,  and  about  eight  months  after  he 
visited  Malacca  and  kSingapore,  where  he  was  nnich  delighted 
by  what  he  saw.  The  Anglo-Chinese  College  was  then  under 
the  care  of  Collie,  and  this  visit  from  its  founder  encouraged 
both  principal  and  students.  In  1824  he  returned  to  England 
and  was  honorably  received  by  his  Majesty  George  IV.,  and 
obtained  the  approbation  of  all  wdio  took  an  interest  in  the 
promotion  of  religion  and  learning.  He  published  a  volume  of 
sermons  and  a  miscellany  called  Ilorce  Sinicw  while  in  England  ; 
and  having  formed  a  second  matrimonial  connection,  left  his  na- 
tive land  again  in  May,  1826,  under  different  circumstances  from 
the  lirst  time.  During  his  absence  the  mission  at  Canton  was 
left  in  charge  of  the  first  native  preachei-,  Liang  Kung-fah,  or 
Liang  x\-fah,  whom  Morrison  had  ordained  as  an  evangelist.  This 
worthy  man  carried  on  his  useful  labors  in  preaching  and  writ- 
ing until  his  death  in  1855  at  that  city,  from  whence,  in  1834, 
he  had  been  forced  to  flee  for  his  life.  He  takes  a  deservedly 
high  position  at  the  head  of  the  native  Pi-otestant  Christian  min- 

'  Medhurst's  CMnn,  p.  217.     Chinese  Reposit/)ry,  VoL  IV.,  p.  249.     Life  of 
Morrison,  by  his  widow,  passim,  2  Vols  ,  London,  1839.     Wylie  in  Chinese  Re- 
corder, VoL  I.,  pp.  121,  145.     Lives  of  the  I^eaders  of  our  Church  Universal. 
p.  819,  Phila.,  1879. 
Vol..  II.— 21 


322  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

istiy  among  the  Chinese  in  respect  to  time,  and  his  writings 
have  been  highly. successful  and  beneficiah 

During  the  years  whicli  elapsed  between  the  return  and 
death  of  Morrison,  he  was  principally  occupied  by  his  duties  as 
translator  to  the  Coinpany  and  in  literary  labors.  Uh  Metnoirs 
furnish  all  the  particulars  of  their  contents,  as  well  as  the  de- 
tails of  his  useful  and  uneventful  life.  His  last  years  were 
dieered  by  the  arrival  of  five  fellow-laborers  from  the  United 
States,  the  first  who  had  come  to  his  assistance  since  Milne  left 
him  in  1814.  On  the  dissolution  of  the  East  India  Company's 
establishment,  in  April,  1834,  he  was  appointed  interpreter  to 
the  King's  Commission,  but  his  death  took  place  August  1, 
1834,  at  the  age  of  fift3'-two,  even  then  nnich  worn  out  with 
his  unaided  labors  of  twenty-seven  years. 

Perhaps  no  two  persons  were  ever  less  alike  than  the  found- 
ers of  the  Romish  and  Protestant  missions  to  China,  but  no 
plans  of  opei'ations  could  be  more  dissimilar  than  those  adopted 
by  Ricci  and  Morrison.  We  have  already  sketched  the  life- 
work  of  the  former,  obtained  from  friendly  sources.  When 
Morrison  was  sent  out  the  directors  of  the  London  Missionary 
Society  thus  expressed  their  views  of  his  labors :  "  AVe  trust 
that  no  objection  will  be  made  to  yoiw  continuing  in  Canton 
till  you  have  accomplished  your  great  object  of  acquiring  the 
language ;  when  this  is  done,  you  may  pi'obably  soon  afterward 
begin  to  turn  this  attainment  into  a  direction  which  may  be  of 
extensive  use  to  the  world ;  ])erhaps  you  may  have  the  honor  of 
forming  a  Chinese  dictionary,  more  comprehensive  and  correct 
than  any  preceding  one,  or  the  still  greater  honor  of  translating 
the  sacred  Scriptures  into  a  language  spoken  by  a  third  pai't  of 
the  human  race."  The  enterprise  thus  connuitted  to  the  hands 
of  a  single  individual  was  only  part  of  a  system  which  neither 
the  pi'ojectors  nor  their  collaborator  supposed  would  end  there. 
They  knew  that  the  great  work  of  evangelizing  and  elevating  a 
mass  of  mind  like  that  using  the  Chinese  language  reqnired 
large  preparatory  labors,  of  whi(di  those  here  mentioned  were 
among,  the  most  important.  China  was  a  sealed  country  when 
Morrison  landed  on  its  shores,  and  he  could  not  have  forced  his 
way  into  it  if  he  had  ti-ied,  with  any  prospect  of  ultimate  sue- 


THE   MISSIONARIES   RICCI   AND   MORRISON.  323 

cess,  even  by  adopting  the  same  plans  which  Ilicci  did.  It  is 
doubtful  if  he  could  have  lived  there  at  all  had  it  not  been  for 
the  protection  of  the  East  India  Company.  After  all  his  toil, 
and  faith,  and  prayer,  he  only  saw  three  or  four  converts,  no 
churches,  schools,  or  congregations  publicly  assembled  ;  but  his 
last  letter  breathes  the  same  desires  as  when  he  first  went  out: 
"  I  wait  patiently  the  events  to  be  developed  in  the  course  of 
Divine  Providence.  The  Lord  reigneth.  If  the  kingdom  of 
God  our  Saviour  prosper  in  China,  all  will  be  M'ell;  other  matters 
are  comparatively  of  small  importance."  He  died  just  as  the 
day  of  change  and  progress  was  dawning  in  Eastern  Asia,  but 
liis  life  was  very  far  from  being  a  failure  in  its  results  or  influence. 
The  principles  of  these  two  missionaries  have  been  followed 
out  by  their  successors,  and  we  are  quite  willing  to  let  their  re- 
sults be  the  test  of  their  foundation  upon  the  Chief  Corner 
Stone. 

Protestant  missions  among  the  Chinese  emigrants  in  Malacca, 
Penang,  Singapore,  Tihio,  Borneo,  and  Batavia  have  never  taken 
much  hold  upon  them,  and  they  are  at  present  all  suspended  or 
abandoned.  The  first  named  was  established  in  1815  by  Milne, 
and  was  conducted  longest  and  with  the  most  efficiency,  though 
the  labors  at  the  other  points  have  been  carried  on  with  zeal  and 
a  degree  of  success.  The  comparatively  small  results  which  have 
attended  all  these  missions  may  be  ascribed  to  two  or  three  rea- 
sons, besides  the  fewness  of  the  laborers.  The  Chinese  residing 
in  these  settlements  consist  chiefly  of  emigrants  who  have  fled 
or  left  their  native  countries,  in  all  cases  without  their  families, 
some  to  avoid  the  injustice  or  oppression  of  their  rulers,  but 
more  to  gain  a  livelihood  they  cannot  find  so  well  at  home.  Con- 
sequently they  lead  a  roving  life  ;  few  of  them  marry  or  settle 
down  to  become  valuable  citizens,  and  fewer  still  are  sufficiently 
educated  to  relish  or  cai'e  for  instruction  or  books.  These  com- 
munities are  much  troubled  by  branches  of  the  Triad  Society, 
and  the  restless  habits  of  the  Malays  are  congenial  to  most  of 
the  emigrants  who  enter  among  them.  The  Chinese,  coming  as 
they  do  from  different  parts  of  their  own  land,  speak  different 
dialects,  and  soon  learn  the  Malay  language  as  a  lingua  franca ; 
their  children  also  learn  it  still  more  thoroughly  from  their 


324  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

mothers,  notwithstanding  the  education  their  fathers  give  them 
in  Chinese.  The  want  of  fixedness  in  the  Cliinese  population 
therefoi'e  pai'tly  accounts  for  tlie  little  permanent  impression 
made  on  it  in  these  settlements  by  missionary  efforts. 

It  was  at  Malacca  that  the  Anglo-Chinese  College  was  estab- 
lished in  1818  by  Dr.  Morrison,  assisted  by  other  friends  of 
religion.  Its  objects  were  to  afford  Europeans  tlie  means  of  ac- 
quiring the  Chinese  language  and  enable  Chinese  to  become 
acquainted  with  the  religion  and  science  of  the  West.  It  was 
productive  of  good  up  to  the  time  of  its  removal  to  Hongkong 
in  18M.  About  seventy  persons  were  baptized  while  the  mission 
remained  at  Malacca,  and  about  fifty  students  finished  their  educa- 
tion, part  of  whom  were  sincere  Christians  and  all  of  them  respect- 
able members  of  society.  Three  or  four  of  the  converts  have 
become  preachers.  There  is  little  hesitation,  however,  in  saying 
that  the  name  and  array  of  a  college  were  too  far  in  advance  of 
the  people  among  whom  it  w'as  situated.  The  efforts  made  in 
it  would  probably  have  been  more  profitably  expended  in  estab- 
lishing common  schools  among  the  people,  in  wdiich  Christianity 
and  knowledge  went  hand  in  hand.  It  is  far  better  among  an 
igiiorant  pagan  people  that  a  hundred  persons  should  know  one 
thing  than  that  one  man  should  know  a  hundred  ;  the  M'idest 
diffusion  of  the  first  elements  of  religion  and  science  is  most  de- 
sirable. The  mission  was  not,  however,  large  enough  at  any 
one  time  for  its  members  to  superintend  many  common  schools. 
Among  the  books  issued  besides  Bibles  and  tracts  were  a  peri- 
odical called  the  Indo-Chinese  Gleaner,  edited  by  Dr.  Mihie  ;  a 
translation  of  the  Four  Books,  by  Mr.  Collie ;  an  edition  of  Pre- 
mare's  Not'dla  IJngxm  Srnicep^  a  life  of  ]\Iilno,  and  a  volume  of 
sermons  by  Morrison.  The  number  of  volumes  printed  in  Chi- 
nese was  about  half  a  million. 

The  mission  at  (reorgctown,  in  tlie  island  of  Pcnang.  like  that 
at  Malacca,  was  established  in  1810  by  the  Ldndon  Missionary 
Society,  and  continued  till  1843,  at  which  time  it  was  suspended. 
The  mission  at  8inga])(>i'e  was  commenced  in  Isl!)  by  INfr.  Mil- 
ton ;  the  colonial  govei'ument  granted  a  lot,  and  a  chapel  and 
other  buildings  wei-e  erected  in  the  course  of  a  few  years. 
Messrs.  Smith  and  Tonilin  came  to  the  settlement  in  1827,  but 


MISSIONS   TO   CHINESE   IN   THE   ARCHIPELAGO.         325 

did  not  remain  long.  Gutzlaff  came  over  from  the  Dutch  set- 
tlement at  lihio,  but  did  not  remain  long  enough  to  effect  any- 
thing :  nor  did  Abeel,  who  came  f i-om  China  in  1831  and  left  soon 
after  for  Siam.  The  German  missionary  at  this  station,  Thom- 
sen,  when  about  to  leave  in  1834,  sold  his  printing  apparatus  to 
the  mission  newly  established  there  under  the  American  Board 
by  Tracy.  The  prospects  in  China  appearing  unpromising  at 
this  time,  it  was  designed  by  the  directors  of  the  American 
society  to  establish  a  well-regulated  school  for  both  Chinese  and 
Malays,  which  was  by  degrees  to  become  a  seminary,  and  as 
many  primary  schools  as  there  were  means  to  support ;  besides 
the  usual  labors  in  preaching  and  visiting,  a  type  foundry  and 
printing  office  for  manufacturing  books  in  Chinese,  Malay, 
Bugis,  and  Siamese  were  also  contemplated.  In  December, 
1834,  Tracy  was  joined  by  the  Kev.  P.  Parker,  M.D.,  who 
opened  a  hospital  in  the  Chinese  part  of  the  town  for  the 
gratuitous  i-elief  of  the  sick ;  in  1835  Wolfe  arrived  from 
England,  and  tvVo  years  afterward  Rev.  Messrs.  Dickinson, 
Hope,  and  Travelli,  and  T^orth  from  the  United  States,  to  take 
charge  of  the  schools  and  printing  office.  The  school  estab- 
lished by  the  American  mission  was  carried  on  until  1844,  when 
the  mission  was  removed  to  China  and  the  Malay  portion  of  it 
given  up. 

The  English  mission,  after  the  death  of  Wolfe  in  1837,  was 
under  the  care  of  Messrs.  Dyer  and  Stronach,  the  former  of 
whom  had  removed  there  from  Penang  and  Malacca.  Dyer 
had  been  for  many  years  engaged  in  preparing  steel  punches  for 
a  font  of  movable  Chinese  type,  and  his  patient  labors  had  al- 
ready overcome  the  principal  difficulties  in  the  way  when  the 
work  was  arrested  by  his  death  in  1843.  He  had,  however, 
finished  matrices  for  so  many  characters  of  two  fonts  that  the 
enterprise  needed  only  to  be  carried  on  by  a  practised  mechanic 
to  assure  its  success.  This  was  afterward  done  by  Messrs.  Cole 
and  Gamble  of  the  American  Presbyterian  Board.  Tn  their 
superior  styles  and  the  different  sizes  now  in  use  wo  must 
not  forget  Dyer's  initiatory  steps.  .This  gentleman  labored 
nearly  seventeen  years  with  a  consecration  of  energy  and  single- 
ness of  purpose  seldom  exceeded,  and  won  the  affectionate  re- 


326  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

spect  of  the  natives  wlierever  lie  lived.  The  mission  was  con- 
tinued until  1845,  when  the  printing  office  was  removed  to 
Hongkong,  and  nearly  all  pi'oselyting  efforts  in  the  colony  by 
British  Christians  suspended.  This  point  of  intiuence  has  peculiar 
claims  on  them  as  a  radiating  centre  for  the  various  nations  and 
tribes  which  trade  in  Singapore. 

The  mission  to  the  Chinese  in  Java  was  commenced  by  Slater 
in  1819  and  reinforced  in  1822  by  Medhurst,  who  continued  in 
charge  of  it,  with  some  interruptions,  until  1843,  when  he  re- 
moved to  Shanghai.  The  Dutch  churches  have  carried  on 
evangelizing  work  in  all  their  colonies,  aided  and  guided  some- 
what by  the  government  officials,  but  have  done  almost  nothing 
for  the  Chinese,  except  as  they  have  been  addressed  in  Malay. 
Such  labors  in  the  Dutch  colonies  have  been  left  to  them,  and 
foreign  societies  have  now  withdrawn  from  the  Archipelago  in 
a  great  measure.  The  efforts  of  the  American  missionaries 
were  confined  to  Borneo  and  Singapore  up  to  1844,  when  they 
all  removed  to  China.  The  suspicious  and  restrictive  bearing 
of  the  Dutch  authorities  toward  such  efforts  had  its  influence 
in  making  this  change. 

A  summary  of  labors  at  the  stations  was  given  by  Medhurst 
in  1837,  who  refers  in  it  almost  exclusively  to  the  English  mis- 
sionaries, as  the  Americans  had  at  that  time  only  recently  com- 
menced operations.  "  Protestant  missionaries,  considering  them- 
selves excluded  from  the  interior  of  the  Empire  of  China,  and 
findiuir  a  host  of  emic-rants  in  the  various  countries  in  the 
Malayan  Archipelago,  aimed  first  to  enlighten  these,  with  the 
hope  that  if  properly  instructed  and  influenced  they  would,  on 
their  return  to  their  native  land,  carry  with  them  the  gospel 
they  had  learned  and  spread  it  among  their  countrymen.  With 
this  view  they  established  themselves  in  the  various  colonies 
around  China,  studied  the  language,  set  up  schools  and  semi- 
naries, wrote  and  printed  books,  conversed  extensively  with  the 
people,  and  tried  to  collect  congregations  to  whom  they  might 
preach  the  word  of  life.  Since  the  commencement  of  their 
missions  they  have  translated  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  printed 
two  thousand  complete  Bibles  in  two  sizes,  ten  thousand  Testa- 
ments and   thirty  thousand  separate  books,  and  ujiward  of  half 


THE   MISSIONS    WITHDRAWN.  327 

a  million  of  tracts  in  Chinese  ;  besides  four  thousand  Testa- 
ments and  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  tracts  in  the  lan- 
guages of  the  archipelago,  making  about  twenty  millions  of 
printed  pages.  About  ten  thousand  children  have  passed 
through  the  mission  schools,  nearly  one  hundred  persons  have 
been  baptized,  and  several  native  preachers  raised  up,  one  of 
whom  has  proclaimed  the  gospel  to  his  countrymen  and  en- 
dured persecution  for  Jesus'  sake." 

Since  this  was  written  the  number  of  pages  printed  and  cir- 
culated has  more  than  doubled,  the  number  of  scholars  taught 
has  increased  many  thousands,  and  preaching  proportion- 
ably  extended ;  while  a  few  more  have  professed  the  gospel 
by  baptism  and  a  generally  consistent  life.  All  these  mis- 
sions, so  far  as  the  Chinese  are  concerned,  are  now  suspended, 
and,  unless  the  Dutch  resume  them,  are  not  likely  to  be  soon 
revived.  The  greater  openings  in  China  itself,  and  the  small 
number  of  cpialified  men  ready  to  enter  them,  invited  all  the 
laborers  away  from  the  outskirts  and  colonies  to  the  borders, 
and  into  the  mother  country  itself.  The  idea  entertained,  that 
the  colonists  would  react  upon  their  countrymen  at  home, 
proved  illusive  ;  for  the  converts,  when  they  returned  to  dwell 
among  their  heathen  countrymen,  were  lost  in  the  crowd,  and 
though  they  may  not  have  adopted  or  sanctioned  their  old 
heathen  customs,  were  too  few  to  work  in  concert  and  too 
ignorant  and  unskilled  to  carry  on  such  labors.' 

When  Robert  Morrison  died  at  Canton  in  1S3-I-,  the  prospect 
of  the  extension  of  evangelistic  work  among  the  people  was 
nearly  as  dark  as  when  he  landed  ;  in  China  itself  during  that 
time  only  three  assistants  had  come  to  his  help,  for  there  were 
few  encouragements  for  them  to  stay.  Bridgman,  the  first  mis- 
sionary from  the  American  churches  to  China,  in  company  with 
D.  Abeel,  seaman's  chaplain  at  Whampoa,  arrived  in  February, 
1830.  Abeel  remained  nearly  a  year,  when  he  went  to  Singa- 
pore, and  subsequently  to  Siam.     They  were  received  in  Canton 

'  Besides  the  regular  publications  of  the  societies  engaged  in  this  brancli  of 
missions  wliich  give  authentic  details,  see  the  memoirs  of  Abeel,  Dyer,  Milne, 
and  Morrison,  Tomlin's  Missionary  Letters,  and  Abeel's  Residence  in  China  and 
the  neighboring  countries. 


328  TIIK    MIDDLE    KIXGDOM. 

by  the  house  of  Olypliaiit  ik  Co.,  in  wliose  establishment  ono 
or  both  were  maintained  during  the  first  three  years,  and  wliose 
partners  remained  tlic  friends  and  supporters  of  all  efforts  for 
the  evangelization  of  the  Chinese  till  its  close,  fifty  years  after- 
ward. Bridgman  took  four  or  five  boys  as  scholars,  but  his 
limited  accommodations  prevented  the  enlargement  of  the  school, 
and  in  183-i  it  was  disbanded  by  the  departure  of  its  pupils, 
whose  friends  feared  to  be  involved  in  trouble. 

During  the  summer  of  1833  Liang  A-fah  distributed  a  large 
number  of  books  in  and  about  Canton,  a  work  which  well  suited 
his  inclinations.  Many  copies  of  the  Scriptures  and  his  own 
tracts  had  reached  the  students  assembled  at  the  literary  ex- 
aminations, when  the  ofiicers  interfered  to  prevent  him.  In 
1834  the  authoriti,es  ordered  a  search  for  those  natives  who 
had  "  traitorously"  assisted  Lord  Xapier  in  publishing  an  appeal 
to  the  Chinese,  and  Liang  A-fah  and  his  assistants  were  im- 
mediately suspected.  Two  of  the  latter  were  seized,  one  of 
whom  was  beaten  with  forty  blows  upon  his  face  for  refusing 
to  divulge  ;  the  other  made  a  full  disclosure,  and  the  police  next 
day  repaired  to  his  shop  and  seized  three  printers,  with  four 
hundi'ed  volumes  and  l)locks ;  the  men  were  subsequently  re- 
leased by  paying  about  eight  hundred  dollars.  Liang  A-fah 
fled,  and  a  body  of  police  arrived  at  his  native  village  to  arrest 
him,  l)ut  not  finding  him  or  his  family  they  seized  three  of  his 
kindred  and  sealed  up  his  house,  lie  finally  nuide  his  way  to 
Macao  and  sailed  to  Singapore. 

Few  books  were  distributed  after  this  at  Canton  until  ten 
years  later,  but  numerous  copies  were  circulated  along  the  coast 
as  far  noi'th  as  Tientsin,  accompanied  with  such  explanations  as 
could  be  given.  The  first  and  most  interesting  of  these  voyages 
was  made  by  Gutzlaff,  on  board  a  junk  proceeding  from  Bang- 
kok to  Tientsin,  June  9,  1831,  in  which  the  sociable  character 
of  the  Chinese  and  their  readiness  to  receive  and  entertain 
foreignc'rs  when  they  could  do  so  without  fear  of  their  rulers 
was  plainly  seen.'     After  his  an-ival  at  Macao,  December  13th, 


'  For  an  account  of  a  trip  much  like  it,  see  Annates  de  la  Foi,  Tome  VII^ 
p.  356. 


gutzlaff's  voyages  along  the  coast.         329 

he  was  engaged  by  the  enlightened  chief  of  the  English  factory, 
Charles  Marjoribanks,  as  interpreter  to  accompany  Lindsay  in 
the  ship  Lord  Amherst,  on  an  experimental  commercial  voyage 
which  occnpied  about  seven  months  (February  20  to  September 
5,  1832),  and  presented  further  opportunities  for  learning  the 
feelings  of  the  Chinese  officers  regarding  foreign  intercoui'se. 
Many  religious  and  scientific  books  were  distributed,  among 
which  was  one  giving  a  general  account  of  the  English  nation 
that  was  eagerly  received  by  all  classes.  Within  a  few  weeks 
after  his  return  Gutzlaff  started  a  third  time,  October  20tli,  in 
the  Sylph,  an  opium  vessel  in  the  employ  of  a  leading  English 
firm  at  (Janton,  and  went  as  far  as  Manchuria  while  the  winds 
were  favorable.  She  returned  to  Macao  April  29,  1833,  visit- 
ing many  places  on  the  downward  trip.  The  interest  aroused 
in  England  and  America  among  political,  commercial,  and  re- 
ligious people,  fifty  years  ago,  by  the  reports  of  these  three 
voyages  can  now  hardly  be  appreciated.  They  opened  the  pros- 
pect of  new  relations  with  one-half  of  mankind,  and  the  other 
half  who  had  long  felt  debarred  from  entering  upon  their  right- 
ful fields  in  all  these  diversified  interests  prepared  for  great 
efforts. 

Great  Ihitain  took  the  lead  in  breaking  down  the  barriers, 
and  the  religious  world  urged  on  the  work  of  missions.  Con- 
tributions were  sent  to  Gutzlaff  from  England  and  America,  en- 
couraging him  to  proceed,  and  grants  were  made  to  aid  in 
printing  Bibles  and  tracts.  Li  1835  he  gave  up  his  connection 
with  the  opium  trade  and  took  the  office  of  interpreter  to  the 
English  consular  authorities  on  a  salary  of  eight  hundred  pounds 
sterling,  which  he  retained  till  his  death,  August  9,  1851,  aged 
fortj'-eight.  lie  was  a  man  of  great  industry  and  knowledge 
of  Chinese,  and  carried  on  a  missionary  organization  at  Hong- 
kong by  means  of  native  Christians  for  several  years.  His 
publications  in  the  Chinese,  Japanese,  Dutch,  German,  English, 
Siamese,  C/Ochinchinese,  and  Latin  languages  number  eighty- 
five  in  all ;  they  are  now  seldom  seen. 

Li  1835  Medhurst  visited  China,  and,  assisted  by  the  house  of 
Olyphant  &  Co.,  embarked  in  the  brig  Huron,  accompanied  by 
the  American  missionary  Stevens  and  furnished  with  a  supply 


530  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

of  books.  During  tlie  three  months  of  the  voyage,  tliey  "  went 
through  various  parts  of  four  provinces  and  many  villages,  giv- 
ing away  about  eighteeTi  thousand  volumes,  of  which  six  thou- 
sand were  portions  of  the  Scriptures,  among  a  cheerful  and 
willing  people,  without  meeting  with  the  least  aggression  or  in- 
jury ;  having  been  always  received  by  the  people  with  a  cheer- 
ful smile,  and  most  genei-ally  by  the  officers  with  politeness  and 
respect."'  Medhurst's  ability  to  sj)eak  the  Amoy  dialect  intro- 
duced him  to  the  peo})le  in  the  junks  at  all  the  ports  on  the 
coast.  Years  after  this  voyage  the  Methodist  missionaries  at 
Fuhchau  found  that  some  of  the  books  given  away  on  Ilaitan 
Island  had  been  read  and  rememl)ered,  and  thus  j^repared  the 
people  there  for  listening  to  further  preaching. 

The  most  expensive  enterprise  for  this  object  was  set  on  foot 
in  1830,  and  few  efforts  to  advance  the  cause  of  religion  among 
the  Chinese  have  been  planned  on  a  scale  of  greater  liberality. 
The  brig  Himmaleh  was  purchased  in  ISTew  York  by  the  firm  of 
Talbot,  Olyphant  &  Co.,  principally  for  the  pui-pose  of  aiding 
missionaries  in  circulating  religious  books  on  the  coasts  of 
China  and  the  neighboring  countries,  and  arrived  in  August, 
183G.  Gutzlaff,  who  was  then  engaged  as  interpreter  to  the 
English  authorities,  declined  going  in  her,  because  in  that  case 
he  must  resign  his  commission,  and  there  was  no  other  mission- 
ary in  China  acquainted  with  the  dialects  spoken  on  the  coast. 
The  brig  remained  unemployed,  therefore,  until  December, 
when  she  was  dispatched  on  a  cruise  among  the  islands  of  the 
archipelago  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Stevens,  accompanied 
by  G.  T.  Lay,  agent  of  the  Ih-itish  and  Foreign  Bible  Society, 
recently  arrived.  This  decision  of  Gutzlaif,  who  had  again  and 
again  urged  such  a  measure,  and  had  himself  ceased  his  voyages 
on  the  coast  because  of  his  implied  connection  thereby  with  the 
opium  trade,  was  quite  unexpected.  The  death  of  Mr.  Stevens 
at  Singapore,  in  January,  threw  the  chief  responsibility  and  di- 
rection of  the  undertaking  upon  Capt.  Fi'azer,  who  seems  to 
have  been  poorly  qualified  for  any  other  than  the  maritime 
part.  Kev.  Messrs.  Dickinson  and  Wolfe  went  in  Stevens' 
place,  but  as  none  of  these  gentlemen  understood  the  Malayan 
language,  less  direct  intercourse  was  had  with  the  people  at  the 


THE   DISTRIBUTION   OF   BOOKS.  331 

places  where  they  stopped  than  was  anticipated.  The  Him- 
iiialeh  reached  China  in  July,  183T,  and  as  there  was  no  one 
qualiiied  to  go  in  her,  she  returned  to  the  Ignited  States.  An 
account  of  the  voyage  was  written  by  Lay  and  published 
in  Xew  York,  in  connection  M'ith  that  of  the  ship  Morrison  to 
Japan  in  August,  1837,  by  C.  W.  King,  of  the  tirni  of  Oly- 
phant  &  Co.,  under  whose  direction  the  trip  of  the  latter  was 
taken  for  the  purpose  of  restoring  seven  shipwrecked  Japanese 
to  their  native  land.  Gutzlaff  accompanied  this  vessel  as  in- 
terpreter, for  three  of  the  men  were  under  the  orders  of  the 
English  superintendent ;  the  expedition  failed  in  its  object,  and 
all  the  men  were  brought  back.  Probably  fifty  thousaud  books 
in  all  were  scattered  on  the  coast  in  these  and  other  voyages, 
and  more  than  double  that  number  about  Canton,  Macao,  and 
their  vicinity. 

This  promiscuous  distribution  of  books  has  been  criticised  by 
some  as  injudicious  and  little  calculated  to  advance  the  objects 
of  a  Christian  mission.  The  funds  expended  in  printing  and 
circulating  books,  it  was  said  by  these  critics,  who  have  never  un- 
dertaken aught  themselves,  could  have  been  nnich  better  em- 
ployed in  establishing  schools.  To  scatter  books  broadcast 
among  a  people  whose  ability  to  read  them  was  not  ascertained, 
and  under  circumstances  which  prevented  any  explanation  of 
the  design  in  giving  them  or  inquiries  as  to  the  effects  pro- 
duced, was  not,  at  first  view,  a  very  wdse  or  promising  course. 
But  it  must  be  remembered  that  prior  to  the  treaty  of  Nan- 
king  this  was  the  only  means  of  appi'oaching  the  people  of  the 
country.  The  Emperor  forbade  foreigners  residing  in  his  bor- 
ders except  at  Canton,  and  Protestant  missionaries  did  not  be- 
lieve that  it  was  the  best  means  of  recommending  their  teachings 
to  come  before  his  subjects  as  persistent  violators  of  his  laws ; 
God's  providence  would  open  the  way  when  the  laborers  M'ere 
ready,  Xo  one  supposed  that  the  desire  to  receive  books  was 
an  index  of  the  ability  of  the  people  to  understand  them  or 
love  of  the  doctrines  contained  in  them.  If  the  plan  offered  a 
reasonable  probability  of  effecting  some  good,  it  certainly  could 
do  almost  no  harm,  for  the  respect  for  printed  books  assured 
us  that  they  would  not  be  wantonly  destroyed,  but  rather,  in 


332  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

most  cases,  carefully  preserved.  The  business  of  tract  distri- 
bution and  colportage  may,  however,  be  carried  too  far  in  ad- 
vance of  other  parts  of  missionary  work.  It  is  much  easier 
to  write,  print,  and  give  away  religious  treatises,  than  it  is 
to  sit  down  with  the  people  and  explain  the  leading  truths 
of  the  Bible ;  but  the  two  go  well  together  among  those  who 
can  read,  and  in  no  nation  is  it  more  desirable  that  they  should 
be  combined.  If  the  books  be  given  away  without  explana- 
tion, the  people  do  not  understand  the  object  and  feel  too  little 
interest  in  them  to  take  the  trouble  to  find  out ;  if  the  preacher 
deliver  an  intelligible  discourse,  his  audience  will  probably 
remember  its  general  purjwrt,  but  they  will  be  likely  to  read 
the  book  with  more  attention  and  understand  the  sermon 
better  when  the  two  are  combined ;  the  voice  explains  the 
book  and  the  book  recalls  the  ideas  and  teachings  of  the 
preacher. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  the  fate  of  these  books  cannot  be 
traced,  for  that  is  true  of  such  labors  in  other  lands.  On  the 
one  hand,  they  have  been  seen  on  the  counters  of  shops  cut  in 
two  for  wra})})ing  up  medicines  and  fruit — which  the  shopman 
would  not  do  with  the  worst  of  his  own  Ijooks ;  on  llie  other,  a 
copy  of  a  gospel  containing  remarks  was  found  on  board  the 
adniirars  junk  at  Tinghai,  when  that  town  was  taken  by  the 
English  in  1840.  Tliey  certainly  have  not  all  been  lost  or  con- 
temptuously destroyed,  though  perhaps  most  have  been  like 
seed  sown  by  the  wayside.  In  missions,  as  in  other  things,  it 
is  impossil)le  to  predict  the  result  of  several  courses  of  action 
before  trying  them  ;  and  if  it  was  believed  that  many  of  those 
who  receive  books  can  read  them,  there  was  a  strong  induce- 
ment to  press  this  branch  of  labor,  when,  too,  it  was  the  only 
one  which  could  be  brought  to  bear  upon  large  portions  of  the 
people. 

In  1832  the  Chinese  Itepository  was  commenced  by  Bridg- 
man  and  encouraged  by  Morrison,  who,  with  his  son,  continued 
to  furnish  valual)le  papers  and  translations  as  long  as  they  lived. 
Its  object  was  to  diffuse  correct  information  concerning  China, 
while  it  foi-med  a  convenient  rcjiertoiy  of  the  essays,  travels, 
translations,  and  papers  uf  contriljutors.     It  was  issued  monthly 


A   MISSION   HOSPITAL   AT   CANTON.  333 

for  twenty  years  under  the  editorship  of  Messrs.  Bridgnian  and 
AVillianis,  and  contains  a  history  of  foreign  intercourse  and  mis- 
sions during  its  existence.  Tlie  Chinese  Recorder  lias  since 
chronicled  the  latter  cause  and  the  China  Review  taken  the 
literary  branch. 

In  1834  Dr.  Parker  joined  the  mission  at  Canton,  and  opened 
a  hospital,  in  October,  1835,  for  the  gratuitous  relief  of  such 
diseases  among  the  Chinese  as  his  time  and  means  would  allow, 
devoting  his  attention  chiefly  to  ophthalmic  cases  and  surgical 
operations.  This  branch  of  Christian  benevolence  was  already 
not  unknown  in  China.  Morrison  in  1820  had,  in  connection 
with  Dr.  Livingstone,  commenced  dispensing  medicines  at 
Macao,  while  T.  R.  Colledge,  also  of  the  East  India  Company, 
opened  a  dispensary  at  his  own  expense,  in  1827,  and  finding 
the  number  of  patients  rapidly  increasing,  he  rented  two  small 
houses  at  Macao,  where  in  four  years  more  than  four  thousand 
patients  were  cured  or  relieved.  The  benevolent  design  was 
encouraged  by  the  foreign  community,  and  about  six  thousand 
five  hundred  dollars  were  contributed,  so  that  it  was,  after  the 
first  year,  no  other  expense  to  the  founder  than  giving  his  time 
and  strength.  It  was  unavoidably  closed  in  1832,  and  a  philan- 
thropic Swede,  Sir  Andrew  Ljungstedt,  prepared  a  short  account 
of  its  operations,  and  inserted  several  letters  written  to  Dr.  Col- 
ledge, one  of  which  is  here  quoted  : 

To  knock  head  and  tliank  the  great  Englisli  (hiotor.  Venerahle  gentleman  : 
May  your  groves  of  almond  trees  be  abundant,  and  the  orange  trees  make  tlie 
water  of  your  well  fragrant.  As  lieretofore,  may  you  be  made  known  to  tlie 
world  as  illustrious  and  brilliant,  and  as  a  most  profound  and  skilful  doctor. 
I  last  year  arrived  in  Macao  blind  in  both  eyes ;  I  liave  to  tliank  you,  vener- 
able sir,  for  having  by  your  excellent  methods  cured  me  perfectly.  Your 
goodness  is  as  lofty  as  a  hill,  your  virtue  deep  as  the  sea;  therefore  all  my 
family  will  express  their  gratitude  for  your  now-creating  goodness.  Now  I 
am  desirous  of  returning  home.  Your  profound  kindness  it  is  impossible  for 
me  to  requite  ;  I  feel  extremely  ashamed  of  myself  for  it.  I  am  grateful  for 
your  favors,  and  shall  think  of  them  without  ceasing.  Moreover,  I  am  certain 
that  since  you  have  been  a  benefactor  to  the  world  and  your  good  government 
is  spread  abroad,  heaven  must  surely  grant  you  a  long  life,  and  you  will  enjoy 
every  happiness.  I  return  to  my  mean  province.  Your  illustrious  name, 
venerable  sir,  will  extend  to  all  time  ;  during  a  thousand  ages  it  will  not  decay. 
I  return  thanks  for  your  great  kindness.  Impotent  are  my  words  to  sound 
your  fame  and   to  express  my  thanks.     I  wish  you  i!verlasting  tranquillity. 


334  THE    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

Presented  to  the  great  Englisli  doctor  and  noble  gentleman  ia  the  lltli  year  ol 
Taukwang,  by  Ho  Shuh,  of  the  district  of  Chau-ngan,  in  the  department  of 
Changchau  in  Fuhkien,  who  knocks  head  and  presents  thanks. 

Another  patient,  in  true  Chinese  style,  returned  thanks  for 
the  aid  he  had  received  in  a  poetical  effusion  : 

This  I  address  to  the  English  physician :  condescend,  sir,  to  look  upon  it. 
Diseased  in  my  eyes,  I  had  almost  lost  my  sight,  when  happily,  sir,  I  met  witli 
you.  You  gave  me  medicine  ;  you  applied  the  knife  ;  and,  as  when  the  clouds 
are  swept  away,  now  again  I  behold  the  azure  heavens.  My  joys  know  no 
bounds.  As  a  faint  token  of  my  feelings,  I  have  composed  a  stanza  in  heptam- 
eter,  which,  with  a  few  trifling  presents,  I  beg  you  will  be  pleased  to  accept. 
Then  happy,  happy  shall  I  be ! 

He  lavishes  his  blessings,  but  seeks  for  no  return ; 

Such  medicine,  such  physician,  since  Tsin  were  never  known : 

The  medicine — how  many  kinds  most  excellent  has  he  ! 

The  surgeon's  knife— it  pierced  the  eye.  and  spring  once  more  I  see. 

If  Tung  has  not  been  born  again  to  bless  the  present  age, 

Then  sure  'tis  Sii  reanimate  again  upon  the  stage. 

Whenever  called  away  from  far,  to  see  your  native  land, 

A  living  monument  I'll  wait  upon  the  ocean's  strand. 

When  Dr.  Parker\s  scheme  was  made  known  to  Howqna,  the 
hono;  merchant,  he  readily  fell  in  with  it  and  let  his  huilding 
for  the  purpose,  and  after  the  first  year  gave  it  rent  free  till  its 
destruction  in  1856.  It  was  opened  for  the  admission  of  pa- 
tients Xovend)er  4,  1835.  The  peculiar  circumstances  nnder 
which  this  enterprise  was  started  imposed  some  caution  on  its 
superintendent,  and  the  hong  merchants  themselves  seem  to 
have  had  a  hu'king  suspicion  that  so  ])ui'ely  a  henevolent  object, 
involving  so  mnch  expense  of  timt\  laboi',  and  moiiev,  must 
have  some  latent  object  which  it  l)ehooved  them  to  watch.  A 
linguist's  clei'k  was  often  in  attendance,  partly  for  this  purpose, 
for  three  or  fonr  years,  and  made  liimself  very  useful.  The 
patients,  who  numbered  about  a  hundred  daily,  were  often  i-est- 
less,  and  hindered  their  own  relief  by  not  patienth'  awaiting 
their  turn ;  but  the  habits  of  order  in  which  they  are  trained 
made  even  such  a  company  amenable  to  rules.  The  surgical 
operations  attracted  nnicli  notice,  and  successful  cui-es  were 
spoken  of  abroad  and  served  to  advertise  and  recommend  the 
institution  to  the  hi<i;her  ranks  of  native  societv.     It  is  difficult 


SUCCESS  OF  Parker's  medical  scheme.  33^5 

at  this  date  to  full}-  appreciate  the  extraordinary  ignorance  and 
prejudice  respectin<^  foreigners  wliicli  tlie  Chinese  tlien  enter- 
tained, and  which  could  be  best  removed  by  some  such  form  of 
benevolence.  On  the  other  hand,  the  repeated  instances  of 
kind  feeling  between  friends  and  relatives  exhibited  among  the 
patients,  tender  solicitude  of  j)arents  for  the  relief  of  children, 
and  the  fortitude  shown  in  bearing  the  severest  operations,  or 
faith  in  taking  unknown  medicines  from  the  foreigners'  hands, 
all  tended  to  elevate  the  character  of  the  Chinese  in  the  opinion 
of  every  beholder,  as  their  unfeigned  gratitude  for  restored 
health  increased  his  esteem. 

The  reports  of  this  hospital  in  Sin-tau-lan  Street  gave  the 
requisite  information  as  to  its  operations,  and  means  were  taken 
to  place  the  whole  system  upon  a  surer  footing  by  forming  a 
society  in  China.  Suggestions  for  this  object  were  circulated 
in  October,  1836,  signed  by  Messrs.  Colledge,  Parker,  and 
Bridgman,  in  which  the  motives  for  such  a  step  and  the  good 
effects  likely  to  result  from  it  were  thus  explained : 

We  cannot  close  these  siiggestions  without  adverting  to  one  idea,  thougli 
this  is  not  the  place  to  enlarge  upon  it.  It  is  affecting  to  contemplate  this 
Empire,  embracing  three  hundred  and  sixty  millions  of  souls,  where  almost 
all  the  light  of  true  science  is  unknown,  where  Christianity  has  ncdredy  shed 
one  genial  ray,  and  where  the  theories  concerning  matter  and  mind,  creation 
and  providence,  are  wofully  destitute  of  truth  ;  it  is  deeply  affecting  to  see  the 
multitudes  who  are  here  suffering  under  maladies  from  which  the  hand  of 
(diarity  is  able  to  relieve  them.  Now  we  know,  indeed,  that  it  is  the  glorious 
gospel  of  the  l)lessed  God  onl}'  that  can  set  free  the  human  mind,  and  that  it 
is  only  when  enlightened  in  the  true  knowledge  of  God  that  man  is  rendered 
capable  of  rising  to  his  true  intellectual  elevation  ;  but  while  we  take  care  to 
give  this  truth  the  high  place  which  it  ought  ever  to  hold,  we  should  beware 
of  depreciating  other  truth.  In  the  vast  conflict  which  is  to  i-evolutionize  the 
intellectual  and  moral  world,  we  may  not  underrate  the  value  of  any  weai^on. 
As  a  means,  then,  to  waken  the  dormant  mind  of  China,  may  we  not  place  a 
high  value  upon  medical  truth,  and  seek  its  introduction  with  good  hope  of 
its  becoming  the  liandmaid  of  religious  truth  ?  If  an  inquiry  after  truth  upon 
any  subject  is  elicited,  is  there  not  a  great  point  gained  '?  And  that  inquiry 
after  medical  truth  may  be  provoked,  there  is  good  reason  to  expect ;  for,  ex- 
clusive as  China  is  in  all  her  systems,  she  cannot  exclude  disease  nor  shut  her 
people  up  from  the  desire  of  relief.  Does  not,  then,  the  finger  of  Providence 
point  clearly  to  one  way  that  we  should  take  with  the  people  of  China,  direct- 
ing us  to  seek  the  introduction  of  the  remedies  for  sin  itself  by  the  same  door 
througli  which  we  convey  those  which  are  designed  to  mitigate  or  remove  its 


336  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

evils  ?  Although  medical  truths  cauuot  restore  the  sick  and  afflicted  to  the 
favor  of  God,  yet  perchance  the  spirit  of  inquiry  about  it  once  awakened 
will  not  sleep  till  it  inquires  about  the  source  of  truth ;  and  he  who  comes 
with  the  blessings  of  health  may  prove  an  angel  of  mercy  to  point  to  the  Lamb 
of  God.  At  any  rate,  this  seems  the  only  open  door  ;  let  us  enter  it.  A  faith 
that  worketh  not  may  wait  for  other  doors.  Xcfne  can  deny  that  tlii.-i  is  a  way 
of  charity  that  worketh  no  ill,  and  our  duty  to  walk  in  it  seems  plain  and 
imperative.' 

This  paper  was  favorably  received,  and  in  Februarj',  1838,  a 
public  meeting  was  convened  at  Canton  for  the  purpose  of 
forming  a  society,  "  tlie  object  of  which  shall  be  to  encourage 
gentlemen  of  the  medical  profession  to  come  and  practise  gra- 
tuitously among  the  Chinese  by  aifording  the  usual  aid  of  hos- 
pitals, medicines,  and  attendants ;  but  that  the  support  or  re- 
muneration of  such  medical  gentlemen  be  not  at  present  within 
its  contemplation."  Some  other  rules  were  laid  down,  but  the 
principle  here  stated  has  been  since  adhered  to  in  all  the  similar 
establishments  opened  in  other  places.  It  has  served,  moreover, 
to  retain  them  under  the  oversight  and  their  resident  physicians 
in  the  employ  of  missionary  societies.  Xo  directions  were 
given  by  the  framers  of  the  first  society  concerning  the  mode 
of  imparting  religious  instruction,  distributing  tracts,  or  doing 
missionary  work  as  they  had  opportunity.  The  signers  of  the 
original  paper  of  suggestions  also  issued  an  address,  further 
setting  forth  their  views  and  expectations: 

To  restore  health,  to  ease  pain,  or  in  any  way  to  diminish  the  sum  of 
human  misery,  forms  an  object  worthy  of  the  philanthrojiist.  But  in  the 
prosecution  of  our  views  we  look  forward  to  far  higher  results  than  the  mere 
relief  of  human  suffering.  We  hope  that  our  endeavors  will  tend  to  break 
down  the  walls  of  prejudice  and  long-cherished  nationality  of  feeling,  and  to 
teach  the  Chinese  that  those  whom  they  affect  to  despise  are  both  able  and 
willing  to  become  their  benefactors.  They  shut  the  door  against  the  teachers 
of  the  gospel ;  they  find  our  books  often  written  in  idioms  which  they  cannot 
readily  understand ;  and  they  have  laid  such  restrictions  upon  commerce  that 
it  does  not  awaken  among  thein  that  love  of  science,  that  spirit  of  invention, 
and  that  love  of  thought  which  it  uniformly  excites  and  fosters  whenever  it 
is  allowed  to  take  its  own  cour.se  without  limit  or  interference.  In  the  way  of 
doing  them  good  our  opportunities  are  few  ;  but  among  these  that  of  practis- 

'  Chinese  Repositoi'y,  Vol.  V.,  p.  372;  Vol.  VII.,  pp.  33-40.  Lockhart's  Med' 
iciU  Missionary  in  China,  18G1,  p.  134. 


FORMATION    OF    MEDICAL    MISSIONARY    SOCIETY.       337 

ing  medicine  and  surgery  stands  pre-eminent.  Favorable  results  have  hitherto 
followed  it,  and  will  still  continue  to  do  so.  It  is  a  department  of  benevolence 
peculiarly  adai)ti'd  to  China. 

In  the  depaitnieut  of  benevolence  to  which  our  attention  is  now  turned, 
purity  and  disinterestedness  of  motive  are  more  clearly  evinced  than  in  any 
other.  They  appear  unmasked  ;  they  attract  the  gaze  and  excite  the  admira- 
tion and  gratitude  of  thousands,  llcul  the  nirk  is  our  motto,  constituting  alike 
the  injunction  under  which  we  act  and  tlie  object  at  which  we  aim  ;  and 
which,  with  the  blessing  of  God,  we  hope  to  accomplish  by  means  of  scientific 
practice  in  the  exercise  of  an  unbought  and  untiring  kindness.  We  have 
called  ours  a  missionary  society  because  we  trust  it  will  advance  the  cause  of 
missions,  and  because  we  want  men  to  fill  our  institutions  wlio  to  requisite 
skill  and  experience  add  the  self-denial  and  liigh  moral  qualities  which  are 
looked  for  in  a  missionary. 

The  undertaking  so  auspiciously  begun  at  Canton,  in  1835, 
has  been  carried  on  ever  since,  and  was  the  pattern  of  many 
similar  hospitals  at  the  stations  afterward  occupied.  The 
greatest  part  of  the  funds  needed  for  carrying  tliem  on  has 
been  contributed  in  China  itself  by  foreigners,  wlio  certainly 
would  not  have  done  so  had  they  not  felt  that  it  was  a  wise  and 
useful  charity,  and  known  something  of  the  way  their  funds 
were  employed.  The  hospital  at  Canton  has  exceeded  even  the 
hopes  of  its  founders,  and  its  many  buildings  and  wards  attest 
the  liberality  of  the  community  which  presented  them  to  the 
society.  The  native  rulers,  gentry,  and  merchants  are  now 
well  acquainted  with  the  institution,  and  contribute  to  carry  it 
on.  During  the  forty-five  years  of  its  existence  it  has  been 
conducted  by  Drs.  Parker  and  Kerr  nearly  all  the  time,  who 
have  relieved  about  seven  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  patients 
entered  on  the  books ;  tlie  outlay  has  been  over  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  thousand  dollars.  Several  dispensaries  in  the 
country  have  also  been  carried  on  with  the  society's  grants  in 
aid.  A  separate  hospital  was  conducted  in  Canton  from  1846 
to  1856  by  B.  Ilobson,  F.R.C.S.,  who  iias  left  an  enduring 
record  of  his  labors  in  eighteen  medical  works  in  Chinese, 
many  of  them  illustrated.  J.  G.  Kerr,  M.D.,  has  also  issued 
several  small  treatises,  and  the  publications  of  this  kind  in 
Chinese  suitable  for  the  people,  issued  by  them  and  other  mis- 
sionary physicians,  already  number  nearly  fifty. 

In  these  details  of  the  inception  of  the  plan  of  combining 
Vol.  II.— 22 


338  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDO^F. 

medical  labors  witli  the  work  of  Cliristian  missions  in  China, 
it  will  be  seen  how  the  confined  position  of  foreigners  at  Can- 
ton proved  to  be  an  incentive  and  an  aid  to  its  prosecution  for 
some  years — lo7ig  enough  to  show  its  place  and  fitness.  On 
the  cessation  of  hostilities  between  China  and  tireat  Britain  in 
1842,  other  fields  were  opened,  wliere  its  benefits  were  even 
more  strongly  shown.  The  war  had  left  the  people  amazed 
and  irritated  at  what  they  deemed  to  be  a  causeless  and  unjust 
attack  by  superior  power.  This  was  the  case  at  Amoy,  where  no 
foreigners  had  lived  until  the  British  army  took  possession  in 
August,  1841.  In  February,  1842,  Eevs.  D.  x\beel  and  W.  J. 
Boone  went  there  and  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  people  on 
Kulang  su,  who  were  much  pleased  to  meet  with  those  who 
could  converse  with  them  and  answer  their  inquiries.  Di-. 
Gumming  was  able,  by  their  assistance,  as  soon  as  he  opened 
his  dispensary,  to  inform  the  people  of  his  designs  ;  and  the 
missionaries,  on  their  part,  preached  the  gospel  to  the  patients, 
distributing  in  addition  suitable  books.  The  people  were  so 
ready  to  accept  tlic  proffenid  relief  that  it  was  soon  impossible 
for  one  man  to  do  more  than  wait  upon  the  blind,  lame,  dis- 
eased, and  injured  who  thi-onged  his  doors.  A  few  months 
more  equally  proved  that  while  the  phj^sician  was  attending 
to  the  patients  in  one  room,  the  preacher  could  not  ask  for  a 
better  audience  than  those  who  were  waiting  in  the  adjoining 
one.  An  invitation  to  attend  more  formal  services  on  the 
Sabbath  was  soon  accepted  by  a  few,  whose  curiosity  led  them 
to  come  and  hear  more  of  foreigners  and  their  teachings.  The 
reputation  of  the  hospital  was  seen  when  taking  short  excur- 
sions in  the  vicinity,  for  persons  M'ho  had  been  relieved  con- 
stantly came  forward  to  express  their  heartfelt  thanks.  Thus 
suspicion  gave  way  to  gratitude,  enemies  were  converted  to 
friends,  and  those  who  had  enjoyed  no  opportnnity  of  learning 
the  character  of  foreigners,  and  had  been  taught  to  regard 
them  as  barbarians  and  demons,  were  disabused  of  tlicir  (M-ior. 
The  favorable  impression  thus  made  at  Amoy,  forty  years  ago, 
has  never  been  suspended,  and  numerous  native  chnrchos  have 
been  gathered  in  all  that  region.  Just  the  same  uuicn  of 
pi'eaching  and   practice  was  begun    at   iShaughai    by  Dr.   W. 


POPULARITY    AND    INCREASE   OF   HOSPITAL   WORK.   339 

Lockliart  after  the  capture  of  that  city  in  1844,  and  has  been 
continued  to  this  time.  Ningpo  and  Fuhcliau  received  similar 
benefits  soon  after  ;  tliese  and  many  others  have  received  aid 
fi'om  foreigners  residing  in  the  Empire.  Several  thousand 
dollars  were  sent  from  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  to 
further  the  object,  and  one  society  was  formed  in  Edinburgh 
in  1S56  to  develop  this  branch  of  missionary  work. 

The  proposition  in  the  original  scheme  of  educating  Chinese 
youth  as  physicians  and  surgeons  has  not  been  carried  out  to  a 
great  extent.  The  practising  missionary  has  hardl}^  the  time 
to  do  his  students  justice,  and  unless  they  show  great  aptitude 
for  operations,  the  assistants  get  M^eary  of  the  I'outine  of  at- 
tending to  the  patients  and  go  away.  Dr.  Lockhart  speaks  of 
his  own  disappointments  in  this  I'espect.  Dr.  Parker  had  only 
one  pupil,  Kwan  A-to,  who  took  up  the  profession  among  his 
countrymen.  Dr.  Wong  A-fun  received  a  complete  medical 
education  in  Edinburgh,  and  rendered  efficient  help  for  many 
years  in  the  hospital  at  Canton  till  his  death.  The  college  at 
Peking  has  now  a  chair  of  anatomy  and  physiology,  which  will 
aid  in  introducing  better  practice.  Dr.  Kerr  gives  some  other 
reasons  for  the  small  number  of  skilled  physicians  educated 
in  the  missionary  hospitals,  yet  some  of  his  pupils  had  ob- 
tained lucrative  practice.  Others  had  imposed  themselves  in 
remote  places  on  the  people  as  such,  who  had  only  been  em- 
ployed as  students  a  few  months — a  gratifying  index  of  prog- 
ress. It  is  not  likely,  however,  that  the  Chinese  generally 
will  immediately  discard  their  own  mode  of  practice  and  adopt 
another  from  their  countrymen  so  far  as  to  support  them  in 
their  new  system.  They  have  not  enough  knowledge  of  medi- 
cine to  appreciate  the  difference  between  science  and  char- 
latanism ;  and  a  native  physician  himself  might  reasonably 
have  fears  of  the  legal  or  personal  results  of  an  unsuccessful  or 
doubtful  surgical  case  among  his  ignorant  patients,  so  far  as 
often  to  prevent  him  trying  it. 

The  successive  annual  reports  issued  from  the  various  mis- 
sionary hospitals  in  China  furnish  the  amplest  information 
concerning  their  management,  and  numerous  pai'tieulars  respect- 
ing the  people  who  resort  to  them.     At  the  Missionary  Con- 


340  TIIT-:  :\iinnLK  kixodom. 

fereiice  in  Sliangliai  (1877)  Drs.  KeiT  and  (iould  presented 
papers  relating  to  this  branch  of  labor  in  all  its  varions  as- 
pects. The  latter  discnssed  the  advantages  of  hospital  vei-sus 
itinerary  practice  ;  the  modes  of  bringing  the  patients  under 
religious  instruction  :  how  to  limit  their  number  so  as  to  not 
wear  out  the  phj^sician  ;  oversight  of  assistants  and  education 
of  pupils ;  how  far  this  gratuitous  relief  should  be  extended  ; 
what  was  the  best  mode  of  getting  a  fee  from  those  natives  who 
were  able  to  pay  something;  and,  finally,  the  reasons  for  not 
uniting  the  ministerial  functions  with  the  medical.  These 
various  points  show  clearly  how  the  experience  of  past  years  had- 
manifested  the  wisdom  and  foresight  of  those  who  originated 
the  work,  and  the  manner  it  has  developed  in  connection  with 
other  branches.  If  kept  as  an  auxiliary  agency,  there  seems  to  be 
no  reason  for  reducing  the  efforts  now  made  by  foreign  societies 
until  native  physicians  and  surgeons  are  able  to  take  up  this 
work,  just  as  native  preachers  are  to  oversee  their  own  churches. 

Another  benevolent  society,  whose  name  and  object  was  the 
Diffusion  of  Useful  Knowledge  in  China,  was  established  in 
December,  1834.  The  designs  of  the  association  were  "  by  all 
means  in  its  power  to  prepare  and  publish,  in  a  cheap  form, 
plain  and  easy  treatises  in  the  Chinese  language,  on  such 
branches  of  useful  knowledge  as  are  suited  to  the  existing  state 
and  condition  of  the  Chinese  Empire."  It  published  six  or 
eight  works  and  a  magazine  during  the  few  years  of  its  exist- 
ence, and  their  number  would  have  been  larger  if  there  had 
been  more  persons  capable  of  writing  treatises.  Since  then 
this  kind  of  mission  work  has  been  taken  up  by  various  agen- 
cies better  fitted  to  develop  its  several  departments,  and,  ex- 
cepting newspapers,  the  preparation  of  suitable  histories, 
geographies,  and  scientific  books  has  been  done  by  Protestant 
missionaries.  The  Chinese  government  has  directed  its  em- 
ployes in  the  ai'senal  schools  to  translate  such  works  as  will 
fm-nish  the  scholars  with  good  elementary  books. 

Their  usefulness  as  aids  and  precursors  of  the  introduction 
of  the  gospel  is  very  great.  Among  a  less  intelligent  popula- 
tion they  are  not  so  important  until  the  people  get  a  taste  for 
knowledge  in  schools  ;  but  where  the  conceit  of  false  learning 


SOCIETY   FOR  DIFFUSION  OF  USEFML  KNOWLEDGE.      341 

and  pride  of  literary  uttaininents  cause  such  a  contempt  for  all 
other  than  their  own  l)ooks,  as  is  the  case  in  Chinese  society, 
entertaining  narratives  and  notices  of  otlier  people  and  lands, 
got  up  in  an  attractive  form,  tend  to  disabuse  them  of  these 
ideas  (the  offspring  of  arrogant  ignorance  rather  than  deliber- 
ate rejection)  and  incite  them  to  learn  and  read  more.  The 
influence  of  newspapers  and  other  periodical  literature  will  be 
very  great  among  the  Chinese  when  they  begin  to  think  for 
themselves  on  the  great  truths  and  principles  which  are  now 
being  introduced  among  them.  They  have  already  begun  to 
discuss  political  topics,  and  the  great  advantage  of  movable 
tj'pes  over  the  old  blocks  tends  to  hasten  the  adoption  of 
foreign  modes  of  printing.  It  may,  by  some,  be  considered  as 
not  the  business  of  a  missionary  to  edit  a  newspaper  ;  but  those 
who  are  ac(|uainted  with  the  debased  hiertness  of  heathen 
minds  know  that  any  means  which  will  convey  truth  and 
arouse  the  people  tends  to  advance  religion.  The  influence 
of  the  Dnyanodya  in  Bombay,  and  other  kindred  publications 
in  various  places  hi  India,  is  great  and  good ;  hundreds  of  the 
people  read  them  and  then  talk  about  the  subjects  treated  in 
them,  who  would  neither  attend  religious  meetings,  look  at  the 
Scriptures,  nor  have  a  tract  in  their  possession.  The  same  will 
be  the  case  in  China,  and  it  is  not  irrelevant  to  the  work  of  a 
missionary  to  adopt  such  a  mode  of  imparting  truths,  if  it  be 
the  most  likely  way  of  reaching  the  prejudiced,  proud,  and 
ignorant  people  around  him.  When  the  native  religious  com- 
munity has  begun  to  take  form,  this  mode  of  instruction  and 
disputation  will  be  left  to  its  most  intelligent  members. 

In  January,  1835,  the  foreign  community  in  China  established 
a  third  association,  which  originated  entirely  with  a  few  of  its 
leading  members.  Soon  after  the  death  of  Dr.  Morrison,  a 
paper  was  circulated  containing  suggestions  for  the  formation  of 
an  association  to  be  called  the  Morrison  Education  Society,  in- 
tended both  as  a  testimonial  of  the  worth  and  labors  of  that 
excellent  man,  more  enduring  than  marble  or  brass,  and  a  means 
of  continuing  his  efforts  for  the  good  of  China.  A  provisional 
committee  was  formed  from  among  the  subscribers  to  this  paper, 
consisting  of  Sir  G.  13.  Robinson,  Bart.,  Messrs.  W.  Jardine,  D. 


342*  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

W.  C.  Olypliant,  Lancelot  Dent,  J.  11.  Morrison,  and  Rev.  E.  C. 
Bridgnian  ;  live  thousand  nine  hundred  and  seventy-seven  dollars 
were  immediately  subscribed,  and  about  one  thousand  five  hun- 
dred volumes  of  books  presented  to  its  library.  This  liberal  spirit 
for  the  welfare  of  the  people  among  whom  they  sojourned  re- 
flected the  highest  credit  on  the  gentlemen  interested  in  it,  as 
well  as  upon  the  whole  foreign  connnunity,  inasmuch  as,  Avith 
only  four  or  five  exceptions,  none  of  them  were  united  to  the 
'jountry  by  other  than  temporary  business  relations. 

The  main  objects  of  the  Morrison  Education  Society  were 
^'  the  establishment  and  im]iroven'ient  of  schools  in  which  Chinese 
youth  shall  be  taught  to  read  and  write  the  English  language  in 
connection  with  their  own,  by  which  means  shall  be  brought 
within  their  reach  all  the  instruction  rc(piisite  for  their  l)ecom- 
ing  wise,  industrious,  sober,  and  virtuous  members  of  society, 
fitted  in  their  respective  stations  of  life  to  discharge  well  the 
duties  which  they  owe  to  themselves,  their  kindred,  their  coun- 
try, and  their  (iod."  The  means  of  accom])lishing  this  end  by 
gathering  a  library,  employing  competent  teachers,  and  encour- 
aging native  schools  were  all  pointed  out  in  this  programme  of 
labors,  whose  comprehensiveness  was  ecpialled  only  by  its  phi- 
]anthroj)y.  Applications  were  made  for  teachers  both  in  England 
and  America ;  from  the  former,  an  answer  was  received  that 
there  was  no  likelihood  of  obtaining  one ;  a  person  was  selected 
in  the  latter,  the  Tlev.  S.  II.  Brown,  who  with  his  wife  arrived 
at  Macao  in  February,  1839.  In  the  interval  between  the  for- 
mation of  the  Society  and  the  time  when  its  operations  assumed 
a  definite  shape  in  its  own  schools,  something  was  done  in  col- 
lecting information  concerning  native  education  and  in  support- 
ing a  few  boys,  or  assisting  Mrs.  Gutzlaff's  school  at  Macao. 
The  Society's  school  was  opened  at  Macao  in  November,  1839, 
with  six  scholars ;  four  years  afterward  it  removed  to  INforrison 
Hill  in  Hongkong,  into  the  connnodious  quarters  erected  by  its 
president,  Lancelot  Dent,  on  a  site  granted  by  the  colonial  gov- 
ernment for  the  purpose.  In  181-5  Brown  had  thirt}'  pu])ils, 
who  filled  all  the  room  there  was  in  the  house.  He  stated  in 
liis  report  of  that  year,  as  a  gratifying  evidence  of  confidence 
on  their  part,  that  no  parent  had  asked  to  have  his  child  leave 


THE   MOKRISOlsr   EDUCATION   SOCIETY.  343 

during  the  year.  "  AVheii  tlie  scliool  was  coMiinenced,"  observes 
Mr.  Brown,  "  few  offered  their  sons  as  pupils,  and  even  they, 
as  some  of  them  have  since  told  me,  did  it  with  a  good  deal  of 
apprehension  as  to  the  consequences.  '  We  could  not  under- 
stand,' says  one  who  first  brought  a  boy  to  the  school,  '  why  a 
foreigner  should  wish  to  feed  and  instruct  our  children  for  noth- 
ing. We  thought  there  must  be  some  sinister  motive  at  the  bot- 
tom of  it.  Perhaps  it  was  to  entice  them  away  from  their  par- 
ents and  country,  and  transport  them  by  and  by  to  some  foreign 
land.'  At  all  events,  it  was  a  mystery.  '  But  now,'  said  the 
same  father  to  me  a  few  weeks  ago,  '  I  understand  it.  I  have 
had  my  three  sons  in  your  school  steadily  since  they  entered  it, 
and  no  harm  has  happened  to  them.  The  eldest  has  been  quali- 
fied for  service  as  an  interpreter.  The  other  two  have  learned 
nothing  bad.  The  religion  you  have  taught  them,  and  of  which 
1  was  so  much  afraid,  has  made  them  better,  I  myself  believe 
its  truth,  though  the  customs  of  my  country  forbid  my  embracing 
it.  I  have  no  longer  any  fear  ;  you  labor  for  others'  good,  not 
your  own.     I  understand  it  now.'  " 

This  suspicion  was  not  surprising,  considering  the  connnon 
estimate  of  foreigners  among  the  people,  and  indicates  that  it 
was  high  time  to  attempt  something  Avorthy  of  the  Christianity 
which  they  professed.  The  scliool  was  conducted  as  it  would 
have  been  if  removed  to  a  town  in  Xew  England ;  and  when  its 
pupils  left  they  were  fitted  for  taking  a  high  rank  in  their  own 
country.  Their  attachment  to  their  teacher  was  great.  One 
instance  is  taken  from  the  fourth  report :  "  Last  spring  the 
father  of  one  in  the  older  class  came  to  the  house  and  told  his 
son  that  he  could  not  let  him  remain  here  any  longer  but  that 
he  must  put  him  out  to  service  and  make  him  earn  something. 
His  father  is  a  poor  miserable  man,  besotted  by  the  use  of  opium, 
and  has  sold  his  two  daughter  into  slavery  to  raise  money.  The 
boy  ran  away  to  his  instructor  and  told  him  what  his  father 
liad  said,  adding,  'I  cannot  go.'  Willing  to  ascertain  the  sin- 
cerity of  the  boy  and  the  strength  of  his  attachment  to  his 
friends,  his  teacher  coolly  replied,  '  Perhaps  it  will  be  well  for 
yon  to  go,  for  probably  you  could  be  a  table-boy  in  some  gentle- 
man's house  and  so  get  two  dollars  a  month,  which  is  two  more 


344  tup:  middle  kingdom. 

than  jou  get  here,  where  only  your  food  is  given  yon.'  The 
little  fellow  looked  at  him  steadily  while  he  made  these  remarks, 
as  if  amazed  at  the  strange  language  he  used,  and  when  he  had 
done,  turned  hastily  about  and  burst  into  tears,  exclaiming,  '  1 
cannot  go  ;  if  I  go  away  from  this  school  I  shall  be  lost.'  He 
did  not  leave,  for  his  father  did  not  wish  to  foi-ce  him  away." 

Another  case  shows  the  contidence  of  a  parent  on  the  occasion 
of  the  death  of  one  of  the  pupils,  his  only  child  :  "  He  heard 
of  his  son's  illness  too  late  to  arrive  before  he  died,  and  when  he 
caiue  it  was  to  bury  his  remains.  He  was  naturally  overwhelmed 
with  grief  at  the  affliction  that  had  come  upon  him,  and  his  ap- 
prehensions of  the  effect  of  the  tidings  upon  the  boy's  mother 
were  gloomy  enough.  After  the  funeral  was  over,  I  conversed 
with  him.  To  my  surprise  he  made  not  the  least  complaint  as 
to  what  had  been  done  for  the  sick  lad,  either  in  the  "way  of 
medical  treatment  or  otherwise,  but  expressed  many  thanks  for 
the  kind  and  assiduous  attentions  that  liad  been  l)estowcd  upon 
him.  He  said  he  had  entertained  great  hope  of  his  son's  future 
usefulness,  and  in  order  to  promote  it  had  placed  him  here  at 
school.  But  now  his  family  would  end  in  liimself.  I  showed 
him  some  specimens  of  his  son's  drawing,  an  annisement  of 
which  he  was  particularly  fond.  The  tears  gushed  faster  as  his 
eyes  rested  on  these  evidences  of  his  son's  skill.  'Do  not  show 
them  tome,'  said  he;  'it  is  too  much.  I  cannot  speak  now.  I 
know  you  have  done  well  to  my  son.  I  pity  yon,  for  all  your 
labor  is  lost.'  I  assured  him  I  did  not  think  so.  He  had  been 
a  very  diligent  and  obedient  learner,  and  had  won  the  esteem  of 
his  teachers  and  companions.  He  had  been  taught  concerning 
the  true  drod  and  the  way  of  salvation,  and  it  might  have  done 
him  everlastin<;  ijood.  As  the  old  man  was  leavinc;  me,  he 
turned  and  asked  if,  in  case  he  should  adopt  another  boy,  I 
would  receive  him  as  a  pupil,  to  which  I  replied  in  the  affirm- 
ative." 

An  assistant  teacher,  Wm.  A.  Macy,  joined  Mr.  Brown  in 
184G;  the  latter  returned  to  America  in  1847,  and  the  school 
was  closed  in  184J>,  owing  chiei^y  to  the  departure  of  its  early 
patrons  from  China  and  the  opening  of  new  ])orts  of  trade, 
scattering  the  foreign  comnnmity  so  that  funds  could  not  be 


ITS   SUCCESSFUL   OPERATION.  345 

obtained.  Mission  societies  began  to  enlarge  their  work  at 
tliese  ports  and  occupy  the  same  department  of  education  as 
tlie  Morrison  School.  It,  however,  did  a  good  work  in  its  edu- 
cation of  half  a  score  of  men  who  now  fill  high  places  in  their 
country's  service,  or  occupy  posts  of  usefulness  most  honorably 
to  themselves.  The  boy  mentioned  in  a  previous  paragraph 
afterward  went  through  a  medical  course  at  Edinbui-gh,  became 
a  practising  surgeon  and  physician  at  Canton,  and  died  there  in 
1878,  honored  by  foreigners  and  natives  during  a  life  of  use- 
fulness and  benevolence.  In  that  year  Mr.  Brown  visited 
China  for  his  health,  and  M'as  received  hy  this  Dr.  Wong  and 
others  of  his  old  pupils  with  marks  of  regard  honorable  and 
gratifying  to  both ;  they  fitted  up  a  house  there  for  him,  pre- 
sented him  Avith  a  beautiful  piece  of  silver  plate,  and  paid  his 
passage  up  to  Peking  and  back  to  Shanghai. 

The  efforts  of  Protestants  for  the  evangelization  of  China 
were  largely  of  a  preparatory  nature  until  the  j-ear  1842.  Most 
of  the  laborers  were  stationed  out  of  China,  and  those  in  the 
Empire  itself  were  unable  to  pursue  their  designs  without  many 
embarrassments.  Mrs.  Gutzlaff  experienced  many  obstacles  in 
her  endeavors  to  collect  a  school  at  Macao,  partly  from  the 
fears  of  the  parents  and  the  harassing  inquiries  of  the  police, 
the  latter  of  which  naturally  increased  the  former  ;  partly  again 
from  the  short  period  the  parents  were  M'illing  to  allow 
their  children  to  remain.  The  Portuguese  clergy  and  govern- 
ment of  Macao  have  done  nothing  themselves  to  impede  Prot- 
estant missionaries  in  their  labors  in  the  colony  since  1833, 
when  the  governor  ordered  the  Albion  press,  belonging  to  Dr. 
Morrison's  son,  to  be  stopped,  on  account  of  his  publishing  a 
religious  newspaper  called  the  Miscellanea  /Sinicw  /  and  this  he 
was  encouraged  to  do  from  knowing  that  the  East  India  Com- 
pany was  opposed  to  its  continuance.  The  governor  intimated 
to  one  of  the  American  missionaries  in  1839  that  no  tracts 
nnist  be  distributed  or  public  congregations  gathered  in  the  col- 
ony, but  no  objection  would  be  made  to  audiences  collected  in 
his  own  house  for  instruction.  Xo  obstacle  was  put  in  the  way 
of  printing,  and  the  press  that  was  interdicted  in  1833  was  car- 
ried back  to  Macao  in  1835,  after  the  dissolution  of  the  East 


346  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

India  Company,  under  the  diiection  of  the  American  mission. 
Several  aids  in  the  study  of  the  Cliinese  language  were  issued 
from  it  during  tlie  nine  years  it  was  there  under  the  author's 
charge. 

The  city  of  Canton  was  long  in  China  one  of  the  most  un- 
promising fields  for  missionai-y  labors,  not  alone  when  it  was 
the  only  one  in  the  Empire,  but  until  recently.  This  was  ow- 
ins  to  several  causes.  The  pui-suits  of  foreigners  were  limited 
to  trade.  Their  residence  was  confined  to  an  area  of  a  few 
acres  held  by  the  guild  of  hong  merchants  allowed  to  trade  with 
them,  and  all  intercourse  was  carried  on  in  the  jargon  known  as 
Pi  (J  eon- English.  They  were  systematically  degraded  by  the 
native  rulers  in  the  eyes  of  the  people,  who  knew  no  other  ap- 
pellation for  the  strangers  than  fan-kicei^  or  '  foreign  devil.' 
The  opium  war  of  1839-42  had  aroused  the  worst  passions  of 
the  Cantonese,  and  their  conceit  had  been  increased  by  the  un- 
successful attempts  to  take  the  city  in  1841  and  1847  by  the 
English  forces.  Since  1858  the  citizens  have  been  accessible  to 
other  infiuences,  and  learned  that  their  isolation  and  ignorance 
brought  calamity  on  themselves. 

When  Morrison  died,  Dr.  Bridgman  and  the  writer  of  these 
pages  were  the  oidy  fellow-laborers  belonging  to  any  missionary 
society  then  in  China;  the  Christian  church  formed  in  1835 
contained  only  three  members.  It  was  indeed  a  day  of  small 
things,  but  from  henceforth  grew  more  and  more  bright.  The 
contrast  even  in  twelve  years  is  thus  described  in  Dr.  llobson's 
report  of  his  hospital ;  the  extract  shows  the  little  freedom  then 
enjoj^ed  in  comparison  with  what  it  now  is,  nearly  forty  years 
after : 

The  average  attendance  of  Cliinese  has  been  over  a  hundred,  and  nono 
liave  been  more  respectful  and  cordial  in  their  attention  than  those  in  whom 
aneurism  has  been  cured  or  sight  restored,  from  whom  the  tumor  has  been  ex- 
tirpated or  the  stone  extracted.  These  services  must  be  witnessed  to  under- 
stand fully  their  interest.  Deep  emotions  have  been  awakened  when  con- 
trasting the  restrictions  of  the  first  yeai-s  of  Protestant  missions  in  China  with 
the  present  freedom.  Then,  not  permitted  to  avow  our  missionary  character 
and  object  lest  it  might  eject  us  from  the  country  ;  nor  could  a  Chinese  receive 
a  Christian  book  but  at  the  peril  of  his  safety,  or  embrace  that  religion  without 
hazarding  his  life.      Now  he  may  receive  and  practise  the  doctrines  of  Christ, 


MISSIOX   AT   CANTON.  347 

and  transgress  no  law  of  the  Empire.  Onr  interest  may  he  more  easily  con- 
ceived than  expressed  as  we  have  declared  the  truths  of  tlie  gospel,  or  when 
looking  upon  the  evangelist  Liang  A-fah,  and  thought  of  him  fleeing  for  his 
life  and  long  banished  from  his  native  land,  and  now  ruturued  to  declare 
boldly  the  truths  of  the  gospel  in  the  city  from  which  he  had  fled.  Well  did 
he  call  upon  his  audience  to  worship  and  give  thanks  to  the  God  of  heaven 
and  earth  for  what  he  had  done  for  them.  With  happy  effect  he  dwelt  upon 
the  Saviour's  life  and  example,  and  pointing  to  the  paintings  suspended  on  the 
walls  of  the  room,  informed  his  auditors  that  these  were  performed  by  his 
blessing  and  in  conformity  to  his  precepts  and  example.  Portions  of  the 
Scriptures  and  religious  tracts  are  given  to  all  the  hearers  on  the  Sabbath,  and 
likewise  to  all  the  patients  during  the  week,  so  that  thousands  of  volumes 
have  been  sent  forth  from  the  hospital  to  scores  of  villages  and  to  distant  prov- 
inces. 

Before  the  capture  of  tlie  city  the  people  had  become  quite 
friendly  to  all  missionary  laboi-s,  through  the  ameliorating  in- 
fluences of  the  hospitals.  While  the  city  was  beleaguered  by 
the  insin-gents  in  1S55,  the  wounded  soldiers  were  attended  to 
by  Dr.  Hobson,  who  sometin^es  had  his  house  full.  After  Can- 
ton was  occupied  by  the  allies  in  1858  there  was  an  enlarge- 
ment of  mission  work  in  the  city  and  envh-ons,  which  has  been 
growing  in  depth  and  extent  till  the  changes  draw  the  attention 
of  the  most  casual  observer.  Foreigners  are  now  seldom  ad- 
dressed £LS  yan-hvei,  and  their  excursions  into  the  country  and 
along  the  streams  are  made  in  safety.  The  Germans  have  es- 
tablished stations  in  many  places  between  Canton  and  Hong- 
kong, and  easterly  along  the  river  up  to  I\ia-ying,  where  the 
people  are  more  turbulent  than  around  the  city  or  toward  the 
west. 

The  occupation  of  Hongkong  in  1841  induced  the  American 
Baptists  to  make  it  a  station  immediately,  and  Messrs.  Roberts 
and  Shuck  began  the  mission  work,  followed  by  the  London 
Mission  two  years  after,  when  Dr.  Legge  removed  there  from 
Malacca.  The  Roman  Catholic  missionaries  also  moved  over 
from  Macao  at  the  earliest  date.  The  colonial  authorities  in 
time  began  a  system  of  common  schools  for  all  their  subjects,  so 
that  mission  schools  have  been  less  necessary  since  that  date, 
but  are  still  opened  to  some  extent.  The  benevolent  labors  by 
German,  British,  and  American  missionaries  in  Plongkong  and 
its  vicinity  have  been  zealously  carried  on  in  harmony,  and 


348  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM, 

there  are  fully  fifty  separate  stations  on  tlie  mainland  northerly 
from  the  island  wliich  are  worked  from  this  colony.  The  num- 
ber in  the  whole  province  of  Kwangtung  amounts  to  more  than 
seventy -five,  all  of  them  efiiciently  established  since  1858. 

The  mission  at  Amoy  was  commenced  in  1842  by  Messrs. 
Abeel  and  Boone  under  the  most  favorable  auspices.  Tlie 
English  expedition  took  that  city  in  August,  1841,  and  on  leav- 
ing it  stationed  a  small  naval  and  military  force  on  the  island 
of  Kulang  su.  The  people  of  Anio}'  and  its  environs  cared  per- 
haps little  for  the  merits  of  the  war  then  raging,  but  they  knew 
that  they  had  suffered  much  from  it,  and  no  intei-j^reters  were 
available  to  carry  on  communication  between  the  two  parties. 
Both  these  gentlemen  could  converse  in  the  local  dialect,  and 
were  soon  applied  to  by  many  desirous  of  learning  something  of 
the  foreigners  or  who  had  business  with  them.  The  Chinese 
authorities  were  also  pleased  to  obtain  the  aid  of  competent  in- 
terpreters, and  the  good  opinion  of  these  dignitai-ies  exercised 
considerable  influence  in  inducing  the  people  to  attend  upon  the 
ministrations  of  the  missionaries.  Both  officers  and  ]n-ivate 
gentlemen  invited  them  to  their  residences,  where  they  had  op- 
portunity to  answer  their  reasonable  inquiries  concerning  for- 
eign lands  and  customs,  and  convey  an  outline  of  the  Christian 
faith.  One  of  these  officers  was  Sen  Ki-yu,  afterward  governor 
of  the  province  and  author  of  the  Jlmj  Ilwan  CIn  Lioh,  in 
which  he  mentions  Abeel's  name  and  speaks  of  his  indebtedness 
to  him  in  preparing  that  work.  The  number  of  books  given 
away  was  not  great,  but  part  of  every  day  was  spent  in  talking 
with  the  people;  when  the  hospital  was  opened  by  Dr.  Cum- 
ming,  greater  facilities  were  afforded  for  intercourse.  The  iri'i- 
tation  caused  by  what  the  people  naturally  looked  upon  as  an  un- 
provoked outrage  was  gradually  allayed.  There  had  been  no  long 
education  of  intercommunication  between  natives  and  foreigners 
in  Amoy  as  at  Canton.  The  work  so  pleasantly  begun  in  1842  in 
Kulang  su  lias  extended  over  most  parts  of  the  province  of 
Fuhkien,  and  westward  into  the  prefecture  of  Chauchau  in 
Kwangtung.  There  are  more  converts,  native  pastors,  and 
schools  in  this  province  than  any  other  in  China. 

Its  capital  was  never  visited  by  a  foreign  enemy,  nor  did  it 


MISSIONS   IlSr   AMOY   AND   FUHCHAU.  o49 

siiflFer  from  tlie  Tai-ping  rebels,  so  that  the  gentry  of  Fuhchau 
have  never  been  scattered  nor  their  inlluence  broken,  like  those 
of  many  other  provincial  centres.  The  mission  "vvoi'k  was  com- 
menced there  in  1847  by  Kev.  Stephen  Johnson,  from  Bangkok, 
who  was  soon  joined  by  other  American  and  English  colleagues. 
He  speaks  of  the  great  prejudices  against  all  foreigners  among 
the  citizens  in  consequence  of  the  evil  effects  of  opium-smoking, 
which  destroyed  the  people  who  would  not  cease  to  buy  it.  An 
experience  of  thirty  years  has  not  altogether  removed  this  dis- 
like, which  even  lately  found  an  opportunity  to  exhibit  itself  in 
removing  the  Church  Missionary  Society's  mission  from  the 
Wu-shih  Hill,  where  it  had  rented  buildings  for  that  period 
and  "  injured  the  good  luck  of  the  city."  These  prejudices  will 
gradually  give  way  with  a  new  generation  of  scholars  and  mer- 
chants, and  we  can  afford  to  be  patient  with  them  when  we  re- 
flect on  their  slow  progress  in  other  things. 

The  American  Board,  American  Methodist,  and  Church  Mis- 
sionary Societies  have  each  extended  their  stations  beyond  the 
city  into  the  country  almost  to  the  borders  of  Chehkiang  and 
Kiangsf,  occupying  in  all  nearly  two  hundred  localities  with 
their  assistants.  Besides  these  agencies,  the  China  Inland  mis- 
sion has  occupied  three  cities  on  the  eastern  coast  and  about 
sixteen  other  stations.  The  whole  number  of  places  in  the 
province  of  Fuhkien  where  Protestants  have  opened  their  woi  k 
in  one  form  and  another  is  now  over  two  hundred  and  fifty, 
under  seven  separate  societies.  In  most  of  these  towns  the 
good  will  of  the  people  has  remained  with  them  when  their  ob- 
jects have  been  fully  imderstood  ;  and  the  contrasts  of  destroying 
their  chapels  or  book-shops,  as  at  Ivien-ning,  have  been  found  tt) 
be  mixed  up  with  other  causes.  Since  the  year  18G3  the  island 
of  Formosa  has  been  occupied  by  two  or  three  British  societies, 
and  the  work  of  their  missionaries  in  the  cliief  towns  has  been 
greatly  prospered.  Dr.  Maxwell  has  carried  on  his  hospital  at 
Taiwan  with  eminent  success  as  a  means  of  winning  the  good 
opinion  of  suspicious  natives  and  aborigines  and  inclining  them 
to  listen  to  the  gospel.  Native  churches  have  been  gathered  in 
various  parts  remote  from  the  coast,  and  thirty-five  stations  are 
now  worked  by  the  two  British  societies  which  have  taken  np 


850  THE    MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

this  field.  This  progress  has  not  been  without  opposition,  for 
two  of  the  converts  were  martyred  a  few  years  ago  by  their 
countrymen. 

Tlie  first  missionary  efforts  north  of  Canton  of  a  permanent 
nature  were  made  in  ISiO  by  Dr.  Lockhart,  in  the  establishment 
of  a  hospital  at  Tinghai  in  Chusan.  They  were  resumed  by 
Milne  in  1842,  and  while  the  island  was  under  the  control  of 
British  troops.  Gutzlaff  occupied  the  office  of  Chinese  jnagis- 
trate  of  Tinghai  in  1S42,  and  endeavored  to  hold  meetings. 
Milne  left  Xingpo  in  June,  1843,  and  came  to  Hongkong  over- 
land dressed  in  a  native  costume.  After  his  departure,  some 
time  elapsed  before  his  place  was  supplied.  The  journal  of  his 
residence  in  that  city  indicated  a  great  willingness  on  the  part  of 
people  of  all  ranks  to  cultivate  intercourse  with  such  foreigners 
as  could  converse  with  them.  Drs.  Macgowan  and  McCarty 
went  there  in  1S43  and  1844  to  open  a  hospital,  and  were  fol- 
lowed by  Messrs.  Lowrie,  Culbertson,  Loomis,  and  Cole,  the  lat- 
ter in  charge  of  a  printing  office  of  English  and  Chinese  ty})e 
and  a  type  foundry.  Keligious  services  are  held  at  the  hospitals 
in  that  city,  and  Dr.  IMacgowan  says:  "Each  patient  is  exhorted 
to  renounce  all  idolatiy  and  wickedness  and  to  enibruce  the  re- 
ligion of  the  Saviour.  They  are  aduiitted  by  lens  into  the  pre- 
scribing room,  and  before  being  dismissed  are  addressed  bv  the 
physician  and  the  native  Christian  assistant  on  the  subject  of  re- 
ligion. Tracts  are  given  to  all  who  ai'e  able  to  read.''  The 
more  such  labors  are  carried  on  the  better  will  the  prospect  of 
peace  and  a  profitable  intercourse  between  China  and  western 
nations  become  ;  the  more  the  people  learn  of  the  science  and  re- 
sources, the  character  and  designs,  and  partake  of  the  religion 
and  benevolence  of  \vestern  nations,  the  icss  chance  will  there 
be  of  collisions,  and  the  more  each  party  will  respect  the  othei-. 
The  fear  is,  however,  that  the  disru])tive  and  disorganizing  in- 
fluences will  })reponderate  over  the  peaceful,  and  ]>recipitate  new 
outbreaks  before  these  influences  obtain  nnich  hold  upon  the 
Chinese. 

The  occupation  of  Ningpo  in  1841  by  the  r»ritish  troo])s,  and 
their  excursions  into  the  country,  had  the  effect  of  preparing  the 
people  of  Chehkiang  pi-ovince  to  listen  to  foreigners.     The  mis- 


MISSIONS   IN   CHEHKIANG    PROVINCE.  351 

sion  work  begun  at  Niiigpo  by  three  or  four  societies  in  1842- 
4S  has  been  carried  on  with  marked  success  and  completeness 
in  its  agencies.  The  various  missions  have  taken  different  parts 
of  the  province  for  their  particular  fields,  and  by  means  of 
chapels,  hospitals,  schools,  printing  offices,  itinerating  and  preach- 
ing excursions,  and  the  sale  of  religious  books,  have  made  known 
the  truth.  A  large  part  of  the  province  was  ravaged  by  the 
Tai-ping  rebels,  and  after  their  dispersion  in  18G7  Ilangchau 
and  Shanking  were  occupied.  These  two  cities  were  well  nigh 
destroyed,  but  their  inhabitants  are  learning  that  no  force  or 
govermnental  influence  accompanies  the  preaching  of  the  doc- 
trines of  Jesus.  This  idea  has  considerable  strength  among  all 
the  Chinese,  and  no  disclaimer  or  explanations  have  much  eifect 
at  first.  The  people  of  Chehkiang  province  have  less  energy  and 
individuality  than  their  countrymen  in  the  southern  provinces, 
but  they  have  received  the  faith  in  simplicity,  maintaining  its 
ordinances  and  bearing  its  expenses  in  many  cases  without  for- 
eign aid.  In  the  seventy  stations  now  occupied  by  six  societies 
from  England  and  America,  the  advance  is  seen  to  be  great 
since  the  capture  of  Ningpo  and  Tinghai  fortj^  years  ago,  even  by 
the  confession  of  those  who  still  hold  aloof.  The  good  reputa- 
tion of  the  missionaries  was  shown  in  the  amicable  settlement 
of  an  irritating  question  in  Ilangchau  city  in  1874.  It  arose 
from  the  occupation  of  the  hillside  by  the  Americans,  who  had 
bought  the  spot  when  it  was  bare  of  houses  and  erected  their 
own  dwellings.  These  were  deemed  to  be  detrimental  to  its 
prosperity,  and  a  riot  arose  which  was  quelled  by  the  authorities. 
A  proposal  was  then  made  l)y  the  gentry  to  remove  them  by  get- 
ting another  site  in  the  lower  city,  and  this  harmonized  all  par- 
ties while  establishing  a  good  precedent  for  future  observance. 

The  great  city  of  Shanghai  was  almost  unknown  to  foreign 
nations  until  the  treaty  of  Nanking  opened  it  to  their  trade  in 
1842.  Its  inhabitants  suffered  greatly  at  its  capture,  but  the 
growing  commerce  ere  long  brought  prospei'ity.  As  soon  as  ar- 
rangements could  be  made  the  London  Mission  moved  its  hos- 
pital from  Chusan  Island  to  Shanghai  (in  1844),  and  Dr.  Lockhart 
immediately  commenced  his  work.  Ilis  rooms  were  thronged, 
and  it  is  stated  that  ten  thousand  nine  hundred  and  seventy- 


359  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOif. 

eight  patients  were  attended  to  between  May,  1844,  and  June, 
1845.  The  knowledge  of  tliis  charity  spread  over  the  province 
of  Kiangsu,  and  removed  much  of  the  ill-will  and  ignorance  of 
the  people  toward  foreigners.  One  effect  in  the  city  was  to  in- 
cite the  inhabitants  to  open  a  dispensary  during  four  summer 
months,  for  the  gratuitous  relief  of  the  sick.  It  was  called  iS/d  I 
Kuiig-kluJi,  or  '  Public  Establishment  for  Dispensing  Healing.' 
"  It  was  attended  by  eight  or  nine  iiative  practitioners,  who  saw 
the  patients  once  in  five  da\'S  ;  this  attendance  was  gratuitous 
on  the  part  of  some  of  them,  and  was  paid  for  in  the  case  of 
others.  The  medicines  are  supplied  from  the  different  apothe- 
cary shops,  one  furnishing  all  that  is  wanted  during  one  day, 
which  is  paid  for  by  subscriptions  to  the  dispensary.  The  pa- 
tients vary  from  three  hundred  to  five  hundred.  The  reason 
given  for  the  recent  establishment  of  this  dispensary  for  reliev- 
ing the  sick  is  that  it  has  been  done  by  a  foreigner  who  came 
to  reside  at  the  place,  and  therefore  some  of  the  wealthy  natives 
wished  to  show  their  benevolence  in  the  same  way."  Such  a 
spirit  speaks  well  for  the  inhabitants  of  Shanghai,  for  nothing 
like  competition  in  doing  good  has  ever  been  started  elsewhere, 
nor  even  a  public  acknowledgment  made  of  the  benefits  con- 
ferred by  the  hospitals. 

During  the  voyage  along  the  coast  of  China  made  by  Messrs. 
Medhurst  and  Stevens,  in  18l>5,  they  visited  Shanghai ;  and  an 
abstract  of  Medhurst's  interview  with  the  officers  on  that  oc- 
casion is  taken  fj-om  his  journal.  lie  had  already  been  invited 
by  them  to  enter  a  temple  hard  l)y  the  landing-place,  to  the 
end  that  they  might  learn  the  object  of  the  visit,  and  Avas  con- 
versing with  them. 

The  party  was  now  joined  by  another  officer  named  Chin,  a  hearty,  rough- 
looking  man,  with  a  keen  eye  and  a  voluble  tongue.  He  immediately  took 
the  lead  in  the  conversation,  and  asked  whether  we  had  not  been  in  Sliantung 
and  had  communication  with  some  great  officers  there  ?  He  inquired  after 
Messrs.  Lindsay  and  GutzlafF,  and  wished  to  know  whither  we  inttjnded  to 
proceed.  I  told  him  these  gentlemen  were  well ;  but  we  could  hardly  tell 
where  we  should  go,  quoting  a  Chinese  proverb,  "We  know  not  to  day  what 
will  take  place  to-morrow."  But,  I  continued,  as  your  native  conjurors  are 
reckoned  very  clever,  they  may  perhaps  be  able  to  tell  you.  "  I  am  conjuror 
enough  for  that,"  said  Chin  ;  "  but  what  is  your  profession  V  "   I  told  him  that  I 


ENTRY    OF    MISSIONS    INTO    SnANGHAI.  35J? 

was  a  toachor  of  religion.  .  .  .  AfttT  a  little  time  a  great  noise  was  heard 
outside,  and  the  arrival  of  the  chief  magistrati;  of  the  city  was  announced, 
when  several  officers  came  in  and  requested  me  to  go  and  see  liis  worship. 
He  appeared  to  be  a  middle-aged  man,  but  assumed  a  stern  aspect  as  I  entered, 
though  I  paid  him  the  usual  compliments  and  took  my  seat  in  a  chair  placed 
opposite.  This  disconcerted  him  much,  and  as  soon  as  he  could  recover  him- 
self from  the  surprise  at  seeing  a  barbarian  seated  in  his  presence,  he  ordered 
me  to  come  near  and  stand  before  him,  while  all  the  officers  called  out,  "  Rise  ! 
Rise!  "  I  arose  accordingly,  and  asked  whether  I  could  not  be  allowed  to  sit 
at  tlie  conference,  and  as  he  refused,  I  bowed  and  left  the  room.  I  was  soon 
followed  by  Chin  and  Wang,  who  tried  every  effort  to  persuade  me  to  return  ; 
this,  however,  I  steadfastly  refused  to  do  unless  I  could  be  allowed  to  sit,  as 
others  of  my  countrymen  had  done  in  like  circumstances.     .     . 

Having  been  joined  by  Mr.  Stevens  (who  had  been  distributing  books 
among  the  crowd  without),  we  proceeded  to  converse  more  familiarly  and  to 
deliver  out  books  to  the  officers  and  their  attendants,  as  well  as  to  some 
strangers  that  were  present,  till  they  were  all  gone.  A  list  of  such  provisions 
as  were  wanted  had  been  given  to  Wang,  whom  we  requested  to  purchase  them 
for  us,  and  we  would  pay  for  them.  By  this  time  tlie  articles  were  brought 
in,  which  they  offered  to  give  us  as  a  present,  and  seeing  that  there  was  no 
other  way  of  settling  the  question,  we  resolved  to  accept  of  the  articles  and 
send  them  something  in  return.  The  rain  having  moderated,  we  aro.se  to  take 
a  walk  and  proceeded  toward  the  boat,  where  the  sailors  were  busy  eating 
their  dinner.  Wishing  to  enter  the  city  we  turned  o3E  in  that  direction,  but 
were  stopped  by  the  officers  and  their  attendants,  and  reluctantly  returned  to 
the  temple.  After  another  hour's  conversation,  and  partaking  of  refresh- 
ments with  the  officers,  they  departed.  On  the  steps  near  the  boat  we  ob- 
served a  basket  nearly  full  of  straw,  and  on  the  top  about  half  a  dozen  books 
torn  in  pieces  and  about  to  be  burnt.  On  inquiry,  they  told  us  that  these 
were  a  few  that  had  been  torn  in  the  scuffle,  and  in  order  to  prevent  their 
being  trodden  under  foot  they  were  about  to  burn  them.  Recollecting,  how- 
ever, that  Chin  had  told  his  servant  to  do  something  with  the  books  he  had 
received,  it  now  occurred  to  us  that  he  had  directed  them  to  be  burned  in  our 
presence.  On  the  torch  being  applied,  therefore,  we  took  the  presents  which 
were  lying  by  and  threw  them  on  the  fire,  which  put  it  out.  Tlie  policeman, 
taking  off  the  articles,  applied  the  torch  again,  while  we  repeated  the  former 
operation ;  to  show  them  that  if  they  despised  our  presents,  we  also  disregarded 
theirs.  Finally  the  basket  was  thrown  into  the  river  and  we  left,  much  dis- 
pleased at  this  insulting  conduct.' 

This  extract  might  be  thouffht  to  refer  to  an  event  which 
took  place  in  the  days  of  Hicci  instead  of  one  within  the  mem- 
ory of  tlie  living.  The  progress  and  changes  since  it  occurred 
in  that  city  typify  what  has  been   going  on  throughont  the 

'  China:  Its  State  and  Prospects,  pp.  371-377.  Chinese  Bepository,  Vol.  IV., 
pp.  330,  331. 

Vol.  II.— 23 


354  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

whole  land.  Medhurst  came  back  to  Shanghai  to  live,  within 
nine  years  after  this  incident,  and  when  his  failing  health  com- 
pelled his  i-etirement  in  1856,  he  closed  an  honorable  service  of 
thirty-nine  years  in  the  mission  field.  His  dictionaries,  transla- 
tions, and  wi-itings  in  Chinese  and  English  (ninety -three  in  all) 
indicate  his  industry ;  and  through  them  he,  being  dead,  yet 
speaketh  to  the  Cldnese  upon  his  favorite  themes  of  redemp- 
tion. The  work  which  he  began  was  reinforced  l)y  colleagues 
from  Groat  Britain  and  America  until  the  whole  population 
was  reached,  and  towns  lying  south  of  the  Yangtsz'  liiver  were 
all  visited.  After  the  rebellion  was  quelled  in  1867  other 
cities  were  occupied,  until  about  forty -five  localities  in  all  parts 
of  Kiangsu  are  now  held  as  preaching  stations.  People  are  re- 
turning to  their  deserted  homes,  and  lands  that  lay  fallow  for 
years  are  retilled  ;  thither  foreign  and  native  preachers  and  col- 
portors  bring  the  living  word  without  hindrance.' 

The  consequences  of  the  introduction  of  the  gospel  into 
China  are  likely  to  be  the  same  that  they  have  been  elsewhere, 
in  stirring  up  private  and  public  antagonism  to  what  is  so  op- 
posed to  the  depravity  of  the  human  heart.  There  are  some 
grounds  for  hoping  that  there  will  not  be  nnich  systematic  op- 
position from  the  imperial  government  when  once  the  chiefs  of 
the  nation  learn  the  popular  sentiments  and  will.  The  princi- 
pal reasons  for  this  are  found  in  the  character  of  the  people, 
who  are  not  cruel  or  disposed  to  take  life  for  opinions  when 
those  opinions  are  held  l)y  numbers  of  respectable  and  intelligent 
men.  The  fact  that  the  officers  of  government  all  spring  from 
the  body  of  the  people,  and  that  these  dignitaries  are  neither 
governed  nor  influenced  by  any  State  hierarch}' — by  any  body 
of  pi'iestly  men,  who,  feeling  that  the  progress  of  the  new  faith 
will  cause  the  loss  of  their  influence  and  position,  are  deter- 
mined to  use  the  power  of  the  State  to  put  it  down — leads  us  to 
hope  that  such  officers  as  may  adopt  the  new  faith  will  not,  on 
account  of  their  profession,  be  banished  (»r  disgraced.  Such 
was  the  case  with  Sii,  who  assisted  and  countenanced  Ricci. 

'  In  this  connection  the  work  of  Dr.  Lockhart  {.}f<'(h'riil  3fmionnry  in  China, 
London,  IHCil)  may  prolitably  be  read  for  the  details  and  results  of  mission 
labors  in  Shanghai. 


PROSPECTS   FOR   CHRISTIANITY    IN    CHINA.  355 

The  general  character  of  the  Chinese  is  irreligious,  and  they 
care  much  more  for  money  and  power  than  they  do  for  reli- 
gions ceremonies  of  any  kind  ;  they  would  never  lose  a  battle  as 
the  Egyptians  did  because  the  Persians  placed  cats  between  the 
annies.  There  are  no  ceremonies  which  they  consider  so  bind- 
ing as  to  be  willing  to  tight  for  them,  and  persecute  others  for 
omitting,  except  those  pertaining  to  ancestral  worship ; — these 
are  of  so  domestic  a  nature  that  thousands  of  converts  miirht 
discard  them  before  much  would  be  known  or  done  by  the  peo- 
ple in  relation  to  the  matter.  The  conscientious  Christian 
magistrate  would  be  somewhat  obnoxious  to  his  master,  and 
liable  to  be  removed  for  refusing  to  perform  his  functions  at 
the  ching-hivang  iniao  before  the  tutelar  gods  of  the  Empire. 
These  and  other  reasons,  growing  out  of  the  character  of  the  peo- 
ple and  the  nature  of  their  political  and  religious  institutions,  lead 
to  the  hope  that  the  leaven  of  truth  will  permeate  the  mass  of 
society  and  renovate,  purify,  and  strengthen  it  without  weak- 
ening, disorganizing,  or  destroying  the  government.  There 
are,  also,  some  causes  to  fear  that  such  will  not  be  the  case, 
arising  from  the  ignorance  of  the  people  of  the  proper  results 
of  Christian  doctrines;  from  a  dread  of  the  government  re- 
specting its  own  stability  from  foreign  aggression  ;  from  the 
evil  consequences  of  the  use  of  opium,  and  the  drainage  of  the 
precious  metals ;  and  from  the  disturbing  effects  of  the  inter- 
course with  unscrupulous  foreigners  and  irritated  nati^'es  often 
leading  to  riots  and  the  interference  of  government  authorities. 

The  toleration  of  the  Christian  religion  had  been  allowed 
througliout  the  Empire  by  imperial  edicts  issued  in  the  reign 
of  Shunchi  and  his  son ;  and  often  and  often  discountenanced 
and  persecuted  after  those  dates.  The  governmental  policy 
had  been  long  settled  to  disallow  its  profession  by  its  subjects 
or  the  residence  of  the  Koman  Catholic  missionaries  in  its  bor- 
ders. In  1844  the  French  envoy,  M.  de  Lagrene,  brought  their 
disabilities  to  the  notice  of  Kiying,  who  memorialized  the 
throne  and  received  the  following  rescript,  which  reversed  the 
bloody  decrees  of  1722  and  later  years.  For  his  efforts  in  this 
matter  he  deserves  the  thanks  and  remembrance  of  every 
friend  of  Christianity  and  the  Chinese. 


356  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

Kiying,  imperial  fonimissioner,  minister  of  State,  and  governor-general  of 
Kwangtung  and  Kwangsi,  respectfully  addresses  the  throne  bv  memorial. 

On  examination  it  appears  that  the  religion  of  the  Lord  of  Heaven  is  that 
professed  by  all  the  nations  of  the  West ;  that  its  main  object  is  to  encourage 
tlie  good  and  suppress  the  wicked  ;  that  since  its  introduction  to  China  during 
the  Ming  dynasty  it  has  never  been  interdicted  ;  that  subsequently,  when 
Chinese,  practising  tliis  religion,  often  made  it  a  covert  for  wickedness,  even 
to  the  seducing  of  wives  and  daughters,  and  to  the  deceitful  extraction  of  the 
pupils  from  the  eyes  of  the  sick,'  government  made  investigation  and  inflicted 
punishment,  as  is  on  record  ;  and  that  in  the  reign  of  Kiaking  special  clauees 
were  first  laid  down  for  the  punishment  of  the  guilty.  The  prohibition,  there- 
fore, was  directed  against  evil-doing  under  the  covert  of  religion,  and  not 
against  the  religion  professed  by  the  western  foreign  nations. 

Now  the  request  of  the  French  ambassador,  Lagrene,  that  those  Chinese 
who,  doing  well,  practiise  this  religion,  be  exempt  from  criminality,  seems 
feasible.  It  is  right  therefore  to  make  the  request,  and  earnestly  to  crave 
celestial  favor  to  grant  that,  henceforth,  all  natives  and  foreigners  without 
distinction,  who  learn  and  practise  the  religion  of  the  Lord  of  Heaven,  and  do 
not  excite  trouble  by  improper  conduct,  be  exempted  from  criminality.  If 
there  be  any  who  seduce  wives  and  daughters,  or  deceitfully  take  the  pupils 
from  the  eyes  of  the  sick,  walking  in  their  former  paths,  or  are  otherwise 
guilty  of  criminal  acts,  let  them  be  dealt  with  according  to  the  old  laws.  As 
to  those  of  the  French  and  other  foreign  nations  who  practise  the  religion,  let 
them  only  be  permitted  to  build  churches  at  the  five  ports  opened  for  commercial 
intercourse.  They  must  not  presume  to  enter  the  country  to  propagate  reli- 
gion. Should  any  act  in  opposition,  turn  their  backs  upon  the  treaties,  and 
rashly  overstep  the  boundaries,  the  local  officers  will  at  once  seize  and  deliver 
them  to  their  respective  consuls  for  restraint  and  correction.  Capital  punish- 
ment is  not  to  be  rashly  inflicted,  in  order  that  the  exercise  of  gentleness  may 
be  displayed.  Thus,  peradventure,  the  good  and  the  profligate  will  not  be 
blended,  while  the  equity  of  mild  laws  will  be  exhibited. 

Tliis  request,  that  well-doers  practising  the  religion  may  be  exempt  from 
criminality,  I  (the  commissioner),  in  accordance  with  reason  and  bounden  duty, 
respectfully  lay  before  the  throne,  earnestly  praying  the  august  Emperor 
graciously  to  grant  that  it  may  be  carried  into  effect.     A  respectful  memorial. 

Taukwang,  24th  year,  11th  month,  19th  day  (December  28,  1844),  was 
received  the  vermilion  reply  :  "  Let  it  be  according  to  the  counsel  [of  Kiying]." 
This  is  from  the  Emperor.'-' 


'  Tills  is  thus  explained  by  a  Chinese  :  "  It  is  a  custom  with  the  priests  who 
teach  this  religion,  when  a  man  is  about  to  die,  to  take  a  handful  of  cotton, 
having  concealed  within  it  a  sharp  needle,  and  then,  while  rubbing  the  indi- 
vidual's eyes  with  the  cotton,  to  introduce  the  needle  into  the  eye  and  punc- 
turi!  the  pupil  with  it ;  the  humors  of  the  pupil  saturate  the  cotton  and  are  af- 
terward used  as  a  medicine."  This  foolish  idea  has  its  origin  in  the  extreme 
unction  administered  by  Catholic  i)riw5ts  to  the  dying.  See,  moreover,  th« 
Lettrca  FjIiJitiiittK,  Tome  IV.,  p.  44. 

'^  Chiiieite  lifj)Oiiitorij,  Vol.  XIV.,  p.  195. 


TOLKKATIOli    OBTAINED   THKOUGII    KITING.  357 

This  rescript  <2,rniito(l  toleration  to  the  Christians  already  in 
the  country,  known  only  by  the  term  Tien  Cha  k!ao,  or  '  Keli- 
gion  of  the  Lord  of  Heaven/  and  referring  only  to  those  per- 
sons wlio  profess  Catholicism.  Subsequently  the  French  min- 
ister was  asked  to  state  whether,  in  making  this  request  of 
the  (^hincsc  officers,  he  intended  to  include  Christians  of  all 
sects,  as  there  had  been  some  doul^ts  on  that  point,  lie  there- 
fore brought  the  subject  again  before  Kiying,  who  issued  an 
explanatory  notice,  without  making  a  second  appeal  to  his 
sovereign.  It  is  not  necessary  to  quote  the  entire  reply,  which 
granted  as  conq:)lete  toleration  to  all  Christian  sects  as  its  writer 
was  able  to  do  from  his  knowledge  of  their  differences.  The 
term  Vesii,  kiao,  since  adopted  for  Protestants,  was  not  then 
current.  After  quoting  the  purport  of  M.  de  Lagj'enc's  com- 
munication, Kiying  thus  sums  up  his  conclusions  : 

Now  I  find  that,  in  the  first  place,  when  the  regulations  for  free  trade 
were  agreed  upon,  there  was  an  article  allowing  the  erection  of  churches  at 
the  five  ports.  This  same  privilege  was  to  extend  to  all  nations  ;  there  were 
to  be  no  distinctions.  Subsequently  the  commissioner  Lagrene  requested  that 
the  Chinese  who,  acting  well,  practised  this  religion,  should  equally  be  held 
blameless.  Accordingly,  I  made  a  representation  of  the  case  to  the  throne,  by 
memorial,  and  received  the  imperial  consent  thereto.  After  this,  however, 
local  magistrates  having  made  improper  seizures,  taking  and  destroying 
crosses,  pictures,  and  images,  further  deliberations  were  held,  and  it  was 
agreed  that  these  [crosses,  etc.]  might  be  reverenced.  Originally  I  did  not 
know  that  there  were,  among  the  nations,  these  differences  in  their  religious 
practices.  Now  with  regard  to  the  religion  of  the  Lord  of  Heaven— no  matter 
whether  the  crosses,  pictures,  and  images  be  reverenced  or  be  not  reverenced — 
all  who,  acting  well,  practise  it,  ouglit  to  be  held  blameless.  All  the  great 
western  nations  being  placed  on  an  equal  footing,  only  let  them  by  acting  well 
practise  their  religion,  and  China  will  in  no  way  prohibit  or  impede  their  so 
doing  Whether  their  customs  be  alike  or  unlike,  certainly  it  is  right  that 
there  should  be  no  distinction  and  no  obstruction. — December  22,  1845. 

The  sentence  in  this  document  which  speaks  of  local  magis- 
trates making  improper  seizures  probably  refers  to  something 
which  had  occurred  in  the  country.  At  Shanghai  the  intondant 
of  circuit  issued  a  proclamation  in  November,  lS-i5.  based 
upon  the  Emperor's  rescript,  in  which  he  defines  the  Tien  Chu 
Mao  "  to  consist  in  periodically  assembling  for  unitedly  wor- 
shipping the  Lord  of  Heaven,  in  respecting  and  venerating  the 


358  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

cross,  with  pictures  and  images,  as  well  as  in  reading  aloud  the 
works  of  the  said  religion  ;  these  are  customs  of  the  said  reli- 
o-ion  in  question,  and  practices  not  in  accordance  with  these 
cannot  be  considered  as  the  religion  of  the  Lord  of  Pleaven." 
The  varions  associations  and  sects  found  throughout  China  are 
all  included  under  the  vague  name  of  klao,  or  '  doctrine ; '  they 
are  an  annoyance  to  the  government  and  well  disposed  people, 
and  are  referred  to  and  excepted  against  in  this  proclamation. 
In  a  decree  received  by  Kiying  at  Canton,  February  20,  1846, 
relating  to  the  restoration  of  the  houses  belonging  to  Roman- 
ists, the  views  of  the  Chinese  government  respecting  the  for- 
eign missionaries  were  further  nuxde  known. 

On  a  former  occasion  Kiying  and  others  laid  before  Us  a  memorial,  re- 
questing immunity  from  punishment  for  those  who  doing  well  profess  the 
religion  of  Heaven's  Lord ;  and  that  those  who  erect  churches,  assemble  to- 
gether for  worship,  venerate  the  cross  and  pictures  and  images,  read  and  ex- 
plain sacred  books,  be  not  prohibited  from  so  doing.  This  was  granted.  The 
religion  of  the  Lord  of  Heaven,  instructing  and  guiding  men  in  well-doing, 
differs  widely  from  the  heterodox  and  illicit  .  ects  ;  and  the  toleration  thereof 
has  already  been  allowed.  That  which  has  been  requested  on  a  subsequent 
occasion,  it  is  right  in  like  manner  to  grant. 

Let  all  the  ancient  houses  throughout  the  provinces,  whicli  were  built  in 
the  reign  of  Kanghi,  and  have  been  preserved  to  the  present  time,  and  which, 
on  personal  examination  by  proper  authorities,  are  clearly  found  to  be  their 
bona  fide,  possessions,  be  restored  to  the  professors  of  thi.s  religion  in  their  re- 
spective places,  excepting  only  tliose  churches  which  have  been  converted  into 
temples  and  dwelling-houses  for  the  people. 

If,  after  tlie  promulgation  of  this  decree  tliroughout  the  provinces,  the 
local  officers  irregularly  prosecute  and  seize  any  of  the  professors  of  tlie  reli- 
gion of  the  Lord  of  Heaven,  who  are  not  bandits,  upon  all  such  the  just  pen- 
alties of  the  law  shall  be  meted  out. 

If  any,  under  a  profession  of  this  religion,  do  evil,  or  congregate  people 
from  distant  towns,  seducing  and  binding  tliem  together ;  or  if  any  other  sect 
or  bandits,  borrowing  the  name  of  the  religion  of  the  Lord  of  Heaven,  create 
disturbances,  transgress  the  laws,  or  excite  rebellion,  they  shall  be  punished 
according  to  their  respective  crimes,  each  being  dealt  with  as  the  existing  stat- 
utes of  the  Empire  direct. 

Also,  in  order  to  make  apparent  the  proper  distinctions,  foreigners  of  every 
nation  are,  in  accordance  with  existing  regulations,  prohibited  from  going  into 
the  country  to  propagate  religion. 

For  these  purposes  this  decree  is  given.  Cause  it  to  be  made  known. 
From  the  Emperor.' 

'  Chinese  Repository,  Vol.  XV.,  p.  155,  where  the  original  is  given. 


GOVERNMENT   POLICY   TOWARD   MISSIONARIES.         359 

The  directors  of  Protestant  missions  did  not  think  it  right 
to  violate  the  Last  paragraph  in  tliis  rescript,  and  confined  their 
efforts  to  the  open  ports,  where  their  agents  had  much  prelim- 
inary work  to  do.  This  went  on  quietly,  and  on  the  whole 
peaceably,  as  the  inhabitants  found  that  the  missionaries  were 
their  friends.  Chapels^  schools,  hospitals,  printing  offices,  and 
dwellings  were  erected  at  all  the  ports,  bo  that  by  the  year  1858 
about  one  hundred  Protestants  were  carrying  them  on.  The 
number  of  converts  was  few,  and  there  was  not  much  result 
to  show  in  tabular  lists.     It  was  a  time  of  seed-sowing. 

In  1849  the  adherents  of  Ilung  Siu-tsuen  began  to  make 
trouble  in  the  west  of  Kwangtung,  and  to  be  called  the  Shangti 
hwui  /  and  the  Peking  authorities  were  unable  to  distinguish 
them  from  Protestants,  who  had  thus  rendered  the  name  for 
God  in  the  version  of  the  Bible  used  by  these  misguided  men. 
Their  rapid  successes  against  the  imperial  troops  soon  roused 
the  utmost  energies  of  the  government  to  suppress  them  and 
retake  Nanking.  In  1856  a  more  dangerous  struggle  was  pre- 
cipitated by  the  impolitic  action  of  Yeh  Ming-chin,  the  gov- 
ernor-general at  Canton,  in  respect  to  the  Arrow,  a  snniggling 
lorcha  carrying  the  British  flag,  which  ended  in  a  declaration  of 
war  against  China.  When  hostilities  ceased  in  1858  by  sign- 
ing treaties  of  peace  at  Tientsin  with  envoys  of  the  four  nations 
there  assembled,  it  was  deemed  to  be  a  favorable  time  to  intro- 
duce some  definite  stipulations  respecting  the  toleration  of 
Christianity  in  China.  The  rescripts  of  the  Emperor  Tau- 
kwang  in  1844  had  never  carried  any  real  weight  among  rulei's 
or  people,  nor  had  the  Romanists  ever  been  able  to  re-possess 
their  old  churches  and  other  real  estate  taken  from  them.  The 
largest  part  had  long  been  occupied  or  destroyed. 

Any  opposition  to  such  a  proposal  was  not  likely  to  be  very 
persistent  on  the  part  of  the  Chinese  plenipotentiarie^s  in  face 
of  the  force  at  the  call  of  those  who  had  just  captured  the  forts 
at  Taku  and  held  the  city  of  Tientsin  under  their  guns.  The 
four  nations.  Great  Britain,  France,  the  United  States,  and 
Russia,  were,  as  representatives  of  Christendom,  in  the  provi- 
dence of  God  brought  face  to  face  with  China,  the  representa- 
tive of  paganism.     They  came  to  demand  an  arrangement  of 


360  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

commercial,  diplomatic,  civil,  and  ex-territorial  rights,  and  the 
introduction  of  religious  privileges  did  not  enter  into  their  plans. 
The  war  on  the  pai't  of  the  two  first-named  powers  had  no  refer- 
ence to  religion,  and  their  two  colleagues  wuuld  doubtless  have 
omitted  the  articles  on  toleration  if  the  Chinese  had  held  out  on 
those  alone.  At  this  singular  and  most  unexpected  correlation 
of  moral  and  physical  forces  among  the  nations  of  the  world, 
involving  the  greater  part  of  its  inhabitants,  the  freedom  of 
the  rising  church  of  Christ  in  China  was  quietl}^  secured  by  the 
four  following  articles  of  toleration  inserted  in  the  treaties  signed 
in  June,  1858.     They  are  here  given  in  the  order  of  their  dates : 

I^ussian.  Art.  YIII. — The  Chinese  government  having  recog- 
nized the  fact  that  the  Christian  doctrine  promotes  the  estab- 
lishment of  order  and  peace  among  men,  promises  not  to  perse- 
cute its  Christian  subjects  for  the  exercise  of  the  duties  of  their 
religion;  they  shall  enjoy  the  protection  of  all  those  who  pro- 
fess other  creeds  tolerated  in  the  Empire.  The  Chinese  gov- 
ernment, considering  the  Christian  missionaries  as  worthy  men 
who  do  not  seek  worldly  advantages,  will  permit  them  to  prop- 
agate Christianity  among  its  subjects,  and  will  not  hinder 
them  from  moving  about  in  the  interior  of  the  Empire.  A 
certain  number  of  missionaries  setting  out  from  the  open  ports, 
or  cities,  shall  be  provided  with  passports  signed  by  llussian 
authorities. 

American.  Art.  XXIX. — The  principles  of  the  Christian 
religion,  as  professed  by  the  Protestant  and  Roman  Catholic 
churches,  are  recognized  as  teaching  men  to  do  good,  and  to  do 
to  others  as  they  would  have  others  do  to  them.  Hereafter, 
those  who  quietly  profess  and  teach  these  doctrines  shall  not  be 
harassed  or  persecuted  on  account  of  their  faith.  Any  person, 
whether,  citizen  of  the  United  States  or  Chinese  convert,  who 
according  to  these  tenets  peaceably  teaches  and  practises  the 
principles  of  Christianity,  shall  in  no  case  be  interfered  with 
or  molested. 

British.  Art.  VTTI. — The  Christian  religion,  as  professed  by 
Protestants  or  Roman  Catholics,  inculcates  the  practice  of  vir- 
tue, and  teaches  man  to  do  as  he  would  be  done  by.  Persons 
teaching  it  or  professing  it,  therefore,  shall  alike  be  entitled  to 


TREATY    STIPULATIONS    RESPECTING   CHRISTIANITY.      361 

the  protection  of  tlie  ('liinose  autlioritics  ;  nor  sliull  any  siicli, 
peaceably  pursuing  their  calling,  and  not  offending  against  the 
laws,  be  persecuted  or  interfered  with. 

French.  Art.  XIII. — La  religion  Chretienne,  ayant  pour 
objet  essentiel,  de  porter  les  honinies  a  la  vertu,  les  niembres 
de  toutes  communions  Ohretiennes  jouiront  d'une  entiere  secu- 
rite  pour  leurs  personnes,  leurs  proprietes,  et  le  libre  exercice  de 
leurs  pratiques  religieuses ;  et  une  protection  efficace  seia 
donnee  aux  missionnaires  qui  se  rendront  pacifiquement  dans 
I'interieur  du  pays,  munis  des  passeports  reguliers  dont  il  est  parle 
dans  TArticIe  VIII.  Aucune  entrave  ne  sera  apportee  par  les 
autorites  de  TEmpire  Cliinois  au  droit  qui  est  reconnu  a  tout 
individu  en  Chine  d'einbrasser,  s'il  le  vent,  le  Christianisme  et 
d'en  suivre  les  pratiques,  sans  etre  passible  d'aucune  peine  in- 
tiigee  pour  ce  fait.  Tout  ce  qui  a  etc  precedemment  ccrit,  pro- 
clame,  ou  public  en  Chine  par  ordre  du  gouvernement  centre 
le  culte  Chretien,  est  compK'tement  abroge,  et  reste  sans  valeur 
dans  toutes  les  pi'ovinces  de  I'Empire. 

An  article  similar  to  these  in  its  general  import  has  been 
inserted  in  nearly  all  the  treaties  subsequently  signed  with  the 
Chinese.  They  contain  as  nmch  freedom  of  faith  and  practice 
by  converts  as  could  be  desired  by  any  reasonable  man  ;  but 
many  missionaries  were  disappointed  that  their  provisions  were 
violated  or  disregarded  by  native  officials.  These  sanguine  per- 
sons often  forgot  that  forbearance  and  time  were  both  needed 
to  bring  the  people  and  their  rulers  up  to  an  appreciation  of  tlie 
new  liberties  and  obligations  contained  in  the  treaties,  and  that 
their  ignorance  would  be  best  and  thoroughly  removed  by  the 
living  evidences  of  the  purity  and  power  of  Christianity  among 
its  converts.  These  have  already  begun  to  show  their  faith  by 
their  works. 

The  only  additional  action  of  the  Chinese  government  in  this 
direction  that  needs  to  be  noticed  is  Article  YI.,  agreed  upon 
with  the  Frencli  envoy  and  contained  in  the  convention  signed 
at  Peking  in  October,  1860,  in  relation  to  the  restoration  of 
property  once  o^^^^ed  by  the  Romanists.  The  translation  is  as 
follows  : 

Art.  VI. — It    shall    be  promulgated  throughout  the  length 


362  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

and  breadth  of  the  land,  in  the  terms  of  the  imperial  edict 
of  February  20,  1846,  that  it  is  permitted  to  all  people  in 
all  parts  of  China  to  propagate  and  practise  the  teachings  of 
the  Lord  of  Heaven,  to  meet  together  for  preaching  the  doc- 
trines, to  build  churches  and  to  worship  ;  further,  all  such  as 
indiscriminately  arrest  [Christians]  shall  be  duly  punished,  and 
such  churches,  schools,  cemeteries,  lands,  and  buildings  as  were 
owned  on  former  occasions  by  persecuted  Christians  shall  be 
paid  for,  and  the  money  handed  to  the  French  representative 
at  Peking  for  transmission  to  the  Christians  in  the  locality  con- 
cerned. It  is  in  addition  periiiitted  to  French  missionaries  to 
rent  and  purchase  land  in  all  the  jyovinces,  and  to  erect  build- 
ings thereon  at  jpleasure^ 

In  carrying  out  tlie  details  of  this  article,  so  much  injustice 
and  violence  were  exhibited  by  native  Ilomanists,  supported  by 
the  missionaries  in  claiming  lands  alleged  to  have  belonged  to 
them  as  far  back  as  the  days  of  Ilicci  and  in  the  Ming  dynasty, 
and  forcing  their  owners  and  occupants  to  yield  them  without 
any  or  sufficient  compensation,  that  riots  and  hatreds  arose  in 
many  parts  of  China.  Temples,  houses,  and  shops  which  had 
been  in  the  legal  possession  of  natives  for  one  or  two  centuries 
were  claimed  under  this  stipulation,  and  they  forcibly  resisted 
the  surrender.  The  discontent  became  so  great  that  the  French 
minister  at  last  issued  a  notice,  about  1872,  that  no  more  claims 
of  this  kind  would  be  received  from  the  missionaries,  and 
further  complaints  ceased.  The  imbroglio  was  heightened  by 
the  murder  of  two  or  three  missionaries  in  Kweichau  and 
Sz'chnen  during  the  previous  years,  and  the  escape  of  the  guilty 
parties  into  other  provinces. 

The  feelings  of  all  the  llomish  missionaries  at  the  removal 
of  the  many  disabilities  under  which  they  had  long  lived  and 
bravely  suffered  were  expressed  by  the  Bishop  of  Shantung  in 


'  This  sentence  in  italics  is  not  containi'd  in  the  French  text  of  th«  conven- 
tion ;  hut  as  that  Language  is  made,  in  Art.  Ill  of  the  Treaty  of  Tientsin, 
the  oiiUi  autlioritativ'<i  text,  the  surreptitious  insertion  of  this  important  stipu- 
lation in  the  Chinese  text  makes  it  void.  The  procediu-e  was  unworthy  of 
a  great  nation  like  France,  whose  army  environed  Peking  when  the  conveu- 
tioii  was  signed. 


REVISION   OF   THE   BIBLE   IN   CHINESE.  363 

an  encyclical  letter  to  his  people,  in  which  he  exhorts  them  to 
"  maintain  and  diligently  learn  the  holy  religion.  .  .  .  Let 
them  also  pray  that  the  holy  religion  may  he  greatly  promoted, 
remembering  that  the  kind  consideration  of  the  Emperor  to- 
ward our  holy  religion  spi-ings  entirely  from  the  favor  of  the 
Lord  of  Heaven.  After  the  reception  of  this  order,  let  thanks 
be  oifered  np  to  God  for  his  mercies  in  the  churches,  for  three 
Lord's  days  in  succession.  While  the  faithful  rejoice  in  this  ex- 
traordinary favor,  let  Ave  Marias  be  recited  to  display  grateful 
feelings." 

The  subject  of  the  thorough  revision  of  the  Chinese  Bible 
had  long  occupied  the  thoughts  of  those  best  acquainted  with 
the  need  of  such  a  work ;  and  when  the  English  missionaries 
met  at  Hongkong  in  1843,  a  general  conference  of  all  Protestant 
missionaries  was  called  to  take  measures  for  the  preparation  of 
so  desirable  a  work.  The  version  of  Morrison  and  Milne  was 
acknowledged  by  themselves  to  be  imperfect,  and  the  former 
had  begun  some  corrections  in  it  before  his  death.  Messrs. 
Medhurst,  Gutzlaff,  Bridgman,  and  J.  R.  Morrison  had  united 
their  labors  in  revising  the  Xew  Testament,  and  published  it  in 
1836. 

The  greatest  harmony  existed  at  this  meeting,  and  the  books 
of  the  New  Testament  were  distributed  among  the  missionaries 
at  the  several  stations  without  regard  to  denomination.  Some 
discussion  arose  as  to  the  best  word  for  haptt'sm,  for  all  agieed 
that  it  could  not  well  be  transliterated.  The  question  was  re- 
ferred to  a  committee,  which,  finding  itself  unable  to  agree  upon 
a  term,  recommended  that  in  the  proposed  version  this  word 
should  be  left  for  each  party  to  adopt  which  it  liked.  The 
term  si  I'l,  wdiich  had  been  in  use  to  denote  this  rite  since  the 
days  of  Ricci,  by  Romanists  of  all  opinions,  had  been  taken  by 
Morrison  and  Medhurst,  and  by  those  associated  with  them. 
Marshman  preferred  another  word,  tsan^  which  was  so  unusual 
that  it  would  almost  always  require  explanation ;  and  in  fact 
could  only  be  fully  explained  by  the  ceremony  itself.  Some  of 
the  American  Baptist  missionaries  have  taken  Marshman's  term, 
and  others  have  proposed  a  third  one,  yuh.  Their  joint  action 
with  their  brethren  in  regard  to  a  common  version  was  after* 


364  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

ward  repudiated  by  the  societies  in  the  United  States,  which 
directed  them  to  prepare  separate  translations. 

The  question  of  the  proper  word  for  (lod  in  Chinese  was 
also  referred  to  a  committee  at  this  mooting  in  Hongkong, 
M'hieh  reported  its  inability  to  agree ;  and  this  ])oint,  like  the 
word  for  baptism,  was  therefore  left  to  the  decisiuns  of  the 
respective  missions,  after  the  version  itself  was  finished.  The 
delegates  on  the  projected  translation  were  chosen  by  the  body 
of  missionaries  at  each  station,  and  met  at  Shanghai  in  June, 
1847.  They  consisted  of  Eev.  Messrs.  Medhurst,  J.  Stronach, 
and  Milne  from  the  London  Missionaiy  Society,  and  Rev. 
Messrs.  Bridgman,  Boone,  Shuck,  Lowrie,  and  Culbei'tson  from 
American  societies ;  of  the  last  five,  Culbertson  took  Lowrie's 
place  after  his  death,  and  Bp.  Boone  was  never  able  to  take  an 
active  share  in  the  Avork,  The  Xew  Testament  was  finished 
July  25,  1850,  and  was  published  soon  after  with  different 
terms  for  God  and  Spirit. 

The  Old  Testament  was  ti-anslated  by  the  three  first  named 
in  1853 ;  while  another,  more  adapted  to  common  readers,  was 
com]>leted  in  1862  by  Messrs.  Bridgman  and  Culbertson. 
(jiitzlaff  also  issued  two  or  three  revisions  by  himself.  In  1805 
a  committee  was  formed  in  Peking  for  the  purpose  of  making 
a  version  of  the  SS.  in  the  Mandarin  dialect,  especially  that 
prevalent  in  the  northern  provinces.  It  was  done  by  Rev. 
Messrs.  Blodget,  Edkins,  Burdon,  and  Schereschewsky ;  the 
New  Testament  was  conipleted  by  them  jointly  in  1872,  and 
the  Old  Testament  in  1874  by  the  last  named  alone.  It  made 
the  sixth  complete  translation  of  the  Bible  into  Chinese  during 
this  century.  Other  translations  have  been  made  into  the  five 
southern  patois  of  several  books  of  the  liible — and  at  ]S'ingpo 
and  Amoy  they  are  issued  in  the  Romanized  letters,  and  not 
in  the  Chinese  character.  These  last,  of  course,  are  unintelligible 
to  all  natives  not  taught  in  mission  schools. 

The  influence  and  labors  of  female  missionaries  in  China  is, 
from  the  constitution  of  society  in  that  country,  likely  to  be  the 
only,  or  principal  means  of  reaching  their  sex  for  a  long  time 
to  come,  and  it  is  desirable,  therefore,  that  they  should  engage 
in  the  work  by  learning  the  language  and  making  the  acquaint- 


PROGRESS   IN    EVANGELIZING   THE   CHINESE.  365 

iiuce  of  the  faniilies  jirouiid  tliem.  Xo  nation  can  be  elevated, 
<)!•  (In'istian  institutions  placed  upon  a  pci'nianent  basis,  until 
fenuiles  are  taught  their  rightful  place  as  the  companions  of 
men,  and  can  teach  tlieir  children  the  duties  they  owe  to  their 
God,  themselves,  and  their  country.  Fenuile  schools  arc  the 
necessary  complement  of  boys',  and  a  heathen  wife  soon  carries 
a  man  back  to  idolatry  if  he  is  only  intellectually  convinced  of 
the  truths  of  Christianity.  The  comparatively  high  estimation 
the  Chinese  place  upon  female  education  is  an  encouragement 
to  nniltiply  girls'  schools.  The  formation  of  mission  boards  in 
western  lands,  conducted  entirely  by  women,  has  made  these 
schools  and  medical  work  among  women  in  China  both  practical 
and  necessary.  No  lai'ge  mission  is  now  regarded  as  complete 
without  one  or  more  women  to  carry  on  such  parts  of  the  work 
as  belong  to  them ;  and  this  is  true  of  the  Komish  missions  as 
well  as  Protestants. 

The  advance  in  the  work  of  evangelization  since  the  opening 
of  the  Empire  in  1842  by  the  Treaty  of  Nanking  has  been  in 
the  highest  degree  encouraging.  It  was  soon  ascertained  that 
the  hatred  and  contempt  of  foreigners  which  were  supposed  to 
dwell  in  the  minds  of  all  Cliinese,  needed  only  to  be  met  with 
kindness  and  patient  teachings  to  give  place  to  respect  and  con- 
fidence. The  sufferings  from  the  war  with  England,  and  the 
evils  resulting  from  the  snuiggling  and  use  of  opium  among 
the  people,  had  embittered  the  minds  of  dwellers  along  the 
coast ;  but  as  most  of  this  was  local,  the  enlargement  of  mission 
work  did  nuich  to  remove  the  ignorance  which  nursed  the  dis- 
like. The  free  relief  of  disease  and  pain  in  the  hospitals  aided 
greatly  to  improve  intercourse,  so  that  at  this  day  the  natives 
in  and  around  the  open  ports  have  become  entirely  changed  in 
their  feelings. 

This  outline  of  Protestant  mission  work  in  China  may  be 
closed  by  a  notice  of  the  conference  held  at  Shanghai  in  May, 
1877,  at  whicli  one  hundi-ed  and  twenty-six  men  and  women, 
connected  wath  twenty  different  bodies,  assembled  to  discuss 
their  common  work  in  its  various  departments.  The  report  of 
their  proceedings  gives  fuller  statistics  of  the  work  then  going 
on  than  is  to  be  found  elsewhere,  and  the  twenty-seven  papers 


366 


THE  MIDDLE  KINGDOM. 


read  and  discussed  in  the  three -days'  sessions  contain  the 
ripened  views  of  competent  tliinkers  upon  the  most  serious 
questions  connected  with  the  welfare  of  China.  The  following 
table  has  been  taken  from  this  report,  and  exhibits  a  remark- 
able development  in  education  and  preaching,  considering  that 
most  of  the  stations  have  been  opened  since  1860. 

STATISTICS    or   PROTESTANT    MISSIONS   TO   CHINA    FOR   THE 

YEAR  1877. 


Branches  of  Mission  Work. 


Stations  where  missionaries  reside 

Out-stations 

Organized  churches 

{i<)  Wholly  self-supporting 

(b)  Partially  self-supporting 

Communicants,  -j  g^^es  '.'.'.'.'.'.[['.'.]['.'. 
Pupils  in    31  boj's'  boarding-schools 

"        177  boys'  day-schools 

"  39  girls'  boarding-schools 

"         82  girls'  day-schools 

"         21  theological  schools 

"        115  Sunday-schools 

Pastors  and  preachers  ordained   

Assistant  preachers 

Colportors 

Bible  women 

Church  buildings  for  worship 

Chapels  and  preaching  places 

In-patients  /  .^^^^  i.ospitals,  187G ...\ 
Out-puticnts,  \  f        f  ^ 

Patients  treated  in  24  dispensaries,  1876. 

Medical  students 

Contributions  of  native  Christians,  1876. . 


American      British 
Missions.     Missions. 


41 

215 

150 

11 

115 

3,117 

2,183 

347 

1,255 

464 

957 

94 

2,110 

42 

212 

28 

62 

113 

183 

1,390 

47,635 

25,107 

19 

$4,482 


43 

290 

156 

7 

149 

4,504 

2,440 

154 

1,470 

206 

335 

120 

495 

28 

273 

46 

28 

118 

249 

3,905 

41,170 

16,174 

13 

$5,089 


Continental 
Missions. 


8 

27 
12 


687 
584 
146 
265 
124 
15 
22 

""*3 

34 
3 
2 

15 


Total, 


92 
532 

318 

18 

264 

8,308 

5,207 

647 

2,991 

794 

1,307 

236 

2,605 

73 

519 

77 

92 

246 

457 

5,295 

88,805 

41,281 

33 

$9,571 


The  total  number  of  men  who  have  joined  the  Protestant 
missions  to  the  Chinese  up  to  1876,  as  nearly  as  can  be  ascer- 
tained, has  been  484.  Of  these  41  were  laymen,  chiefly  phy- 
sicians, and  no  women  or  natives  are  included.  Twelve  Ameri- 
can societies  had  sent  out  212  ordained  missionaries,  and  the 
same  number  of  British  societies  had  sent  196  ;  all  the  agents 
of  the  8  or  10  continental  societies  amounted  to  35.  The 
number  in  1847  was  112  of  all  nations;  in  1858,  this  figure  had 
increased  to  214  ;  and  a  table  made  out  in  1877  by  the  Shang- 


STATISTICS    OF    PROTESTANT   MISSIONS   TO   CHINA.      367 

hai  Conference  giv'es  473  as  the  total  number  of  persons  then 
engaged  in  active  missionary  work  in  China,  inchiding  15  not 
employed  by  any  of  tlie  25  societies  enumerated.  Of  these  210 
belonged  to  10  American,  242  to  13  British,  and  26  to  2  Ger- 
man societies  ;  172  of  the  whole  number  being  wives  of  mis- 
sionaries, and  63  unmarried  females. 

No  one  acquainted  with  the  practical  evangelical  work  in 
China  needs  to  be  told  that  these  statistics  give  no  idea  of  the 
cliaracter  and  attainments  of  the  fourteen  thousand  converts 
which  have  joined  native  churches,  or  the  extent  and  thor- 
oughness of  the  education  given  the  five  thousand  seven  hun- 
dred children  counted  in.  Those  who  look  for  more  than  the 
merest  beginnings  of  faith  and  culture  in  the  minds  of  natives 
just  brought  out  of  the  ignorance,  sottishness,  and  impurity  of 
heathenism  into  tlie  brightness  of  Christianity,  or  those  who 
.harshly  criticise  these  results  of  mission  work,  will  do  well  to 
examine  for  themselves  more  fully  the  limitations  and  nature 
of  all  its  branches. 

'No  mention  is  made  in  these  items  of  the  amount  of  print- 
ing done  at  mission  presses,  for  those  particulars  are  scattered 
over  hundreds  of  reports  issued  during  the  last  score  or  two 
years.  The  presses  formerly  conducted  by  Williams,  Wylie, 
and  Cole  at  Canton,  Slianghai,  and  Hongkong  during  an  aggre- 
gate of  nearly  forty  years,  have  been  superseded  by  more  and 
larger  establishments ;  moreover,  the  facilities  for  transporting 
books  render  their  issues  more  available  at  the  remotest  parts 
of  the  country.  The  manufacture  of  Chinese  and  Japanese 
types  by  the  Presbyterian  Mission  press  and  foundiy  furnishes 
native  workmen  with  the  means  of  printing  newspapers  and 
books,  which  otherwise  could  never  have  been  done  (so  as  to 
become  self-supporting)  by  means  of  blocks.  At  this  establish- 
ment over  thirty  millions  of  pages  are  annually  sent  forth, 
and  this  amount  is  more  than  doubled  by  all  the  other  mission 
presses.  The  effects  of  this  literature  upon  the  native  mind, 
which  these  agencies  are  scattering  wider  every  year,  will  be 
apparent  in  the  near  future. 

The  worth  and  labors  of  many  men  comprised  in  this  num- 
ber of  missionaries  have  long  been  known  to  the  Christian  pub- 


368  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

lie.  Milne  and  Collie  ardently  longed  and  labored  diligentlv 
for  the  comino;  and  extension  of  the  kingdoni  of  Christ  in 
China,  though  not  allowed  to  live  in  its  borders.  Few  men  in 
the  missionary  corps  have  exceeded  Edwin  Stevens  in  sound 
judgment  and  steady  pursuit  of  a  well-formed  purpose,  which  in 
his  case  was  to  aid  in  perfecting  the  version  of  the  Bible,  lie 
was  employed  neai'ly  three  years  as  seamen's  chaplain  at  Wham- 
poa  before  entering  the  service  among  the  Chinese,  and  his 
labors  in  that  department  were  highly  acceptable  to  those  who 
frequented  the  port. 

The  warm-hearted,  humble  piety  and  singleness  of  purpose 
of  Samuel  Dyer  were  also  well  known  to  every  one  engaged 
with  him.  His  long  and  assiduous  labors  to  complete  a  fount 
of  Chinese  metallic  type,  amid  many  obstacles  and  hindrances, 
were  prompted  by  the  hope  that,  when  once  finished,  books 
could  be  printed  M'itli  more  elegance,  cheapness,  and  rapidity 
than  in  any  other  way.  He  lived  to  see  it  brought  into  partial 
use,  and  to  satisfy  himself  concerning  the  feasibility  of  this 
plan.  If  the  impulses  of  private  friendship  and  the  esteem 
generally  entertained  for  David  Abeel  should  prompt  a  notice 
of  his  character  and  labors,  it  would  soon  extend  to  many 
pages ;  they  have  been  well  worthy  the  fuller  notice  which  is 
given  in  his  memoir.  Among  other  biographies  may  be  men- 
tioned those  of  Walter  M.  Lowrie,  William  C.  Burns,  D.  San- 
deman,  J.  Henderson,  Samuel  Dyer,  E.  C.  Bridgman,  and  W. 
Aitcheson,  which  will  furnish  information  upon  the  details  of 
their  labors.  Female  missionaries  have  also  done  nnich,  and 
will  do  more,  in  this  work,  which  recpiires  minds  and  labors  in 
large  variety.  Mrs.  Maiy  Morrison,  Mrs.  Sarah  Boone,  Mrs. 
Theodosia  Dean,  Mrs.  L\icy  J]all,  IVIrs.  Henrietta  Shuck,  Mrs. 
Doty,  and  Mrs.  Pohlman,  all  died  in  China  before  184G — the 
first  of  scores  of  honorable  women  who  have  since  thus  ended 
their  lives. 

Before  closing  this  brief  sketch  of  Christian  missions  among 
the  Chinese,  it  may  be  well  to  mention  some  of  the  peculiar 
facilities  and  difficulties  which  attend  the  work.  The  business 
of  transforming  heathen  society  and  reconstructing  it  on  diris- 
tian  principles  is  a  great   and  proti';u*tt'(l  undertaking,  and  is  to 


JTOTICES   OF   FORMER   PROTESTANT    MISSIONARIES.      369 

be  commenced  in  all  communities  by  working  on  individuals. 
The  ()j)position  of  the  iinregenerate  heart  can  be  overcome  only 
by  the  transfoi'ming  influences  of  the  Spirit,  but  the  intellect 
must  be  enlightened,  and  the  moral  sense  instructed  by  a  sys- 
tem of  means,  before  the  truths  of  the  Bible  can  be  intelligently 
received  or  rejected.  This  opposition  is  not  peculiar  to  (.'hina, 
but  it  will  probably  assume  a  more  polemic  and  argumentative 
cast  there  than  in  some  other  countries.  The  proud  literati  are 
not  disposed  to  abase  Confucius  below  the  Saviour,  but  rather 
inclined  to  despise  the  reiteration  of  his  name  and  atonement 
as  a  seesaw  about  "  one  Jesus  who  was  dead,  whom  we  affirm 
to  be  alive."  Medhurst  notices  a  tract  written  against  him  by 
a  Chinese,  in  which  it  is  argued  that  "  it  was  monstrous  in  bar- 
barians to  attempt  to  improve  the  inhabitants  of  the  Celestial 
Empire  when  they  were  so  miserably  deficient  themselves. 
Thus,  introducing  among  the  Chinese  a  poisonous  drug,  for 
their  own  benefit  to  the  injury  of  others,  they  were  deficient  in 
benevolence ;  sending  their  fleets  and  armies  to  rob  other  na- 
tions of  their  possessions,  they  could  make  no  pretentions  to 
rectitude  ;  allowing  men  and  women  to  mix  in  society  and  walk 
arm  in  arm  through  the  streets,  they  showed  that  they  had  not 
the  least  sense  of  propriety  ;  and  in  rejecting  the  doctrines  of 
the  ancient  kings  they  were  far  from  displaying  wisdom  ;  in 
deed,  truth  was  the  only  good  quality  to  which  they  could  lay 
the  least  claim.  Deficient,  therefore,  in  four  out  of  the  five 
cardinal  virtues,  how  could  they  expect  to  renovate  others  ? 
Then,  while  foreigners  lavished  money  in  circulating  books  for 
the  renovation  of  the  age,  they  made  no  scruple  of  trampling 
printed  paper  under  foot,  by  which  they  showed  their  disrespect 
for  the  inventors  of  letters.  Further,  these  would-be  exhorters 
of  the  world  were  themselves  deficient  in  filial  piety,  forgetting 
their  parents  as  soon  as  dead,  putting  them  off  with  deal  coffins 
only  an  inch  thick,  and  never  so  much  as  once  sacrificing  to 
their  manes,  or  burning  the  smallest  trifle  of  gilt  paper  for  their 
support  in  the  future  world.  Lastly,  they  allowed  the  rich  and 
noble  to  enter  office  without  passing  through  any  literary  ex- 
aminations, and  did  not  throw  open  the  road  to  advancement  to 
the  poorest  and  meanest  in  the  land.  From  ^JJ  these,  it  ap- 
Vol.  II.— 24 


379  "^^^^  MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

peared  that  foreigners  were  inferior  to  Chinese,  and  therefore 
most  unfit  to  instruct  them." 

To  these  arguments,  whieli  commend  themselves  to  a  Chinese 
with  a  force  that  can  hardly  be  understood  by  a  foreigner,  they 
often  add  the  intemperate,  immoral  lives  and  reckless  cupidity 
of  professed  Christians  who  visit  their  shores,  and  ask  what 
good  it  will  do  them  to  change  their  long-tried  precepts  for 
the  new-fangled  teachings  of  the  Bible  ?  The  pride  of  learn- 
ing is  a  great  obstacle  to  the  reception  of  the  humiliating  truths 
of  the  Gospel  everywhere,  but  perhaps  especially  in  (^liina, 
where  letters  are  so  highly  honored  and  patronized.  The  lan- 
guage is  another  difficulty  in  the  way  of  the  diffusion  of  the 
Gospel,  both  on  the  part  of  the  native  and  the  missionary.  The 
mode  of  education  among  the  Chinese  is  admirably  fitted  for 
the  ends  they  propose,  viz.,  of  forming  the  mind  to  implicit  be- 
lief and  reverence  for  the  precepts  of  Confucius,  and  obedience 
to  the  government  which  makes  those  precepts  the  outlines  of 
its  actions,  but  it  rather  weakens  the  intellect  for  independent 
thought  on  other  subjects.  The  language  itself,  as  we  have 
had  opportunity  to  observe,  is  an  unwieldy  vehicle  for  imparting 
new  truths,  either  by  writing  or  speaking,  chiefl}'  because  of 
the  additional  burden  every  new  character  or  term  imposes  upon 
the  memory.  The  immense  number,  who  read  and  speak  this 
language,  reconciles  one,  however,  to  extra  labor  and  patience 
to  become  familiar  with  its  forms  of  speech,  and  ascertain  the 
best  modes  of  conveying  truth. 

When  the  five  ports  were  opened  in  1845  to  practical  mis- 
sionary work  among  the  two  or  three  millions  of  people  living 
in  and  around  them,  it  was  soon  found  that  they  were  tolerably 
well-disposed  to  foreigners  when  they  understood  what  was  said 
to  them.  Fifteen  years  of  constant  labor  changed  the  ignorance 
and  suspicion  with  which  they  regarded  the  first  missionaries, 
into  respectful  regard  if  not  acceptance  of  their  message.  At 
the  end  of  this  period,  the  capture  of  Peking  and  the  ratifica- 
tion of  the  treaties  of  Tientsin  completed  the  opening  of  China 
to  such  labors  as  far  as  diplomatic  agency  could  go.  Congre- 
gations are  now  collected,  and  truth  explained  to  them  with  a 
good  degree  of  acceptance  every  Sabbath,  and  all  that  is  wanted 


CHECKS    AND   PROMOTIONS    IN   CHINESE   MISSIONS.      371 

to  get  more  congregations  is  more  preachers  ;  long  before  mis- 
sionary labors  are  accomplished  in  all  the  ports,  the  whole  land 
will  afford  ev^erj  choice  of  climate  and  position.  Facilities  for 
learning  the  language  are  constantly  increasing.  Dictionaries, 
vocabularies,  phrase  books,  grannnars,  and  chrestomathies  in  all 
the  dialects  will  soon  be  prepared  ;  and  the  list  now  is  not 
small.  They  have  all,  with  few  exceptions,  been  made  and 
printed  by  Protestant  missionaries. 

Churches  have  increased  since  the  first  one  was  formed  in 
Canton  in  1835,  and  soine  of  them  are  served  by  native  evan- 
gelists, two  of  whom,  Liang  A-fali  and  Tsin  Slien,  of  the  Lon- 
don Mission,  deserve  mention  as  among  the  first  of  their  coun- 
trymen who  became  educated,  earnest  preachers  of  the  gospel. 
The  future  is  full  of  promise,  and  the  efforts  of  the  church  with 
regard  to  China  will  not  cease  until  every  son  and  daughter  of 
the  race  of  Ilan  has  been  taught  the  truths  of  the  Bible,  and 
has  had  them  fairly  propounded  for  reception  or  rejection. 
They  will  progress  until  all  the  cities,  towns,  villages,  and  ham- 
lets of  that  vast  Empire  have  the  teacher  and  professor  of  reli- 
gion living  in  them  ;  until  their  children  are  educated,  their 
civil  liberties  understood,  and  political  rights  guaranteed  ;  their 
poor  cared  for,  their  literature  purified,  their  condition  bettered 
in  this  world  by  the  full  revelation  of  another  made  known  to 
them.  The  work  of  missions  will  go  on  until  the  government 
is  modified,  and  religious  and  civil  liberty  granted  to  all,  and 
China  takes  her  rank  among  the  Christian  nations  of  the  earth, 
reciprocating  all  the  courtesies  due  fi-om  people  professing  the 
same  faith. 


CHAPTEE  XX. 

COMMERCE  OF  THE  CHINESR 

It  is  probable  that  the  applications  made  in  remote  times  to 
the  rulers  of  China  for  liberty  to  trade  with  their  subjects,  par- 
took in  their  opinion  very  nnicli  of  the  nature  of  an  acknowl- 
edgment of  their  power;  the  presents  accompanying  the  re- 
quest were  termed  I'ung,  and  regarded  as  tribute,  while  the 
traders  themselves  also  looked  upon  the  intercourse  in  some- 
what the  same  light.  The  chapter  of  the  Book  of  Records, 
called  the  "  Tribute  of  Vu,'"  is  one  of  the  most  ancient  docu- 
ments in  existence  relati;ig  to  the  products  of  a  country,  and 
indicates  a  trade  in  them  of  no  small  extent.  Silk,  lacquer, 
furs,  grass-cloth,  salt,  gems,  gold,  silver,  and  other  metals,  ivory 
and  manufactured  goods  are  enumerated ;  they  are  inostly 
identified  with  articles  still  produced,  as  Legge  has  shown  in 
his  translation.  The  records  of  the  origin  and  early  course  of 
this  trade  are  lost  to  a  great  extent,  but  the  Chinese  annals  fur- 
nish proof  of  similar  traffic  for  two  thousand  years  after  the 
days  of  Yu.  It  had  the  effect  of  extending  the  influence  of 
Chinese  institutions  among  less  civilized  neighbors,  and  of  mak- 
ing foreign  commerce  a  means  of  benefit  to  all  parties.  The 
restrictions  and  charges  upon  all  trade  were  of  small  amount  at 
this  early  period  ;  as  it  extended,  the  cupidity  of  local  officers 
led  them  to  burden  it  with  numerous  illegal  fees,  which  grad- 
ually reduced  its  value,  and  finally,  in  some  instances,  drove  it 
away  altogether. 

The  materials  in  Chinese  literature  for  investigating  this  sub- 
ject after  the  period  of  the  Ilan  dynasty  are  abundant,  and  they 
will  reward  the  careful  analysis  of  foreign  scholars.  Mairo 
Polo,  the  two  Arab  travellers  in  a.d.  850  and  878,  and  Ibn  Ba- 


AXCIENT   TIIADE    WTTIT   nillSrA.  373 

tuta,  in  1330,  liave  eacli  coiitribntcd  their  narratives,  hinting 
therein  more  than  tliey  could  carefully  investigate  of  the  wide 
ransre  and  value  of  the  Chinese  forei2;u  commerce.  During;  the 
Ming  dynasty  this  trade  fell  off,  owing  to  the  impoverishment 
of  the  land  by  the  Mongols  ;  but  when  (about  1000)  the  stimu- 
lus of  European  ships  along  the  coast  began  to  develop  and  re- 
ward native  manufactures,  foreign  nations  and  merchants  ap- 
preciated the  fact  that  it  was  more  profitable  to  trade  with 
China  than  attack  her. 

The  principal  items  of  export  and  import  have  not  materially 
changed  during  the  last  century ;  the  splendid  fabrics  of  Chi- 
nese looms,  their  tea,  lacquered  ware,  and  products  of  their 
kilns,  being  still  bartered  for  the  cottons,  metals,  furs,  and 
woollens  of  the  west.  Such  articles  as  possess  peculiar  interest, 
and  have  not  been  already  described,  together  with  a  few  no- 
tices respecting  the  present  extent  and  mode  of  conducting  the 
trade,  will  suffice  to  explain  its  general  features.'  The  history 
of  the  cultin-e  and  trade  in  tea  by  Samuel  Ball  of  Canton  in 
1835,  may  yet  be  considered  as  an  authority  upon  the  subject. 
The  growth  in  the  use  of  tea  is  instructive,  too,  rising  from  an 
importation  of  about  eighty  pounds  into  England  in  1670,  till 
it  had  so  well  vindicated  its  virtues  and  enlarged  its  use  among 
that  people,  that  in  ISSO  one  hundred  and  eighty  million  pounds 
were  required  to  supply  them  ;  and  more  than  that  was  ex- 
ported elsewhere  from  China. 

The  first  item  which  attracts  attention  in  the  table  of  trade 
with  China  is  opium,  whose  growth  and  momentous  conse- 
quences require  a  detailed  account.  The  use  of  opium  as  a 
medicine  has  not  long  been  known  to  Chinese  doctors,  though, 
from  the  way  the  poppy  is  mentioned  in  the  Hcrhal,  there  is 
reason  to  suppose  it  to  be  indigenous.  The  drug  is  called  apien, 
in  imitation  of  the  word  ojnum,  while  the  plant  is  called  qfu- 
ipinjj,  a  transliteration  of  the  Arabic  name  Afi/un,  from  which 
country  it  was  brought  about  the  ninth  century.     It  has  many 

'  Ample  materials  are  now  provided  in  the  full  reports  of  the  Custom's  .ser- 
vice and  the  Exhibition  Catalogues  of  Vienna,  Paris,  Philadelphia,  etc.  ;  the 
reports  of  Rondot,  Iledde,  and  other  members  of  the  French  Legation  in  1844 
are  still  valuable. 


374  THE  MIDDLE  KINGDOM. 

names,  as  great  smohe,  'black  commoditij^  hlack  earthy  foreign 
medicine  ;  the  last  is  the  term  used  in  the  tarifP.  The  compiler 
of  the  llerhal^  who  wrote  two  centuries  a<i;o,  speaks  of  the  plant 
and  its  inspissated  juice,  saying  that  both  were  formerly  but 
little  known ;  he  then  concisely  describes  the  mode  of  collect- 
ing it,  which  leads  to  the  inference  that  it  was  then  used  in 
medicine.  Xone  was  imported  coastwise  for  scores  of  years 
after  that  date,  but  the  poppy  is  now  grown  in  every  province 
and  in  Manchuria,  and  no  real  restraint  is  anywhere  put  on  its 
cultivation.  The  juice  is  collected  and  prepared  by  the  people 
for  their  own  consumption  in  much  the  same  manner  as  in 
India  ;  as  long  ago  as  1S30  we  find  one  official  observing  in  re- 
spect to  the  cultivation,  which  was  extending,  that  it  %vas  "  not 
only  bringing  injury  on  the  good,  but  greatly  retarding  the 
work  of  the  husbandmen." 

The  mode  of  raising  the  poppy  in  the  Patna  district  in  India 
is  thus  described  :  The  ryot  or  cultivator  havhig  selected  a 
piece  of  ground,  always  preferring  {cceter'is  paribus)  that  which 
is  nearest  his  house,  fences  it  in.  He  then,  by  repeated  plough- 
ings  and  manuring,  makes  it  rich  and  fine,  and  removes  all 
the  weeds  and  grass.  Xext.  he  divides  the  field  into  two  or 
more  beds  by  small  dikes  of  mould,  running  lengthwise  and 
crosswise  according  to  the  slope  and  nature  of  the  ground,  and 
again  into  smaller  squares  by  other  dikes  leading  from  the 
principal  ones.  A  tank  is  dug  about  ten  feet  deep  at  one  end 
of  the  field,  from  which  by  a  leathern  bucket,  water  is  raised 
into  one  of  the  principal  dikes  and  carried  to  every  part  as 
required  ;  this  irrigation  is  necessary  because  the  cultivation  is 
carried  on  in  the  dry  weather.  The  seed  is  sown  in  Novem- 
ber, and  the  juice  collected  in  February  and  March,  during  a 
period,  usually,  of  about  six  weeks ;  weeding  and  watering 
commence  as  soon  as  the  plants  spring  up,  and  are  continued 
till  the  poppies  come  to  maturity.  Cuts  are  then  made  in  the 
capsule  with  a  niishtur  or  notched  iron  instrument  made  of  three 
or  four  sharp  laiicet-likc  plates;  this  is  done  at  sunrise,  and  the 
exudation  is  scraped  off  next  morning  by  a  scoop  or  slttuJia, 
and  deposited  in  the  dish  hanging  at  the  ryot's  side.  He  takes 
it  home  and  after  draining  it  dry  in  a  large  shallow  dish,  turns 


OPIUM    CULTIVATION    IN   INDIA.  375 

it  over  and  over  in  tlie  air  for  a  montli  till  the  mass  is  equally 
dried,  and  it  is  lit  to  carry  to  the  godown.  Here  it  is  thrown 
into  a  great  tank,  and  kneaded  to  a  uniform  consistence  ;  when 
ready  it  is  rolled  into  balls  according  to  the  size  of  a  brass  bowl ; 
these  balls  are  covered  with  a  coating  of  popp}'  petals,  and 
stored  in  a  drying-house  till  ready  for  jjacking.  The  quality  of 
the  article  depends  very  much  upon  the  care  taken  in  the  dry- 
ing and  covering  with  Ikoa  or  opium  paste  when  the  ball  is 
prepared. 

The  cultivator  must  deliver  a  certain  quantity  at  the  stipu- 
lated price  to  the  collector,  the  amount  being  fixed  by  a  survey 
of  the  field  when  in  bloom  ;  he  receives  about  one  dollar  and 
sixty-five  cents  for  a  seer  (one  pound  thirteen  ounces)  of  the 
poppy  juice,  which  must  be  of  a  certain  consistence.  The  ryot 
has,  in  most  cases,  already  received  the  advance  money,  and  if 
he  sell  this  crude  opium  to  any  other  than  the  collector,  or  if 
he  fail  to  deliver  the  estimated  quantity,  and  there  is  reason  for 
supposing  he  has  embezzled  it,  he  is  liable  to  punishment.  In 
all  parts  of  India,  the  cultivation  of  the  poppy,  the  preparation 
of  the  drus,  and  the  traffic  in  it  until  it  is  sold  at  auction  for 
exportation,  are  under  a  strict  monopoly.  Should  an  indi- 
vidual undertake  the  cultivation  without  having  entered  into 
engagements  with  the  government  to  deliver  the  produce  at  the 
fixed  rate,  his  property  would  be  immediately  attached,  and  he 
compelled  either  to  destroy  the  poppies,  or  give  security  for 
the  faithful  delivery  of  the  product.  The  cultivation  of  the 
plant  is  compulsory,  for  if  the  ryot  refuse  the  advance  for  the 
year's  crop,  the  simple  plan  of  throwing  the  rupees  into  his 
house  is  adopted  ;  should  he  attempt  to  abscond,  the  agents 
seize  him,  tie  the  advance  up  in  his  clothes,  and  push  him  into 
his  house.  There  being  then  no  remedy,  he  applies  himself  as 
he  may  to  the  fulfilment  of  his  contract.  The  chief  opium 
district  is  on  the  Ganges  valley,  occupying  the  best  land  in 
Benares  and  Behar,  to  the  extent  of  about  a  thousand  square 
miles.  The  northern  and  central  parts  of  India  are  now 
covered  with  poppies,  while  other  plants  used  for  food  or  cloth- 
ing have  nearly  been  driven  out.  In  Turkey,  Persia,  India, 
and  China  many  myriads  of  acres  and  millions  of  people  are 


376  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

employed  in  the  cultivation  of  poppies.'  The  growtli  has  ex- 
tended so  much  in  Persia  that  opium  has  lately  come  from 
thence  to  China. 

The  preparation  of  tlie  opium  is  superintended  bj  official 
examiners,  and  is  a  business  of  some  difficulty,  from  the  many 
substances  put  into  the  juice  to  adulterate  or  increase  its  weight. 
Wetting  it  so  that  the  mass  shall  be  more  fluid  than  it  naturally 
is,  mixing  sand,  soft  clayey  mud,  sugar,  coarse  molasses,  cow- 
dung,  pounded  poppy-seeds,  and  the  juice  of  stramony,  quinces, 
and  other  plants,  are  all  resorted  to,  though  with  the  almost 
certain  result  of  detection  and  loss.  When  the  juice  has  been 
dried  properly,  to  about  seventy  per  cent,  spissitude,  it  appears 
coppery  brown  in  the  mass,  and  when  spread  tliin  on  a  \vhito 
plate,  shows  considerable  translucency,  with  a  gallstone  yellow 
color  and  a  slightly  granular  texture.  When  cut  with  a  knife 
it  exhibits  sharp  edges  without  drawing  out  into  threads  ;  and 
is  tremulous  like  strawberry -jam,  to  which  it  has  been  aptly 
compared.  It  has  considerable  adhesiveness,  a  handful  of  it 
not  dropj)ing  from  the  inverted  hand  for  some  seconds. 

All  the  opium  grown  is  brought  to  Calcutta  and  stored  in 
government  warehouses,  until  it  is  exposed  for  sale  at  auction, 
at  an  upset  price,  graduated  according  to  the  market  price  in 
China.  It  is  supposed  not  to  cost  much  more  than  seven  hun- 
dred rupees  a  chest,  and  is  sold  at  as  high  an  advance  as  it  will 
bear.  Great  care  is  taken  to  suit  the  taste  of  the  Chinese  ;  on 
one  occasion,  the  East  India  Company  refunded  part  of  the 
price  on  a  lot  which  had  been  differently  prepared,  to  try 
whether  that  people  would  prefer  it.  There  are  several  sorts 
of  opium :  Turkey  and  Persian,  which  sell  cheapest,  and 
reach  Cyhina  from  Aden ;  Patna  and  Benares  which  are  sold 
at  Calcutta ;  and  Malwa,  which  is  cultivated  out  of  British 
jurisdiction.  In  order  to  equalize  its  competition,  an  export 
duty  was  until  18'12  put  on  each  chest  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  rupees,  which  has  been  increased  to  six  hundi-ed 
rupees.  The  drug  is  rolled  in  balls,  and  then  packed  in  strong 
boxes,   weighing  from  one  hundred  and   sixteen    pounds  for 

'  Chinese  Eepository,  Vol  V. ,  p.  472. 


PREPARATIOiSr   AND   SALE   OF   OPIUM.  377 

Patna,  to  one  hundred  and  tliirty-fonr  pounds  or  one  hundred 
and  forty  pounds  for  Malwa.  .Mahva  opium  is  grown  and  pre- 
pared hy  natives,  and  is  often  extensively  adulterated ;  between 
four  hundred  and  five  hundred  cakes  are  in  a  chest,  and  the 
cultivator  there  receives  double  the  wages  of  the  ryot  in 
Bengal. 

Opium  chests  are  made  of  mango  wood  in  Patna  and  Benares 
and  consist  of  two  parts,  in  each  of  which  there  are  twenty- 
partitions  ;  the  balls  are  carefully  rolled  in  dry  poppy  leaves. 
The  chest  is  covered  with  hides  or  gunny  bags,  and  the  seams 
closed  so  as  to  render  it  as  impervious  to  the  air  as  possible. 
After  the  drug  is  sold  at  auction,  there  is  no  further  tax  on  it. 
The  revenue  from  this  monopoly  has  become  so  great  and  im- 
portant, that  its  continuance  is  described  by  a  leading  editor  in 
India  as  a  matter  of  life  and  death  to  the  Government.  In 
1840,  the  income  was  somewhat  over  two  millions  sterling ;  it  has 
since  steadily  increased,  till  in  1872  it  amounted  to  £7,657,000  ; 
the  average  annual  sum  between  the  years  1869  to  1876  was 
£6,524,000,  and  it  has  been  over  five  millions  ever  since  the 
peace  of  Tientsin.  The  purity  and  flavor  of  the  drug  has  been 
carefully  maintained  by  competent  scientists,  and  by  this  date 
the  prejudice  in  its  favor  has  become  so  strong  among  the  Chi- 
nese, as  to  induce  them  to  pay  an  enormous  premium  for  the 
Indian  article  over  any  native  product. 

The  use  of  opium  among  the  Chinese  two  centuries  ago  must 
have  been  very  little,^  or  tjie  writings  of  Bomish  missionaries, 
from  1580  down  to  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
would  certainly  have  contained  some  account  of  it.  It  was  not 
tdl  the  year  1767  that  the  importation  reached  a  thousand  chests, 
and  continued  at  that  rate  for  some  years,  most  of  the  trade 
being  in  the  hands  of  the  Portuguese.  The  East  India  Company 
made  a  small  adventure  in  1773  ;  and  seven  years  after,  a  depot 
of  two  small  vessels  was  established  by  the  English  in  Lark's 
Bay,  south  of  Macao  ;  the  price  was  then  about  $550  a  chest. 
In  1781  the  company  freighted  a  vessel  to  Canton,  but  were 
obliged  to  sell  the  lot  of  1,600  chests  at  8200  a  chest,  to  Sinqua, 
one  of  the  hong-merchants,  who,  not  being  able  to  dispose  of  it 
to  advantage,  reshipped  it  to  the   Archipelago.     The  price  in 


378  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

1791  was  about  ,$370  a  chest,  and  was  imported  under  the  head 
of  medicine  at  a  dutv  of  about  seven  dollars  a  hundredweight, 
including  charges.  The  authorities  at  Canton  began  to  complain 
of  the  two  ships  in  Lark's  Bay  in  1793,  and  their  owners  being 
much  annoyed  by  the  pirates  and  revenue  boats,  and  inconveni- 
enced by  the  distance  from  Canton,  loaded  the  opium  on  board 
a  single  vessel,  and  brought  her  to  AVhampoa,  where  she  lay  un- 
molested for  more  than  a  year.  She  was  then  loaded  and  sent 
out  of  the  river,  and  the  drug  introduced  in  another  ship ;  this 
practice  continued  until  1820,  when  the  governor-general  and  col- 
lector of  customs  issued  an  edict,  forbidding  any  vessel  to  enter 
the  port  in  which  opium  was  stored,  and  making  the  pilots  and 
hong-merchants  responsible  for  its  being  on  board.  The  Portu- 
guese were  also  forbidden  to  introduce  it  into  Macao,  and  every 
officer  in  the  Chinese  custom-house  there  was  likewise  made  re- 
sponsible for  preventing  it,  under  the  heaviest  penalties.  "Be 
careful,"  says  his  excellency  in  conclusion,  "  and  do  not  view 
this  document  as  mere  matter  of  form,  and  so  tread  within  the 
net  of  the  law,  for  you  will  find  your  escape  as  impracticable  as 
it  is  for  a  man  to  bite  his  own  navel." 

The  importation  had  been  prohibited  by  the  Emperor  Kia- 
king  in  1800,  under  heavy  penalties,  on  account  of  its  use 
wasting  the  time  and  destroying  the  property  of  the  people  of 
tlie  Inner  Land,  and  exchanging  their  silver  and  commodities 
for  the  "  vile  dirt "  of  foreign  countries.  The  supercargoes 
of  the  Company  therefore  recommended  tlie  Directors  to  pro- 
hibit its  sliipment  to  China  from  England  and  India,  but  this 
could  not  be  done  ;  and  they  contented  themselves  by  forbid- 
ding their  own  ships  bringing  it  to  China.  The  hong-mer- 
chants were  required  to  give  bonds,  in  1809,  that  no  ship  which 
discharged  her  cargo  at  Whampoa  had  opium  on  board ;  but 
they  contrived  to  evade  the  restriction.  The  traffic  was  carried 
on  at  Whampoa  and  Macao  by  the  connivance  of  local  officers, 
some  of  whom  watched  the  delivery  of  every  chest  and  received 
a  fee  ;  while  their  superiors,  i-emote  from  the  scene  of  snniggling, 
pocketed  an  annual  bi'ibe  for  overlooking  the  violation  of  the 
imperial  orders. 

The  system  of  bribery  and  condoning  malpractices,  so  common 


SMUGGLIiS"G   TRADE   IN    OPIUM.  379 

in  China,  Is  well  illustrated  bj  a  case  which  occurred  in  con- 
nection with  this  business.  In  September,  1S21,  a  Chinese  in- 
habitant of  Macao,  who  had  been  the  niediuni  of  receiving  from 
the  Portuguese,  and  paying  to  the  Chinese  officers  the  several 
bribes  annually  given  for  the  introduction  of  opium,  was  arrested 
by  government  for  hiring  banditti  to  assault  one  of  his  personal 
opponents.  Having  got  the  man  in  their  power,  quicksilver  was 
poured  into  his  ears,  to  injure  his  head  without  killing  him; 
they  also  forced  him  to  drink  a  horril)le  potion  of  scalding  tea 
mixed  with  the  short  hairs  shaved  from  his  head.  The  vile 
wretch  who  originated  this  cruel  idea  and  paid  the  perpetrators 
of  it,  was  a  pettifogging  notary,  who  brought  gain  to  tlie  officials 
by  intimidating  the  people,  until  he  was  the  pest  and  terror  of 
the  neighborhood.  An  official  enemy  at  last  laid  his  character 
and  doings  before  the  governor,  who  had  him  seized  and  thrown 
into  prison,  when  he  turned  his  wrath  on  his  former  employers, 
and  confessed  that  he  held  the  place  of  bribe-collector,  and  that 
all  the  authorities  received  so  much  per  chest,  even  up  to  the 
admiral  of  the  station.  The  governor,  though  doubtless  aware 
of  these  practices,  was  now  obliged  to  notice  them  ;  but  instead 
of  punishing  those  who  were  directly  guilty,  he  accused  the 
senior  hong-merchant,  a  rich  man,  nicknamed  the  "  timid  young 
lady,"  and  charged  him  with  neglecting  his  suretyship  in  not 
pointing  out  every  foreign  ship  which  contained  opium.  It 
was  in  vain  for  him  to  plead  that  he  had  never  dealt  in  opium, 
nor  had  any  connection  with  those  who  did  deal  in  it ;  nor  could 
lie  search  the  ships  to  ascertain  what  was  in  them,  or  control 
the  authorities  who  encouraged  and  protected  the  smuggling  of 
opium :  notwithstanding  all  his  pleas,  the  governor  was  deter- 
mined to  hold  him  responsible.  He  was  accordingly  disgraced, 
and  a  paper,  combining  admonition,  with  exhortation  and  en- 
treaty, was  addressed  by  his  excellency  to  the  foreigners,  Portu- 
guese, English,  and  Americans.  The  gods,  he  said,  would  con- 
duct the  fair  dealers  in  safety  over  the  ocean,  but  over  the 
contraband  smugglers  of  a  pernicious  poison,  the  terrors  of  the 
roj'al  law  on  earth,  and  the  wrath  of  the  infernal  gods  in  hades 
were  suspended.  The  Americans  brought  opium,  he  observed, 
"  because  they  had  no  king  to  rule  them."     The  opium  ships 


380  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

thus  being  driven  from  Wkanipoa,  and  the  Portuguese  unwill- 
ing  or  afraid  to  admit  it  into  Macao  unless  at  a  liigli  duty,  the 
merchants  establislied  a  floating  depot  of  receiving-ships  at 
Lintin,  an  island  between  Macao  and  the  Bogue.  In  summer, 
the  ships  moved  to  Kumsing  moon,  Kapshui  moon,  Hongkong, 
and  other  anchorages  off  the  river,  to  be  more  secui-e  against 
the  tjfoons ;  remaining  near  Lintin  during  the  north-east  mon- 
soon, until  1S39.' 

The  mode  of  introducing  opium  into  the  countrj^,  wlien  tlie 
prohibitions  against  its  use  were  upheld  by  the  moral  approval 
of  the  best  portion  of  the  native  society,  has  hardly  any  inter- 
est now,  except  as  a  matter  of  history.  It  is  a  sad  exhibition  of 
power,  habit,  skill,  and  money  all  combining  to  weaken  and 
overpower  the  feeble,  desultorj'  i-esistance  of  a  pagan  and  ignorant 
people  against  the  progress  of  what  they  knew  was  destroying 
them.  The  finality  of  such  a  struggle  could  hardly  be  doubted, 
and  when  the  tariff  of  1858  allowed  opium  to  enter  by  the  pay- 
ment of  a  duty,  the  already  enfeebled  moral  resistance  seemed 
to  die  out  with  the  extinction  of  the  smuggling  trade  in  opium, 
now  raised  to  a  licensed  connnerce.  The  rise  and  course  of  the 
trade  up  to  that  year  can  be  learned  from  the  volumes  of  the 
Chinese  Repository  and  newspapers  issued  in  China. 

The  utensils  used  in  preparing  the  opium  for  smoking,  con- 
sist chiefly  of  three  hemispherical  brass  pans,  two  bamboo  fil- 
ters, two  portable  furnaces,  earthen  pots,  ladles,  straining-cloths, 
and  s]>rinklers.  The  ball  being  cut  in  two,  the  interior  is  taken 
out,  and  the  opium  adhering  to  or  contained  in  the  leafy  cover- 
ing is  previously  sinnnered  three  several  times,  each  time  using 
a  pint  of  spring  water,  and  straining  it  into  an  earthen  pot ; 
some  cold  water  is  poured  over  the  dregs  after  the  third  boil- 
ing, and  from  half  a  cake  (weighing  at  first  about  twenty-eight 
pounds,  and  with  which  this  ])rocess  is  supposed  to  be  conducted), 
there  Avill  be  about  five  pints  of  liquid.  The  interior  of  the 
cake  is  then  boiled  with  this  liquid  for  about  an  hour,  until  the 
whole  is  reduced  to  a  paste,  which  is  spi-ead  out  with  a  spatula 
in  two  pans,  and  exposed  to  the  fire  for  two  or  three  minutes  at 


'  CMnetse  RejMisitonjj  Vol.  \.,  ]ip.  546-553. 


PREPAEING    THE    DllFCi    FOR    SMOKING.  381 

a  time,  till  the  water  is  driven  off ;  during  this  operation  it  is 
often  broken  up  and  re-spread,  and  at  the  last  drying  cut  across 
with  a  knife.  It  is  all  then  spread  out  in  one  cake,  and  covered 
with  six  pints  of  water,  being  allowed  to  remain  several  hours 
or  over  night  for  digestion.  When  sufficiently^  soaked,  a  rag 
filter  is  placed  on  the  edge  of  the  pan,  and  the  whole  of  the 
valuable  part  drips  slowlv  through  the  rag  into  a  basket  lined 
with  coarse  bamboo  paper,  from  which  it  falls  into  the  other- 
brass  pan,  about  as  much  liquid  going  through  as  there  was 
water  poured  over  the  cake.  The  dregs  are  again  soaked  and 
immediately  filtered  till  found  to  be  nearly  tasteless ;  this  weaker 
part  usually  makes  about  six  pints  of  liquid. 

The  first  six  pints  are  then  briskly  boiled,  being  sprinkled 
with  cold  water  to  allay  the  heat  so  as  not  to  boil  over,  and  re- 
moving the  scum  by  a  feather  into  a  separate  vessel.  After 
boiling  twenty  minutes,  five  pints  of  the  weak  liquid  are  poured 
in  and  boiled  with  it,  until  the  whole  is  evaporated  to  about 
three  pints,  when  it  is  strained  through  paper  into  another  pan, 
and  the  remaining  pint  thrown  into  the  pan  just  emptied,  to 
wash  away  any  portion  that  may  remain  in  it,  and  also  boiled 
a  little  while,  when  it  is  also  strained  into  the  three  pints.  The 
wliole  is  then  placed  over  a  slow  fire  in  the  small  furnace,  and 
boiled  down  to  a  pi-oper  consistency  for  smoking ;  while  it  is 
evaporating  a  ring  forms  around  the  edge,  and  the  pan  is  taken 
off  the  fire  at  intervals  to  prolong  the  process,  the  mass  being 
the  while  rapidly  stirred  with  sticks,  and  fanned  until  it  be- 
comes like  thick  treacle,  when  it  is  taken  out  and  put  into  small 
pots  for  smoking.  The  boxes  in  which  it  is  retailed  are  made 
of  buffalo's  horn,  of  such  a  size  as  easily  to  be  carried  about  the 
person.  The  dregs  containing  the  vegetable  residuum,  together 
with  the  scum  and  washings  of  the  pans,  are  lastly  strained  and 
boiled  with  water,  producing  about  six  pints  of  thin,  brownish 
licpiid,  which  is  evaporated  to  a  proper  consistence  for  selling  to 
the  poor.  The  process  of  seething  the  crude  opium  is  exceed- 
ingly unpleasant  to  those  unaccustomed  to  it,  from  the  over- 
powering narcotic  fumes  which  arise,  and  this  odor  marks  every 
shop  where  it  is  prepared  and  every  person  who  smokes  it. 
The  loss  in  weight  by  this  mode  of  preparation  is  about  one- 


382  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

half.  The  Malays  prepare  it  in  much  the  same  manner.  The 
custom  in  Penang  is  to  reduce  the  dry  cake  made  on  the  first 
evaporation  to  a  powder,  and  when  it  is  digested  and  again 
strained  and  evaporated,  reducing  it  to  a  consistence  resembling 
shoemaker's  wax. 

The  opium  pipe  consists  of  a  tube  of  heavy  wood  furnished 
at  the  head  with  a  cup  which  serves  to  collect  the  residuum  or 
ashes  left  after  combustion  ;  this  cup  is  usually  a  small  cavity  in 
the  end  of  the  pipe,  and  serves  to  elevate  the  bowl  to  a  level 
with  the  lamp.  The  bowl  of  the  pipe  is  made  of  earthenware, 
of  an  ellipsoid  shape,  and  sets  down  upon  the  hole,  itself  having 
a  small  rimmed  orifice  on  the  fiat  side.  The  opium-smoker 
always  lies  down,  and  the  impossible  picture  given  by  Davis  of 
a  "  Mandarin  smoking  an  opium-pipe,''  dressed  in  his  official 
robe.s  and  sitting  up  at  a  table,  becomes  still  more  singular  if  the 
author  ever  saw  a  smoker  at  his  pipe.  Tying  along  the  couch, 
lie  holds  the  pipe,  aptly  called  yen  tsiang,  i.e.,  '  smoking-pistol,' 
60  near  the  lamp  that  the  bowl  can  be  brought  close  up  to  the 
flame.  A  pellet  of  the  size  of  a  pea  being  taken  on  the  end  of 
a  spoon-headed  needle,  is  put  upon  the  hole  of  the  l)owl  and  set 
on  fire  at  the  lamp,  and  inhaled  at  one  whiff  so  that  none  of  the 
smoke  shall  be  lost.  Old  smokers  will  retain  the  breath  a  long 
time,  filling  the  lungs  and  exhaling  the  fumes  through  the  nose. 
The  taste  of  the  half-lluid  extract  is  sweetish  and  oily,  somewhat 
like  rich  cream,  but  the  smell  of  the  burning  drug  is  rather 
sickening.  When  the  pipe  has  burned  out,  the  smoker  lies  list- 
less for  a  moment  while  the  fumes  are  dissipating,  and  then 
repeats  the  process  until  he  has  spent  all  his  purchase,  or  taken 
his  prescribed  dose.  When  the  smoking  commences,  the  man 
becomes  loquacious,  and  breaks  out  into  boisterous,  silly  merri- 
ment, which  gradually  changes  to  a  vacant  paleness  and  shrink- 
ing of  the  features,  as  the  quantity  increases  and  the  nar- 
cotic acts.  A  deep  sleep  supervenes  fi'om  half  an  hour  to 
three  or  four  hours'  duration,  during  which  tlie  pulse  becomes 
slower,  softer,  and  smaller  than  before  the  debauch.  No  re- 
freshment is  felt  from  this  sleep,  when  the  person  has  become 
a  victim  to  the  habir,  but  a  universal  sinking  of  the  .powers 
of  the  body  and  mind  is  experienced,  and  conq)lete  reckless 


MANNER   OF   SMOKING   OPIUM.  383 

ness  of  all  consequences,  if  only  the  craving  for  more  can  be 
appeased. 

A  novice  is  content  with  one  or  two  wliiffs,  wliich  produce 
vertigo,  nausea,  and  headaclie,  though  practice  enables  liini  to 
gradually  increase  the  quantity  ;  "  temperate  smokers,"'  warned 
by  the  sad  example  of  the  numerous  victims  around  them, 
endeavor  to  keep  within  bounds,  and  walk  as  near  the  pre- 
cipice as  they  can  without  falling  over  into  hopeless  ruin.  In 
order  to  do  this,  they  limit  themselves  to  a  certain  quantity 
daily,  and  take  it  at,  or  soon  after  meals,  so  that  the  stomach 
may  not  be  so  much  Aveakened.  A  "  temperate  smoker " 
(though  this  term  is  like  that  of  a  tenvperate  robber,  who  only 
takes  sliillings  from  his  employer's  till,  or  a  tenvperate  blood- 
letter,  who  only  takes  a  spoonful  daily  from  his  veins)  can 
seldom  exceed  a  mace  weight,  or  about  as  nuich  of  prepared 
opium  as  will  balance  a  pistareen  or  a  franc  piece  ;  this  quan- 
tity Mill  fill  twelve  pipes.  Two  mace  weight  taken  daily  is 
considered  an  innnoderate  dose,  which  few^  can  bear  fur  any 
length  of  time  ;  and  those  who  are  afraid  of  the  effects  of  the 
drug  upon  themselves  endeavor  not  to  exceed  a  mace.  Some 
persons,  who  have  strong  constitutions  and  stronger  resolution, 
continue  the  use  of  the  drug  within  these  limits  for  many 
years  without  disastrous  effects  upon  their  health  and  spirits 
though  most  of  even  these  moderate  smokers  are  so  nmch  the 
slaves  to  the  habit  that  they  feel  too  wretched,  nerveless,  and 
imbecile  to  go  on  with  their  business  without  the  stimulus. 

The  testimony  regarding  the  evil  effects  of  the  use  of  this 
pernicious  drug,  wdiich  deserves  better  to  be  called  an  "  article 
of  destruction  "  than  an  "  article  of  luxury,"  are  so  unanimous 
that  few  can  be  found  to  stand  up  strongly  in  its  favor.  Dr. 
Smith,  a  physician  in  charge  of  the  hospital  at  Penang,  says : 
"  The  baneful  effects  of  this  habit  on  the  human  constitution 
are  particularly  displayed  by  stupor,  forgetfulness,  general  de- 
terioration of  all  the  mental  faculties,  emaciation,  debility,  sal- 
low complexion,  lividness  of  lips  and  eyelids,  languor  and  lack- 
lustre of  eye,  and  appetite  either  destroyed  or  depraved, 
sweetmeats  or  sugar  beino;  the  articles  that  are  most  reiished.'* 
These  synq)toms  appear  when  tlie   habit  has   weakened   the 


384  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

physical  powers,  but  the  niiliappy  man  soon  begins  to  feel  the 
power  cf  the  drug  in  a  general  languoi-  and  sinking,  which  dis- 
ables him,  mentally  more  than  bodily,  from  carrying  on  his 
ordinary  pursuits.  A  dose  of  opium  does  not  produce  the  in- 
toxication of  ardent  spirits,  and  so  far  as  the  peace  of  the  com- 
munity and  his  family  are  concerned,  the  smoker  is  less 
troublesome  than  the  drunkard;  the  former  never  throws  the 
chairs  and  tables  about  the  room,  or  drives  his  wife  out  of 
doors  in  his  furious  rage ;  he  never  goes  reeling  through  the 
streets  or  takes  lodgings  in  the  gutter ;  but  contrariwise,  he  is 
quiet  or  pleasant,  and  fretful  only  when  the  effects  of  the  pipe 
are  gone.  It  is  in  the  insupportable  languor  throughout  the 
whole  frame,  the  gnawing  at  the  stomach,  pulling  at  the  shoul- 
ders, and  failing  of  the  spirits  that  the  tremendous  power  of 
this  vice  lies,  compelling  the  *'  victimized  "  slave  "to  seek  it  yet 
again."  There  has  not  yet  been  opportunity  to  make  those 
minute  investigations  respecting  the  extent  opium  is  used 
among  the  Chinese,  what  classes  of  people  use  it,  their  daily 
dose,  the  proportion  of  reprobate  smokers,  and  many  other 
points  which  have  been  narrowly  examined  into  in  regai'd 
to  the  use  of  alcohol ;  so  that  it  is  impossible  to  decide  the 
(question  as  to  which  of  the  two  is  the  more  dreadful  habit. 
These  statistics  have,  heretofore,  been  impossible  to  obtain  in 
("hina,  and  it  will  be  very  difficult  to  obtain  them,  even  when 
a  person  who  may  have  the  leisure  and  abilities  shall  undertake 
the  task. 

Various  means  have  been  tried  by  benevolent  natives  to  dis- 
suade their  countrymen  from  using  it,  such  as  disti-ibuting 
tracts  showing  its  ruinous  effects,  compounding  medicines  for 
the  smoker  to  take  to  aid  him  in  breaking  off  the  habit,  and 
denouncing  the  smoking-shops  to  government.  A  painter  at 
Canton  made  a  series  of  admonitory  pictures,  showing  the  sev- 
ei-al  steps  in  the  downward  course  of  the  opium-snioker,  until 
beggary  and  death  ended  the  scene ;  one  of  them,  showing  the 
young  debauchee  at  his  revels,  is  here  introduced. 

A  Chinese  scholar  thus  sums  up  the  bad  effects  of  opium, 
which,  'le  says,  us  taken  at  first  to  raise  the  animal  spirits  and 
pi-event  lassitude  i     "  It  exhausts  the   aninuil   spii-its,  impedes 


DISASTROUS  EFFECTS   OF  THE  HABIT. 


385 


the  regular  performance  of  business,  wastes  the  flesh  and  blood, 
dissipates  every  kind  of  property,  i-enders  the  person  ill- 
favored,  promotes  obscenity,  discloses  secrets,  violates  the  laws, 
attacks  the  vitals,  and  destroys  life."  Under  each  of  these 
lieads  he  lucidly  shows  the  mode  of  the  process,  or  gives  exam- 
ples to  uphold  his  assertions:  "In  comparison  with  arsenic,  I 
pronounce  it  tenfold  the  greater  poison  ;  one  swallows  arsenic 
because  he  has  lost  his  reputation,  and  is  so  involved  that  he 
cannot  extricate  himself.     Thus  driven  to  desperation,  he  takes 


Manner  of  Snnoking  Opium. 

the  dose  and  is  destroyed  at  once ;  but  those  who  smoke  the 
drug  are  injured  in  many  ways.  It  may  be  compared  to  rais- 
ing the  Avick  of  a  lamp,  which,  while  it  increases  the  blaze, 
hastens  the  exhaustion  of  the  oil  and  the  extinction  of  the  light. 
Hence,  the  youth  who  smoke  will  shorten  their  own  days  and 
cut  off  all  hopes  of  posterity,  leaving  their  parents  and  wives 
without  any  one  on  whom  to  depend.  From  the  robust  who 
smoke  the 'flesh  is  gradually  consumed  and  worn  away,  and  the 
skin  hangs  like  a  bag.  Their  faces  become  cadaverous  and 
black,  and  their  bones  naked  as  billets  of  wood.  The  habitual 
Vol.  II.  -25 


886  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

smokers  doze  for  days  over  tlieir  pipes,  without  appetite ;  when 
the  desire  for  opium  comes  on,  thej  cannot  resist  its  impulse. 
Mucus  flows  from  their  nostrils  and  tears  from  their  eyes ;  their 
very  bodies  are  rotten  and  putrid.  From  careless  observers  the 
sight  of  such  objects  is  enough  to  excite  loud  peals  of  laughter. 
The  poor  smoker,  who  has  pawned  every  article  in  his  posses- 
sion, still  remains  idle ;  and  when  the  periodical  thirst  comes 
on,  will  even  pawn  his  wives  and  sell  his  daughters.  In  the 
province  of  Xganhwui  I  once  saw  a  man  named  Chin,  who,  be- 
ing childless,  purchased  a  concubine  and  got  her  with  child ; 
afterward,  when  his  money  was  expended  and  other  means  all 
failed  him,  being  unable  to  resist  the  desire  for  the  pipe,  he 
sold  her  in  her  pregnancy  for  several  tens  of  dollars.  This 
money  being  expended,  he  went  and  hung  himself.  Alas,  how 
painful  was  his  end ! " ' 

The  thirst  and  burning  sensation  in  the  throat  which  the 
wretched  sufferer  feels,  only  to  be  removed  by  a  repetition  o£ 
the  dose,  proves  one  of  the  strongest  links  in  the  chain  which 
drags  him  to  his  ruin.  At  this  stage  of  the  habit  his  case  is  al- 
most hopeless  ;  if  the  pipe  be  delayed  too  long,  vertigo,  complete 
prostration,  and  discharge  of  M'ater  from  the  eyes  ensue ;  if  en- 
tirely withheld,  coldness  and  aching  pains  are  felt  over  the  body, 
an  obstinate  diarrhoea  supervenes,  and  death  closes  the  scene. 
The  disastrous  effects  di  the  drug  are  somewhat  delayed  or  modi- 
fied by  the  quantity  of  nourishing  food  the  person  can  procure, 
and  conse(|uently  it  is  among  the  poor  who  can  least  afford  the 
pipe,  and  still  less  the  injury  done  to  their  energies,  that  the  de- 
struction of  life  is  the  greatest.  The  evils  suffered  and  crimes 
committed  by  the  desperate  victims  of  the  opium  pipe  are  dread- 
ful and  nuiltiplied.  Theft,  arson,  nuu'der,  and  suicide  are  per- 
petrated in  order  to  obtain  it  or  escape  its  effects.  Some  try  to 
break  off  the  fatal  habit  by  taking  a  tincture  of  the  opium  dirt 
in  S})irits,  gradually  diminishing  its  strength  until  it  is  left  off 
entirely  ;  others  mix  opium  with  tobacco  and  smoke  the  com- 
})ound  in  a  less  and  less  propoi-tion,  until  tobacco  alone  remains. 
The  general  belief  is  that  the  vice  can    be  overcome  without 


'  Chinese  Repository,  Vol.  VII.,  p.  108. 


MISERABLE  CONDITION   OF  TTIE   SMOKER.  387 

fatal  results,  if  the  person  firmly  resolve  to  forsake  it  and  keep 
away  from  sight  and  smell  of  the  pipe,  laboring  as  much  as  his 
strength  will  allow  in  the  open  air  until  he  recovers  his  spirits  and 
no  longer  feels  a  longing  for  it.  Few,  very  few,  however,  eman- 
cipate themselves  from  the  tyrannous  habit  which  enslaves  them ; 
they  are  able  to  resist  its  insidious  effects  until  the  habit  has  be- 
come strong,  and  the  resolution  to  break  it  off  is  generally  de- 
layed until  their  chains  are  forged  and  deliverance  felt  to  be 
hopeless. 

Swallowing  opium  is  connnonly  resorted  to  as  a  means  of 
suicide ;  the  papers  published  in  China  constantly  report  cases 
where  physi(;ians  have  tried  to  save  the  patient  by  injections  of 
atrophine  before  life  is  gone,  and  the  number  of  these  appli- 
cations painfully  show  how  lightly  the  Chinese  esteem  life.  A 
comparison  is  sometimes  drawn  between  the  opium-smoker  and 
drunkard,  and  the  former  averred  to  be  less  injured  by  the  habit ; 
but  the  balance  is  struck  between  two  terrible  evils,  both  of 
which  end  in  the  loss  of  health,  property,  mind,  influence,  and 
life.  Opium  imparts  no  benefit  to  the  smoker,  impairs  his 
bodily  vigor,  beclouds  his  mind,  and  unfits  him  for  his  station  in 
society ;  he  is  miserable  without  it,  and  at  last  dies  by  what  he 
lives  upon. 

The  import  having  been  legalized  in  1858,  under  the  pressure 
of  war,  it  was  useless  fo.v  the  imperial  government  longer  to 
prevent  the  cultivation  of  the  poppy,  and  the  growth  has  rapidly 
extended  throughout  the  provinces.  Since  all  the  opium  brought, 
to  China  reaches  it  through  Hongkong,  and  the  consumption  upon 
that  island  must  be  comparatively  insignificant,  the  table  on  the 
following  page,  taken  from  the  Chinese  Customs  Reports,  will 
convey  a  very  fair  idea  of  the  amount  and  value  of  the  import 
during  the  past  six  years. 

Although  it  is  difficult  to  make  a  general  statement  regarding 
an  import  of  such  varying  quantity  and  value,  the  average  total 
may  be  safely  enough  put  at  between  twelve  and  thirteen  mil- 
lion pounds,  the  approximate  value  of  which  is  something  over 
sixty  million  dollars,  per  annum.  The  prices  range  from  $540 
to  $580  per  pecul  for  Benares,  $740  for  Malwa,  $560  for  Patna, 
$540  for  Persian,  and  nearly  $1,500  for  the  prepared  drug.    The 


388 


THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 


imports  of  Persian  and  Tnrkisli,  though  steadily  increasing, 
amount  as  yet  to  liardly  one-fiftieth  of  the  total.  But  tlie 
merest  guesses  can  be  made  at  tlie  production  of  native  opium. 

TOTAL  IMPORT  OF  OPIUM  AT  HONGKONG. 


Year. 

Quantity. 

Value. 

1876    

Peculs. 

96,985 
94,200 
94,899 
107,970 
96,839 
89,688 

Uk.  Tls.' 

36,491,288 

1877 

32,303,963 

1878 

37,470,465 

1879 

41,479,892 

1880 

42,823,721 

1881 

38,115,154 

Tlie  British  consul  at  Canton  reported  in  1877  "on  good  au- 
thority ''  that  the  out-turn  came  to  32,000  peculs,  while  in  the 
Customs  Special  Report  on  Opium  of  1881  the  estimates  of  the 
several  connnissioners  vary  from  12,000  (Mr.  McKean,  of  Can- 
ton) to  265,000  peculs  (Mr.  Drew,  of  Kingpo).  In  this  report 
only  seven  out  of  the  nineteen  trade  ports  present  any  figures 
upon  this  head." 

This  resume  of  facts  connected  with  the  growth  and  condition 
of  this  trade  are  enough,  probably,  for  the  present  purpose. 
"  Opium  is  the  only  article  of  all  her  imports  that  China  cannot 


'The  Haikwan  tad  is  equivalent  to  $1. 30 Mn  American  gold.     'T\io  pcciil 
weighs  ];3;3i  pounds  avoirdupois. 

■  '•  Compare  Retwrns  of  Trade  at  th/',  Treaty  Portx  for  1881,  and  Opium  (Special, 
Series  II.,  No.  4),  published  by  the  Im.  Mar.  Customs  at  Shanghai.  Portfolio 
Chinensis,  by  J.  Lewis  Shuck,  Macao,  1840.  Rev.  A.  S.  Thelwall,  Tlie  Tniquities 
of  the  Opium  Trade  idth  China,  London,  1839.  L^Opinin  en  Chine,  Etude  sta- 
tistique  et  morale,  par  le  Dr.  E.  Martin,  Paris,  1871.  Alonzo  Calkins,  Opium 
and  the  Opium  Appetite,  Philadelphia,  1871.  F.  S.  Turner,  Brit  ink  Opium 
Policy  and  its  Results  to  India  and  China,  London,  187G.  Dr.  D.  J.  Macgowan 
•'n  Transactions  of  the  N.  C.  Br.  R.  A.  S.,  Part  IV.,  Art.  II.  Fernand  Papillon, 
Revue  des  Deu.v  Monde,s,  1"  Mai,  1873.  Dr.  H.  H.  Kane,  Opium  Smokiny, 
New  York,  1882.  The  Friend  of  China,  published  at  London  bi-monthly  ; 
am  pi  blicxtions  of  the  Anglo-Oriental  Society'  for  the  Suppression  of  the  Opium 
Trade. 


VALUE   OF   THE   OPIUM   TRADE.  389 

do  without  now,"  said  a  British  minister  once  in  a  soiTOwing 
mood,  as  he  acknowledged  its  evils ;  l)ut  there  are  many  other 
commodities,  and  a  survey  of  the  native  and  foreign  conmierce 
will  exhibit  the  extent  and  variety  of  the  resources  of  the  Em- 
pire. The  Chinese  trade  with  foreign  ports  in  native  vessels  is 
at  present  nearly  extinct,  in  consequence  of  the  increase  of  for- 
eign shipping  and  advantages  of  insurance  enabling  the  native 
trader  to  send  and  receive  commodities  with  less  risk  and  more 
speed  than  by  junks.  The  facilities  and  security  of  commerce 
in  a  country  are  atnong  the  best  indices  of  its  government  being 
administered,  on  the  whole,  in  a  tolerably  just  manner,  and  on 
those  principles  which  give  the  mechanic,  farmer,  and  merchant 
a  good  prospect  of  reaping  the  fruits  of  their  industry.  This 
security  is  afforded  in  China  to  a  considerable  degree — far  more 
than  in  Western  Asia — and  is  one  of  the  most  satisfactory  proofs, 
amid  all  the  extortions  and  depravity  seen  in  their  courts  and 
in  society  at  large,  that  the  people,  generally  speaking,  enjoy  the 
rewards  of  industry.  Tranquillity  may  often  be  owing  to  the 
strong  arm  of  power,  but  trade,  manufactures,  voyages,  and 
large  commercial  enterprises  must  remunerate  those  Mdio  under- 
take them,  or  they  cease.  The  Chinese  are  eminently  a  trading 
people ;  their  merchants  are  acute,  methodical,  sagacious,  and 
enterprising,  not  over-scrnpulous  as  to  their  mercantile  honesty 
in  small  transactions,  but  in  large  dealings  exhibiting  that  re- 
gard for  character  in  the  fulfilment  of  their  obligations  which 
extensive  commercial  engagements  usually  produce.  The  roguery 
and  injustice  which  an  officer  of  government  may  commit  Nvith- 
out  disgrace  would  blast  a  merchant's  reputation,  and  he  under- 
takes the  largest  transactions  with  confidence,  being  guaranteed 
in  his  engagements  by  a  combination  of  mercantile  security  and 
responsibility,  which  is  more  effectual  than  legal  sanctions. 
These  are  like  the  rings  and.  guilds,  the  corporations,  patents, 
co-operative  societies,  etc.,  which  are  fonn<l  in  Europe  and  Amer- 
ica, and  enter  into  nil  branches  of  industry. 

The  coasting  trade  is  disproportionately  small  compared  with 
the  inland  commerce ;  large  junks  cross  the  seas,  but  smaller 
ones  proceed  crAitionsly  along  the  coast  from  one  headland  to 
another,  and  sail  chiefly  by  day.     Their  cargoes  consist  of  rice, 


300  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

stockfish,  vegetables,  timber,  poles,  coal,  stones,  and  other  bulky 
articles.  Between  the  unopened  ports  the  native  trade  still 
employs  thousands  of  small  craft,  whose  crews  know  no  other 
homes ;  but  the  progress  of  steam  and  sailing  ships  has  gradu- 
ally turned  the  coasting  trade  into  foreign  bottoms. 

The  foreign  ports  now  visited  by  Chinese  junks  are  Singapore, 
Labuan,  Borneo,  IJangkok  and  elsewhere  in  Siam,  Manila,  Corea, 
and  Japan.  The  cargoes  carried  to  these  places  comprise 
coarse  crockery,  fruits,  cottons,  cheap  silks,  and  metallic  articles 
of  great  vai'iety.  European  goods  are  not  brought  to  any  great 
amount  by  junks,  but  the  variety  of  articles  of  food  or  domestic 
use  and  raw  materials  for  manufactures,  known  under  the  gen- 
eral denomination  of  Straits 2yrodtice,  is  large.  Rice  is  the  chief 
import  from  Bangkok  and  Manila  ;  i-attans,  pepper,  and  betel- 
nut  from  Singapore  and  Borneo;  biclK'-de-mer  from  the  Sulu 
Sea.  Of  the  amount  of  capital  embarked  iji  this  commerce,  the 
number  of  vessels,  the  mode  in  which  it  is  carried  on,  and  the 
degree  of  risk  attending  it,  little  is  known.  It  is  gradually  de- 
creasing, and  all  the  valuable  portions  are  already  transferred  to 
foreign  bottoms. 

The  natural  facilities  for  inland  navigation  in  China  are,  as 
the  first  chapters  of  this  work  have  pointed  out,  unusually  great, 
and  have  been,  moreover,  improved  by  art  for  travel  and  trans- 
portation. It  will  be  a  hazardous  experiment  for  the  peace  of 
the  country  to  hastily  supplant  the  swarms  of  boats  on  its  rivers 
and  canals  by  shallow-draught  steamers  and  launches,  and  throw 
most  of  their  poor  and  ignorant  crews  out  of  employment.  The 
sugar,  oil,  and  rice  of  the  southern  provinces,  the  tea,  silk,  cot- 
ton, and  crockery  of  the  eastern,  the  furs,  grain,  and  medicines 
of  the  northern,  and  the  metals  and  minerals  of  the  western,  are 
constantly  going  to  and  fro  and  demand  myriads  of  boats ;  add 
thereto  the  immense  number  of  governmental  boats  required  for 
the  ti'ansportation  of  salt  and  the  taxes  paid  in  kind,  the  pass- 
age-boats plying  in  great  numbei's  between  contiguous  towns, 
the  pleasure  and  cfflcial  barges  and  revenue  cutters,  and  lastly, 
the  far  greater  number  used  for  family  residences,  and  the  total 
of  the  inland  shipping,  it  will  be  seen,  imist  be  enormous.  It 
is,  howevei',  impossible  to  state  the  amount  in  any  satisfactory 


INTERNAL   TRADE   AND   TRANSIT   DUTIES.  391 

manner,  or  give  an  idea  of  the  proportion  between  the  different 
kinds  of  boats.  The  transit  duties  levied  on  the  produce  carried 
in  these  vessels  partake  of  the  nature  of  an  excise  duty,  and 
afford  a  very  considerable  revenue  to  the  government,  the  great- 
est so,  probably,  next  to  the  land  tax.  It  was  estimated  that 
the  additional  charges  for  transit  duty  and  transportation  on 
only  those  teas  brought  to  Canton  overland  for  exportation 
amounted  to  about  a  million  of  dollars.  Whenever  a  boat  loaded 
with  produce  passes  the  custom-house,  the  suj^ercargo  presents 
his  manifest,  stating  his  name  and  residence,  the  name  of  the 
boat  and  its  ci'ew,  and  the  description  of  the  cargo,  and  when 
the  charges  are  paid  proceeds  on  his  voj-age.  The  tariff  on 
goods  at  these  places  is  light,  but  their  number  in  a  journey  of 
any  length,  and  the  liability  to  imforeseen  detention  and  exac- 
tion by  the  tidewaiters,  greatly  increase  the  expense  and  delay. 

Since  the  treaties  of  1842  and  1858,  the  Chinese  and  British 
authorities  have  been  in  constant  dispute  about  the  right  and 
mode  of  levying  transit  dues  on  foreign  and  native  produce 
going  through  the  country— a  dispute  which  involves  and  dis- 
turbs the  whole  revenue  system  of  the  country. 

The  mode  of  conducting  the  foreign  trade  with  China  now 
presents  few  of  those  peculiarities  which  formerl}"  distinguished 
it,  for  the  monopoly  of  the  hong  merchants  and  of  the  East  In- 
dia Company-  both  being  abolished,  native  and  foreign  traders 
are  free  to  choose  with  whom  they  will  deal.  The  introduction 
of  regular  printed  permits,  clearances,  and  other  customs  blanks 
to  facilitate  trade,  followed  the  treaty  of  18-12,  and  their  ac- 
ceptance has  now  extended  to  every  port.  The  employment  of 
foreigners  to  conduct  the  details  of  the  trade  in  connection  with 
native  officers  and  clerks  has  worked  easily,  and  its  extension 
to  all  commerce  is  gradually  perfecting. 

The  articles  of  trade  are  likely  to  increase  in  variety  and 
amount,  and  a  brief  account  of  the  principal  ones,  taken  from 
the  Chinese  Commercial  Guide,  may  be  interesting  to  those  un- 
acquainted with  the  character  of  this  commerce.  The  foreign 
export  and  import  trade  divides  itself  into  two  branches,  that 
between  India  and  the  Archipelago  and  China,  and  that  beyond 
the  Isthmus  of  Suez  ;  the  former  comprises  the  greatest  variety, 


;?92  THE   MIDDLE    KIXGDOM. 

but  its  total  value  is  inucli  less.  Alum  of  an  inferior  quality  is 
sent  to  India  to  use  in  dyeing,  making  glass,  and  purifying  water. 
Aniseed  stars,  seeds  of  many  sorts  of  anioniaiii,  euhehs,  and  tar- 
rtieric  are  all  sought  after  for  their  aromatic  properties.  The 
first  is  the  small  five-rayed  pod  of  the  lUicium  anisatum  / 
the  pods  and  seeds  are  both  prized  for  their  aromatic  qualities, 
aud  a  volatile  oil,  used  in  perfumery  and  medichie  in  Europe, 
is  obtained  from  them ;  the  Asiatics  employ  them  in  cooking, 
Ciihths^  the  produce  of  a  vine  (d/hcha  ofic/'/tah's),  are  externally 
distinguished  from  black  pepper  chiefly  by  their  lighter  coloi-, 
and  a  short  process  where  the  seed  is  attached  to  the  stalk. 
The  taste  is  warm  or  pungent  and  slightly  bitter,  with  a  pleas- 
ant aromatic  smell ;  the  Chinese  article  goes  to  India,  the  con- 
sumption of  Europe  being  supplied  from  Java.  Turmeric  is 
the  root  of  the  CiircuDui  longa^  and  is  used  over  the  Archipel- 
ago and  India  for  its  coloring  and  aromatic  properties,  and  for 
food.  The  roots  are  uneven  and  knotty,  of  a  yellowish-saffron 
color ;  the  smell  resembles  ginger,  with  a  bitterish  taste;  and  the 
two  are  usually  combined  in  the  composition  of  curry-powders. 
Its  color  is  too  fugacious  for  a  dye,  no  mordant  having  yet  been 
found  to  set  it. 

Cassia  and  cassia  oil  are  sent  abroad  in  amounts  far  exceed- 
ing the  whole  of  the  preceding;  cassia  buds  also  form  an  article 
of  commerce.  Cassia  oil  is  used  for  confectionery  and  perfum- 
ery, and  the  demand  is  usually  much  greater  than  the  supply. 
Arsenic  is  exported  to  India  for  medicinal  purposes,  and  the 
native  sulphuret  or  orpiment  is  sometimes  shipped  under  the 
Hindustani  name  of  harfalL  as  a  A^ellow  colorinii;  druij;. 
Wrist  and  ankle  rings,  known  by  the  Hindu  name  of  Ijangles, 
ai'e  exported  largely,  with  false  pearlsj  coral,  and  beads ;  the 
Chinese  imitate  jade  and  chalcedony  in  their  mamifacture,  iu 
which  the  Hindus  do  not  succeed  so  well.  The  universal  use 
and  brittle  nature  of  these  ornaments  render  their  consumption 
enormous  in  Eastern  Asia.  Ilrans  foil.,  or  tinsd,  is  made  into 
the  kin  hwa,  or  'golden  flowers,'  M-hich  are  placed  before 
shrines  and  adorn  the  rooms  of  houses,  imitating  bouquets  and 
tableaux  with  cuiming  art ;  it  is  also  used  for  coatings  of  toys. 
Bones  and  horiis  are  manufactured  into  buttons,  opium-boxes, 


PRINCIPAL    EXPORTS   FROM   CHINA.  393 

hair-pins,  etc.,  some  of  which  go  abroad.  Many  kinds  of  use^ 
fill  and  fancy  articles  are  made  from  bamboo  and  rattan,  and 
their  export  forms  an  item  of  some  importance.  Chairs,  bas- 
kets, canes  and  umbrella  handles,  fishing-rods,  furniture,  and 
similar  articles  are  still  made  in  vast  variety.  The  same  may 
be  said  of  the  great  assortment  of  articles  comprised  under  the 
head  of  cui-'tosities,  as  vases,  pots,  jars,  cups,  images,  boxes,  plates, 
screens,  statuettes,  etc.,  made  of  copper,  iron,  bronze,  porcelain, 
stone,  wood,  clay,  or  lacquered-ware.  During  tlie  last  twenty 
years  the  native  shops  have  been  nearly  cleared  of  the  choicer 
specimens  of  Chinese  art  and  skill  in  these  various  departments. 

Caj)oo)'  cutchefy,  corrupted  from  the  Hindu  name  Aafur. 
Jcuchri,  or  camphor  root,  is  the  aromatic  root  of  the  Iledychiwn, 
and  also  of  the  K(jemj)ferla  ;  it  goes  to  Bombay  for  perfumery, 
plasters,  and  other  medicinal  ends,  as  well  as  preserving  clotlies 
from  insects.  It  is  about  half  an  inch  in  diameter,  and  cut  up 
when  brought  to  market ;  it  has  a  pungent,  bitterish  taste. 
Galangal  is  another  aromatic  root  exported  for  perfumery  and 
medicine.  The  name  is  probably  a  corruption  of  Kaoliang,  or 
Ko-loiig,  meaning  '  mild  ginger,'  from  Ivauchau,  in  the  south- 
west of  Kwangtung,  where  the  best  is  found.  It  is  the  dried 
root  of  the  Alplnia  qfficinarurii  (liance)  and  other  species,  and 
thousands  of  peculs  reach  Europe  and  America,  wdiere  it  is 
used  as  a  cordial  and  tonic.  There  are  two  or  three  sorts  ;  the 
smaller  is  a  i-eddish-colored  root,  light  and  firm  in  texture,  with 
an  acrid,  peppery  taste. 

Tlie  larger  is  from  a  different  plant  {Kmmpferia  galanga), 
and  inferior  in  every  respect.  Both  are  used  as  spicery,  and 
the  pow^der  is  mixed  in  tea  among  the  Tartars,  and  to  flavor  a 
liquor  called  nastoihi  drank  in  Russia.  All  the  plants  whose 
roots  have  the  aromatic  sliai'p  taste  of  ginger  are  prized  by  the 
Chinese.  China-7'oot  is  a  commercial  name  applied  to  two  dif- 
ferent products,  for  which  the  native  name  fuh-ling  rather  mis- 
leads. One  is  the  root  of  Smilax  China,  a  vine-like  dodder  in 
appearance  ;  it  is  a  knotty  and  jointed  brown  tuber,  white  and 
starchy  when  cut,  and  sweetish.  The  other  is  a  curious  fungus 
{Pachyma)  produced  by  fir  i-oots  apparently  as  it  is  found  under 
that  ti'ee.     The  article  is  whitish  and  reddish  when  cut,  ])itter- 


394        '.  THE    MIDULK    KIXGDO:\r. 

isli  and  sharp  to  tlie  taste,  and  eaten  hot  as  a  stomachic  in  rice- 
cakes  where  it  is  cheap.  It  is  similar  to  the  Indian  bread,  oi 
tuck-ahoo,  of  the  Carolinas. 

The  exportation  of  porcelain  and  ch'uiaware,  which  was  so 
great  last  century,  dimiiushed  as  European  skill  produced  finer 
sorts  at  cheaper  rates,  and  ceased  altogether  about  twenty-five 
years  ago,  when  the  Tai-ping  rebellion  dispersed  the  workmen 
in  Kingteh  chin.  Since  the  peace,  those  kilns  have  resumed 
work,  and  the  demand  for  their  finest  pieces  has  arisen  once 
more  from  western  lands,  so  that  China  bids  fair  to  regain  her 
original  reputation.  She  still  supplies  most  parts  of  Asia  with 
coarse  stoneware  and  crockery  for  domestic  use.  Glue  of  a 
tolerabl}'  good  quality,  made  from  ox-hides,  supplies  the  Chi- 
nese and  furnishes  an  article  for  export  to  India.  IsinglasSy  or 
fisli-ii;lue,  is  nuide  from  the  sounds  and  noses  of  sturo;eons  and 
other  sorts  of  fish,  as  the  bynni  carp,  or  l^oli/neniiis  ^  it  is  used 
in  sizing  silk  and  in  cookery,  as  well  as  in  manufacturing  of 
India-ink,  water-colors,  and  false  pearls. 

A  kind  of  parasol,  made  of  oiled  paper,  or  silk  called  /i/'(tt/^ol 
{i.e.,  (juitte  sol),  is  exported  to  India ;  the  article  is  durable, 
considering  its  material,  and  its  cheapness  induces  a  large  con- 
sumption. Tohdcco,  one  of  the  most  widely  cultivated  ])lants  in 
China  (for  men,  women,  and  cliildren  smoke),  is  also  sent  to  the 
Indian  Islands  in  considerable  (juantity,  for  use  among  the 
natives.  Ware  made  froin  ivoiy,  tortoise-shell,  mother-o'-pearl, 
and  <i;old  and  silvei*  constitutes  altoo-ether  a  considerable  item 
in  the  trade,  for  the  beautiful  c;irving  of  the  Chinese  always 
commands  a  market.  The  workmen  easily  imitate  new  patterns 
for  boxes,  combs,  and  buttons  of  mother-o'-pearl  or  tortoise- 
shell,  while  the  chea])ness  and  beauty  with  which  silver  table 
furniture  is  made  cause  a  large  demand.  Lacqtiered-icare  is 
not  so  nuich  sent  abroad  now  as  fornuM-ly,  the  foreign  imitations 
of  the  trays  and  tables  having  nearl)-  superseded  the  demand, 
for  the  Chinese  ware.  Marhle  dahn  of  a  clouded  lilue  lime- 
stone are  wrought  out  in  Kwangtung  province  for  floors,  and 
some  go  abroad  ;  square  tiles  are  used  everywhere  for  pavements, 
roofing,  brick  stoves,  and  drains.  In  the  southern  provinces 
thev  are  well  biii-iied  and  make  serviceable  floors. 


PRINCIPAL  EXPORTS    FROM    CHINA.  395 

2Iats  of  rattan  for  table  furniture,  and  of  grass  for  floors,  are 
all  made  by  liand.  The  latter  is  manufactured  of  two  or  three 
sorts  of  grass  in  different  widths  and  patterns,  and  though  the 
amount  annually  sent  to  the  United  States  and  elsewhere  exceeds 
five  million  yards,  it  forms  a  very  small  proportion  to  the  home 
consumption.  Floor  matting  is  put  up  in  rolls  containing 
twenty  mats,  or  forty  yards.  Musi;  though  still  in  demand,  is 
often  and  much  adulterated,  or  its  quality  impaired  by  disease. 
It  comes  in  bags  about  as  large  as  a  walnut ;  when  good,  it  is  of 
a  dark  purplish  col«*r,  dry  and  light,  and  generally  in  concrete, 
smooth,  and  unctuous  grains  ;  its  taste  is  bitter  and  smell  strong ; 
when  rubbed  on  paper  the  trace  is  of  a  bright  yellow  color,  and 
the  feel  free  from  grittiness.  A  brown  unctuous  earth  is  some- 
times mixed  with  it,  and  the  bags  are  frequently  artificial ;  the 
price  is  about  forty-five  dollars  a  pound  for  the  best  quality. 

Nanl'eeii  is  a  foreign  name  given  to  a  kind  of  reddish  cotton 
cloth  manufactured  near  Xanking  and  Tsungming  Island  ;  it  was 
once  largely  exported,  but  the  product  has  now  nearly  ceased. 
It  is  the  most  durable  kind  of  cotton  cloth  known,  and  its  excel- 
lence always  repays  the  cultivator.  The  opening  of  the  country 
to  foreigners,  and  the  disorders  ensuent  on  the  Tai-ping  rebel- 
lion, altered  the  character  of  the  silh  trade.  The  loss  of  capital 
and  dispersion  of  workmen  in  the  vicinity  of  Canton  nearly 
destroj'ed  the  export  of  raw  silk  and  piece-goods  formerly  made 
at  Fatshan,  and  the  pongees  once  woven  there  are  seldom  seen. 
The  elegant  crape  shawls  and  scarfs,  gauzes  and  checked  lus- 
trings, satins  and  lining  silks,  which  were  sent  abroad  from 
Canton,  have  all  dwindled  away.  Raw  silk  makes  the  bulk  of 
the  export,  amounting  to  over  a  hundred  thousand  bales,  of 
which  nearly  two-thii-ds  goes  to  Great  Britain.  The  annual 
average  for  the  six  years  ending  1860  was  seventy-eight  thousand 
five  hundred  bales ;  in  1836  it  was  twenty-one  thousand ; 
the  price  of  the  best  sorts  was  about  five  hundred  and  fifty  dol- 
lars a  pecul.  Silk  goods  are  exported  to  the  annual  value  of 
about  two  million  taels  ;  they  consist  chiefly  of  gauzes,  pongees, 
handkerchiefs,  scarfs,  sarsnet,  senshaws,  levantines,  and  satins; 
ribbons,  sewing- thread,  and  organzine,  or  thrown  silk,  are  not 
much  shipped.     The  silk  trade  is  moi'e  likely  to  increase  than 


896  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

any  other  branch  of  the  commerce,  after  tea,  and  the  Chmese 
can  furnish  ahnost  any  amount  of  raw  and  manufactured  silks, 
according  to  the  demand  for  them.  Soij  is  a  name  derived 
from  the  Japanese  sho-ya  •  it  is  made  by  boiling  the  beans  of 
the  Dol'ichos  soja,  adding  an  equal  quantity  of  wheat  or  bar- 
ley, and  leaving  the  mass  to  ferment ;  a  laj^er  of  salt  and  three 
times  as  nnich  water  as  beans  are  afterward  put  in,  and  the 
whole  compound  stirred  daily  for  two  months,  when  the  liquid 
is  pressed  and  strained.  Another  method  of  making  the  con- 
diment has  already  been  mentioned  in  Volume  I.,  p.  365. 

Besides  the  articles  above-mentioned,  there  are  many  others 
which  singly  form  very  trifling  items  in  the  trade,  but  their 
total  exportation  annually  amounts  to  man}^  lacs  of  dollars. 
Among  them  fire-crackers,  and  straw  braid  Moven  in  Shantung 
from  a  variety  of  wheat,  are  both  sent  to  the  United  States. 
Among  other  sundries,  vermilion,  gold  leaf,  amber,  sea-shells, 
preserved  insects,  fans,  ginger,  sweetmeats  and  jellies,  rhu- 
barb, gamboge,  camphor,  grass-cloth,  artificial  floM'ers,  insect 
■wax,  fishing-lines,  joss-sticks,  spangles,  window-blinds,  vege- 
table tallow,  and  pictures  arc  the  most  deserving  of  mention. 
Some  of  them  may  perhaps  become  important  articles  of  com- 
merce, and  all  of  them,  except  vermilion,  gamboge,  and  i-attans, 
are  the  produce  of  the  countiy. 

The  inq)orts  make  a  much  longer  list  than  the  exports,  for 
almost  everything  that  should  or  might  sell  there  is  from 
time  to  time  offered  in  the  market ;  and  if  the  Chinese  at 
Canton  had  had  any  inclination  or  curiosity  to  obtain  the  pro- 
ductions or  manufactures  of  other  lands,  they  have  had  no 
want  of  specimens.  It  will  only  be  necessary  to  mention 
articles  of  import  whose  names  are  not  of  themselves  a  sutfi- 
cient  description.  ()})ium,  rice,  raw  cotton,  longcloths,  domestics 
and  sheetings  among  manufactured  cottons,  ginseng,  tin,  lead, 
bar,  rod,  and  hoop  iron,  and  woollen  goods,  constitute  the  great 
bulk  of  the  import  trade.  Rice  is  brought  from  southern  islands, 
and  a  bounty  used  to  be  paid  on  its  importation  into  Canton 
by  taking  oft"  the  tonnage  dues  on  shi})s  laden  with  this  alone — 
a  bonus  of  about  three  thousand  dollars  on  a  large  vessel. 

The   importations  from  the  Indian   Aix'liipelago  comprise  a 


IMPORTS    FROM   THP]   ARCHIPELAGO.  397 

large  variety  of  articles,  though  their  total  amount  and  value 
are  not  very  great.  Ayar-ayar,  or  ayal-agal,  is  the  Malay  name 
for  the  Plocarla  tena,i\  Gnicillarla^  and  other  sorts  of  seaweed  ; 
it  is  boiled  and  clarified  to  make  a  vegetable  glue  which  is 
largely  employed  in  lantern  and  silk  manufacture  instead  of 
isinglass  ;  it  is  also  made  into  a  jelly,  but  the  seaweed  {Lalnihi- 
arla)  from  Japan  has  supplanted  it.  Betel-nut  is  the  fruit  of 
the  areca  palm,  and  is  called  hetel-nat  because  it  is  chewed  with 
the  leaf  of  the  betel  pepper  [Chavlca)  as  a  masticatory.  The  nut 
is  the  only  part  brouglit  to  China,  the  leaf  being  raised  along 
the  southern  coast ;  it  resembles  a  nutmeg  in  shape  and  color, 
is  a  little  larger,  and  the  whole  of  the  nut  is  chewed.  They 
are  boiled  or  eaten  raw,  the  former  being  cut  into  slices  and 
boiled  with  a  small  quantity  of  cutcli  and  then  dried.  Those 
brought  to  China  are  simply  deprived  of  the  husk  and  dried. 
AVhen  chewed,  a  slice  of  the  nut  is  wrapped  in  the  fresh  leaf 
smeared  with  a  mixture  of  gambler  or  shell-lime  colored  red, 
and  the  whole  masticated  to  a  pulp  before  spitting  it  out.  The 
teeth  become  dark  red  from  using  it,  but  the  Chinese  are  care- 
ful to  remove  this  stain.  The  taste  of  the  fresh  pepper  leaf  is 
herbaceous  and  aromatic  with  a  little  pungency,  and  those  who 
chew  have  it  seldom  out  of  their  mouths  ;  the  habit  is  not 
general  where  the  fresh  leaf  cannot  be  obtained. 

Birlie-(h-iiiei\  i.e.,  slug  of  the  sea,  or  tripang,  is  a  marine 
gasteropod  {Ilolothui'la)  resembling,  when  alive,  a  crawling 
sausage  more  than  anything  else  ;  it  is  sometimes  over  a  foot  long 
and  two  or  three  inches  through  ;  it  inhabits  the  shallow  waters 
around  the  islands  of  the  Pacific  and  Indian  Archipelago,  and 
is  obtained  by  diving  or  spearing,  and  prepared  by  cleansing 
and  smokirjg  it.  In  the  market  it  appears  hard  and  rigid,  of  a 
dirty  brown  color ;  when  soaked  in  water  it  resembles  pork- 
rind,  and  when  stewed  is  not  unlike  it  in  taste.  The  Chinese 
distinguish  nearly  thirty  sorts  of  hal  sung — 'sea  ginseng;' 
in  commerce,  however,  all  are  known  as  white  or  black,  the 
prices  ranging  from  two  dollars  up  to  eighty  dollars  a  pecul. 

Birds'  nests.,  sJiarks\ti)is,  and  JisJi-uKUrs  are  three  other  arti- 
cles of  food  pi'ized  by  Chinese  epicures  for  their  supposed 
stimidating  quality,  and  they  readily  fetch  high  prices.     The 


898  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

tii'st  is  the  nest  of  a  species  of  swallow  {Collocalia)^  which 
makes  the  gelatinous  fibres  from  its  own  crop  out  of  the  sea- 
weed {Gelidlum)  it  feeds  on.  These  nests  resemble  those  of 
the  chinmey  swallow  in  shape,  and  are  collected  in  most  dan- 
gerous places  along  the  cliffs  and  caves  in  the  Indian  Islands. 
Tlie  article  varies  from  thirty  dollars  to  three  dollars  a  pound, 
and  its  total  import  is  hardly  five  hundred  peculs  a  year.  The 
taste  of  the  Chinese  for  the  gelatinous  fins  and  stomachs  of  the 
shark  aids  in  clearing  the  seas  of  that  ferocious  fish  even  as  far 
as  the  Persian  Gulf.  The  soup  nuide  from  the  fins  i-esembles 
that  from  isinglass,  and  is  worthy  of  acceptance  on  other  tables. 

Amhe?'  is  found  on  various  eastern  shores,  along  the  Mozam- 
bique coast,  in  the  Indian  Islands,  and  localities  in  Annam  and 
Yunnan.  The  consumption  for  court  beads  and  other  ornaments 
is  great,  and  shows  that  the  supply  is  permanent,  for  none  is 
brought  from  Prussia.  The  Chinese  use  the  powder  of  amber 
in  their  high-priced  medicines.  Their  artists  have  also  learned 
to  imitate  it  admirably  in  a  variety  of  articles  made  of  copal, 
shell-lac,  and  colophony. 

The  hezoars,  or  biliary  calculi  from  ruminating  and  other 
animals,  always  find  a  ready  market  in  China  for  drugs  ;  that 
from  the  cow  is  most  prized,  and  is  often  imitated  with  pipe- 
clay and  ox-gall  mixed  with  hair,  or  adulterated  by  the  camel 
bezoar.  The  Mongols  prize  these  substances  very  highly  ;  the 
l)ure  goat  and  cow  bezoars  are  ground  for  paints  by  the  Can- 
tonese. 

Outeh,  or  terra  japonica,  is  a  gummy  resin,  obtained  from 
a  species  of  areca  palm  and  the  Acacia  catechu,  and  was  for 
a  long  time  supposed  to  be  a  sort  of  earth  found  in  Japan  ;  it 
is  called  aotc/i  from  the  Ilunn  of  Cutch,  near  which  the  tree 
grows.  The  best  is  fi-iable  between  the  fingers,  is  of  a  red- 
dish-brown color,  and  used  in  China  as  a  dye.  There  are  two 
kinds,  hlack  andjf>«Zd  y  the  former  is  made  by  boiling  the  heart- 
wood  of  the  acacia  and  putting  the  resin  into  snutll  cakes ;  it 
is  now  brought  in  small  quantities,  as  gambler  has  supplanted  it. 

Rose-maloes,  corruj)ted  from  rasaiiiala,  the  Javanese  name 
of  the  Altingia  excelsa^  is  a  liquid  storax  obtained  fi-om  the 
Styrax  ;  it  is  a  scented  gummous  oil  (tf  tlie  consistency  of  tar, 


IMPORTS    FROM   THE   ARCHIPELAGO,  399 

and  is  1)ronglit  from  Bombay  to  China  for  inedicine.  Guru 
hemoin,  or  henjamin,  is  one  of  the  gnm-resiiis  brouglit  from 
abroad,  and  highly  prized  by  Chinese  doctors;  its  Chinese  name 
indicates  tliat  it  came  from  Partliia  ;  bnt  it  is  collected  from 
the  Styrax  henzoin  in  Snmatra  and  Borneo  by  making  incisions 
in  the  bark  in  much  the  same  manner  as  opium,  until  the  plant 
withers  and  dies.  It  comes  to  market  in  cakes,  which  in  some 
parts  of  those  islands  formerly  served  as  standards  of  value. 
Good  benzoin  is  full  of  clear  light-colored  spots,  marbled  on 
the  broken  surface,  and  giving  off  an  agreeable  odor  when 
heated  or  rubbed  ;  'it  is  the  frankincense  of  the  far  East,  and 
has  been  employed  by  many  nations  in  their  i-eligious  ceremo- 
nies ;  for  what  was  so  acceptable  to  the  worshippers  was  soon 
inferred  to  be  equally  grateful  to  the  gods,  and  sought  after 
bj"  all  devotees  as  a  delightful  perfume.  The  quantity  of  ben- 
zoin imported  is,  however,  small,  and  the  Arabian  frankincense, 
or  olihanion,  is  more  commonly  seen  in  the  market,  and  is  em- 
ploj'ed  for  the  same  purposes.  Tliis  gum-resin  exudes  from  the 
Boswellia  thurifera  cultivated  in  Coromandel ;  the  drops  have 
a  pale  reddish  color,  a  strong  and  somewhat  unpleasant  smell,  a 
pungent  and  bitterish  taste,  and  when  chewed  give  the  saliva 
a  milky  color  ;  it  burns  with  a  pleasant  fragrance  and  slight 
residuum.  Dragon'' s  hlood  is  probably  an  equivalent  of  the 
Chinese  name  lung-yen  hiang,  given  to  this  resin  from  its  com- 
ing to  market  in  lumps  formed  from  the  agglutinated  tears. 
It  is  the  gummy  covering  of  the  seeds  of  a  rattan  palm 
{D(jemonoroj)S  draco)  common  in  Sumatra,  which  is  separated  by 
shaking  them  in  a  basket  or  bag ;  an  inferior  sort  is  made  by 
boiling  the  nuts.  It  is  used  in  varnishing,  painting,  and  med- 
ical preparations.  ' 

Cloves  are  consumed  but  little  by  the  Chinese,  and  mostly  in 
expressing  an  oil  which  forms  an  ingredient  in  condiments  and 
medicines,  like  the  oil  of  peppermint  made  by  themselves. 
Pepper  is  much  more  used  than  cloves,  the  tea  being  con- 
sidered beneficial  in  fevers  ;  the  good  effects  as  a  febrifuge 
seem  to  be  doubted  lately,  for  the  importation  is  only  twenty 
thousand  peculs,  not  one-half  what  it  was  fifty  years  ago. 
Barooa  camj^hor  is   still   imported   from  Borneo,  the   people 


40U  THE   MIDDLE    KIXGDOlf. 

supposing  tliat  tlie  drops  and  lumps  found  in  the  fissures  of  the 
tree  {Dryohalanops)  in  tliat  island  are  more  powerful  than  their 
own  gum ;  the  proportion  between  the  two,  both  in  price  and 
quantity,  is  about  eighteen  to  one. 

Gamhier  is  obtained  from  the  gambier  vine  {Uncar'ai)  by 
boiling  the  leaves  and  inspissating  the  decoction  ;  a  soapy  sub- 
stance of  a  brownish-yellow  color  remains,  which  is  both  chewed 
with  betel-nut  and  forms  a  good  and  cheap  material  for  tanning 
and  dyeing.  Putchuch  is  the  root  of  a  kind  of  thistle  {Aio'I.- 
landla)  cultivated  in  Cashmere  ;  it  comes  in  dry,  brown,  broken 
pieces,  resembling  rhubarb  in  color  and  smell,  and  affording  an 
agreeable  perfume  when  l)urnGd  ;  the  powder  is  employed  in 
makiny;  incense-sticks  and  the  thin  shaviiiics  mixed  in  medicines. 

Cornelians,  agates,  and  other  stones  of  greater  or  less  value 
are  purchased  by  the  Chinese  for  manufacturing  into  official  in- 
signia, rings,  beads,  and  other  ai'ticles  of  ornament ;  they  are 
brought  chiefly  from  India  or  Central  Asia.  8eed  jpearls^  to 
the  amount  of  three  hundred  thousand  dollars,  are  annually 
brought  from  Bombay  to  Canton,  where  they  are  run  on  strings 
to  be  worn  in  ladies'  head-dresses  ;  coral  is  also  a  part  of  cargoes 
from  the  Archipelago.  MotJier-o'' -j)earl  shells  and  tortoise-shell 
are  brought  from  the  same  region  and  the  Pacific  islands, 
Muscat,  and  Bombay,  a  large  part  of  which  is  re-exported  in  the 
shape  of  buttons,  combs,  and  other  productions  of  Chinese  skill. 

Jvorij  still  comes  from  Africa  via  Bombay,  and  ^Nfalaysia, 
mostly  from  Bangkok ;  the  fossil  ivory  of  Siberia  has  fur- 
nished the  material  for  the  inlaid  tables  of  Kingpo  ;  but  tlie 
cost  of  fine  ivory  has  prevented  the  maimfacture  of  many  arti- 
cles once  common  at  Canton.  Rhinoceros'  horns  are  all  brought 
to  China  to  be  carved  into  ornaments,  or  served  in  i-emedies 
and  tonics.'  But  the  principal  use  of  these  horns  is  in  medicine 
and  for  amulets,  for  only  one  good  cup  can  be  carved  from  the 
end  of  each  horn  ;  the  parings  and  fragments  are  carefully 
preserved  to  serve  for  the  other  purposes.  The  teeth  of  the 
sperm  whale,  walrus,  lamantine,  and  other  phocine  animals,  form 
an  article  of  import  in  limited  quantities  under  the  designation 

'  The  elegant  plumage  of  the  tiirquois  kingfisher  and  some  other  birds  is 
aiso  worked  into  ornaments  and  head-dresses. 


GEMS,  IVORY,   AND    WOODS    IMPORTED.  401 

of  "  sea-horse  teeth;  "  these  tusks  weigli  from  sixteen  to  forty 
ounces,  their  ivory  being  nearly  as  compact  tliough  not  so  white 
as  that  of  the  elephant. 

Several  kinds  of  v^ood  are  brought  for  cabinet  and  inlaid  work, 
medical  preparations,  and  dyeing.  Among  these  are  ebomj  and 
cainagon  {^inao  tsz'),  both  obtained  from  species  of  Diosjr//ros 
growing  in  India  and  Luzon ;  they  are  often  very  cleverly  im- 
itated by  covering  teak  and  other  hard  woods  with  a  black  stain. 
Galiru  icood — also  called  eagle  oragila  wood  (Aquilaria) — fur- 
nishes the  calambak  timber,  highly  prized  for  its  perfume ;  the 
diseased  heart-Avood  of  this  tree  is  the  precious  aloes  wood,  the 
lign  aloes  of  the  Bible.'  Among  dye-stuffs  the  laka  wood 
(^Tanarius)  from  Sumatra,  mangrove  bark,  sapan  wood  {Coesal- 
2>ini(i),  and  redwood  are  important  articles;  the  imports  of 
sandal  wood  for  incense,  rosewood,  satin  wood,  amboyna  or 
knot  wood,  camphor  and  hranjee  are  employed  in  various  ways 
for  junks,  buildings,  and  furniture. 

The  greater  facilities  of  trade  with  foreign  countries  since 
1860  have  vastly  enlarged  the  list  of  imports  and  exports,  and 
l)rought  many  new  and  useful  articles  M'ithin  reach  of  the  na- 
tives living  far  from  the  ports.  In  their  fear  and  ignorance  the 
Chinese  associated  everything  dreadful  with  the  name  and 
coming  of  those  whom  they  called  devils  and  barbarians,  and 
knew  chiefly  in  connection,  with  war  and  opium.  By  degrees, 
however,  they  are  learning  the  benefits  of  a  wider  commercial 
as  well  as  intellectual  intercourse.  One  of  the  ]nost  notable 
among  the  imports,  which  carries  with  it  something  of  this 
broadening  influence,  is  kerosene;  the  traveller  in  China,  as  well 
as  in  Algeria,  Greece,  and  Egypt,  can  hardly  fail  to  note  with 
interest  the  multitude  of  benefits  arising  from  the  introduction 
of  a  cheap  and  brilliant  lamp  into  a  house  whose  only  light 
before  has  been  a  water-lamp  or  tallow  candle.  Electric  lighting 
is  now  employed  in  certain  of  the  foreign  settlements,  and  will 
doubtless  become  as  popular  in  the  far  East  as  among  Western 
nations.  It  is  needless,  however,  to  enumerate  the  novelties  in 
which  the  Chinese  are  constantly  urged  and  tempted  to  invest. 

The  mode  of  conducting  the  trade  is  described  in  the  author's 

'  Chinese  Commercial  Guides  Fifth  Edition,  p.  106. 
Vol.  II.— 26 


402  THE  MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

Chinese  Ccmimercial  Guide  (fifth  edition,  Ilonglcong,  1863), 
which  contains  the  treaties,  tariffs,  regulations,  etc.,  of  other 
nations  as  well  as  of  China.  A  peculiar  feature  of  this  trade  is 
the  fact  that  the  natives  have  always  conducted  it  in  English, — 
that  is,  they  do  business  in  the  jargon  called  jrlyeon- English, 
whose  curious  formation  has  already  received  some  attention  in 
a  previous  chapter.  The  Chinaman  using  it  deems  no  sentence 
complete  until  it  contains  the  same  number  of  words  and  in  the 
same  idiom  as  its  equivalent  phrase  in  his  own  language.  A 
sample  of  this  hybrid  lingo,  with  its  melange  of  Chinese,  Por- 
tuguese, and  Malay  words  and  grammatical  constructions,  may 
not  be  out  of  place  here.  We  will  suppose  a  shopkeeper  is 
soliciting  custom  from  a  foreigner :  "  My  chin-chin  you,"  he 
says,  "one  good  fleen  [friend],  tahe  care  for  \ny  [patronize  me]; 
'spose  you  wanchee  any  first  chop  ting,  my  can  catch ee  for  you 
[obtain].  I  secure  sell  'em  plum  cash  [prime  cost],  alia  same 
cumsha  [present]  ;  can  do  ?"  The  foreigner,  with  great  gravity, 
replies :  "  Just  now  my  no  wanchee  anyting ;  any  teem  [time] 
'spose  you  got  vel}'^  number  one  good  ting,  p'rhaps  I  come  you 
shop  look  see."  After  hearing  for  a  few  days  such  sentences, 
the  foreigner  begins  to  imitate  them,  soon  learning  to  adapt  his 
speech  to  his  interlocutor's,  and  thus  perpetuating  the  jargon. 
Other  nationalities  are  also  obliged  to  learn  it,  and  the  whole 
trade  is  conducted  in  this  meagre  gibberish,  which  the  natives 
suppose,  however,  to  be  correct  English,  but  which  hardly  en- 
ables the  two  parties  to  exchange  ideas  upon  even  household 
subjects.  Much  of  the  misunderstanding  and  trouble  experi- 
enced in  daily  intercourse  with  the  Chinese  is  doubtless  owing 
to  this  iniperfect  medium.' 

The  trade  at  the  five  ports  opened  by  the  treaty  of  Nan- 
king in  1842  was  conducted  by  native  custom-house  officers, 
as  it  had  been  previously  at  Canton,  but  under  regulations 
which  insured  more  honesty  and  efficiency.  In  lSr>;>,  however, 
the  capture  of  Shanghai  by  insurgents  throw  tlic  whole  trade 
into  such  confusion  that  the  collector,  who  had  been  formerly 

'  Mr.  Scluiyler  mentions  hearing  some  Chinese  residents  at  Vierny  speaking 
A  mongrel  with  the  Russian  officers  ol  the  post,  which  might  be  called 
"  pigeon-Kiissian."     Tiirkt)it(tii,\o\.  If.,  p.  147. 


PRESENT   MANAGEMENT   OF   TRADE   IN    CHINA. 


403 


a  hong  merchant  at  Canton,  called  in  the  aid  of  foreigners  to 
carry  on  his  duties.  A  trio  of  inspectors  was  nominated  for 
this  purpose  by  tlie  British,  American,  and  Fi'ench  ministers 
from  their  nationalities  ;  and  so  well  did  it  work  in  honestly 
collecting  the  revenue  for  the  imperial  coffers,  that  when  the 
city  was  recaptured  the  system  was  made  permanent  for  that 
port.  In  the  negotiations  growing  out  of  the  treaties  of  Tien- 
tsin in  1858,  the  Chinese  government  felt  so  much  confidence 
in  the  feasibility  of  the  plan,  that  it  was  e.xtended  to  all  the 
ports  and  placed  under  the  entire  control  of  an  inspector-gen- 
eral. By  thus  utilizing  the  experience  and  integrity  of  foreign 
employes  in  carrying  on  this  important  branch  of  its  adminis- 
tration, the  rulers  broke  through  their  long  seclusion  and  isola- 
tion, and  opened  the  way  for  removing  the  impediments  to 
their  own  progress  in  every  branch  of  polity. 

The  following  tables,  compiled  or  abridged  from  the  so-called 
"  Yellow  Books,"  or  Trade  Reports,  issued  by  the  Imperial 
Maritime  Customs,  will  furnish  a  general  idea  of  the  foreign 
trade  with  China  and  some  statistics  concerning  its  domestic 
commerce.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add,  however,  that  con- 
cerning the  latter  when  unconnected  with  foreigners,  there  are 
almost  no  figures  of  value  attainable.  The  Ilaihwan  tael^  it 
may  be  well  to  repeat,  is  valued  at  $1.36|^,  or  5s.  Qh,d.  The 
jpecul  weighs  133|  pounds. 

ANNUAL  VALUE  OF  THE  FOREIGN  TRADE  OF  CHINA.  1871  TO  1881. 


Ybab. 

Net  Imports.! 

Exports. 

Total, 

1871 

Hk.  Tls. 

70,103,077 
67,817,049 
66,687,209 
64,8()0,S()4 
67,S();i,247 
70,2(i!>,574 
78,288,896 
70,804,027 
82,227,424 
79,298,452 
91,910,877 

nk.  Tls. 

66,858,161 
75,288,125 
69,451,277 
66,712,868 
68,912,929 
80,850,512 
67,445,023 
67,172,179 
72,281,262 
77,888,587 
71,452,974 

ffk.  Tls. 

136,956,238 

1872 

142,605,174 

1873 

136,088,486 

1874 

137,078,732 

1875 

136,716,176 

1876 

151,120,086 

1877 

140,678,918 

1878 

137,976,206 

1879 

154,508,686 

1880 

157,177,039 

1881 

163,363,851 

'  Meaning  the  value  of  foreign  goods  imported  direct  from  foreign  coun- 
tries, less  the  value  of  the  foreign  goods  re-exported  to  foreign  countries  dur 
ing  the  year. 


404 


THE    MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 


CUSTOMS   REVENUE,    1871   TO  1881. 


Year. 


1871 
1872 
1873 
1874 
1875 
1876 
1877 
1878 
1879 
1880 
1881 


Duties  on  Native  Produce 
Exported  to — 


Foreign  Coun- 
tries. 


Ilk.   Tls. 

5,246,467 
5,840,261 
4,978,179 
5,535,041 
5,640,062 
5,772,709 
5,703,321 
5,803,485 
5,958,176 
6,696,290 
6,869,486 


Chinese  Ports. 


Ilk.   Th. 


138,116 
099,724 
158,938 
147,686 
291,923 
222,860 
140,442 
306,118 
426,894 
572,392 
460,182 


Total  Revenue  fkom — 


Foreign  Trade.     Home  Trade.  TotaL 


Ilk.  Tls. 

9,508,972 
10,029,050 
9,238,675 
9,775,743 
10,030,226 
10,318,631 
10,356,415 
10,. 524,811 
11,391,329 
11,899,995 
12,494,889 


Ilk.  Tls. 

1,707,174 
1,649,-586 
1,738,407 
1,721,529 
1,937,S83 
1,834,290 
l,710,()ti3 
1,956,177 
2,140,341 
2,3.58,588 
2,190,273 


Ilk.  Tls. 

11,216,146 
11,()7S,636 
10,977,083 
11,497,273 
11,968,109 
12,152,921 
12,067,078 
12,483,988 
13,. 53 1,670 
14,2.58,583 
14,685,163 


EXPORT  OF  TEA   FROIM   CHINA   DURING    TEN   YEARS. 


Ybar. 

Black. 

Green. 

Le.af. 

Dust. 

Brick. 

Total. 

Peculs. 

Peculs. 

Peculs. 

Peculs. 

Peculs. 

Peculs. 

1873 

1,420,170 

256,464 

85 

950 

96,994     1 

774,663 

1873 

1,274,233 

235,413 

372 

416 

107,830      1 

617,763 

1874 

1,444,249 

212,834 

.... 

3,504 

74,792      1 

735.379 

1875 

1,438,611 

310,282 

2,594 

166,900      1 

818,387 

1876 

1,415,349 

189,714 

74 

3,799 

153,951      1 

762,887 

1877 

1,. 552, 174 

197,522 

36 

12,158 

147,810     1 

!)()!l,7()0 

1S78 

1,517,617 

172,826 

14,236 

194,277      1 

Si)S,!)50 

1H79 

1,. 523,419 

183,234 

.... 

5,270 

275,540      1 

1)S7,463 

1880 

1,661,325 

188,623 

.... 

14,201 

232,969      r 

97,118 

1881 

1,636,724 

238,064 

15,180 

247,498      2 

137.472 

TRADE   STATISTICS. 


405 


EXPORT    OF    NATIVE    CHINESE  GOODS  TO  FOREIGN   COUNTRIES, 

1880  AND  1881. 


Description  of  Goods. 


Silk,  all  kinds 

Tea,  all  kinds 

Bags,  all  kinds 

Bamboo,  all  kinds 

Beans  and  beancake 

Cassia  lignea 

Camphor 

Chinaware  and  pottery 

Coal 

Clothing,  boots,  and  shoes 

Cotton,  raw  and  waste 

Cnrios 

Dyes,  colors,  and  paints 

Fans,  all  kinds 

Fish,  provisions,  and  vegetables 

Fire-crackers 

Flour,  grain,  and  pulse 

Fruits,  all  kinds 

Grasscloth 

Hemp 

Hides  and  hoops 

Indigo 

Lung-ngans 

Mats  and  matting 

Medicines 

Metals,  manufactured 

Metals,  unmanufactured 

Nankeens  and  wool 

Nutgalls  and  preserves 

Oil,  all  kinds 

Paper,  books,  tin,  and  brass  foil 

Rattans  and  rattan  ware 

Rhubarb 

Skins,  all  kinds 

Straw  braid 

Sugar,  white,  brown,  candy... 

Tobacco 

Vermicelli  and  macaroni 

Sundries,   unenumerated 


ClasKifier 

of 
Quantity. 


1880. 


1881. 


Peculs. 

Pieces. 
Value. 
Peculs. 


Value. 
Peculs. 
Value. 
Peculs. 
Pieces. 
Peculs. 


Pieces. 
Peculs. 


Total  value. 


Pieces. 
Peculs. 


Value. 


Quantity 


114,831 

3,097,119 

749,  S83 

154,645 

38,785 

12,337 

75,143 

161 


30,315 


Value. 


Quantity. 


676 

6,387,989 

68,940 

37,051 

149,394 

73,720 

1,1S5 

19,548 

30,786 

3,847 

8,080 

384,680 

S8,676i 

14,284 

217 

6,511 

47,690 

3,692 

43,581 

2,085 

6,153 

344.193 

48,970 

1,138,196 

19,077 

26,991 


Bk.  Tls.    1 

29,831,444 

35,728,169 

*20,555 

74,597 

159,996 

225,692 

100,679 

379,574 

34 

337,  .548 

182.918 

44,948 

3,196 

38,881 

165,922 

260,010 

139,653 

92,913 

104,719 

160,602 

2.53,.548 

13,768; 

34,669' 

533,027  i 

194,451 

147,405  i 

8751 

122,815 

432,774 

70,295 

.512,720 

8.975 

212,.537 

152,486 

1,227,670 

3,263,889 

167,931 

13.5,432 

2,366,290 


Vahie. 


77,883,587 


HI:  Tls. 

106,6.33 

26,868,200 

2,137,473 

32,890,368 

860,558 

31,002 

86  167 

113,628 

139,066 

57,4.56 

300,303 

9,317 

79,625 

78,503 

387,006 

1,478 

308 

358,301 

33,139 

228,391 

43,364 

20 

183 

3,017,1.57 

27,710 

66,008 

146,262 

34,380 

3i^'2,.522 

39,911 

49.361 

87,140 

106,756 

1,.589 

148,985 

20,771 

1.58,143 

38,526 

473,  .555 

1,764 

7,168 

7,  .592 

.30.753 

360,837 

358,.537 

31,916 

194,090 

14,804 

i:i5,778 

2 

4 

8,7.50 

172,205 

44,260 

402,017 

9,442 

1.59,51 1! 

53,438 

597,496 

2,757 

11,901 

6,814 

245,9.57 

330,923 

262,780 

50,502 

1,363,984 

957,564 

3,584,000 

7,2.50 

73,386 

40,122 

1.54,1.59 

1,8.53,865 

71,462,974 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

FOREIGN  INTERCOURSE  WITH  CHINA. 

The  most  important  notices  wliicli  the  research  of  antliors  liad 
collected  respecting  the  intercourse  between  Cliina  and  tlie  West, 
and  the  principal  facts  of  interest  of  a  political  and  connnercial 
nature  down  to  the  year  1834,  are  carefully  arranged  in  the  first 
three  chapters  of  Sir  John  Davis'  work.'  In  truth,  the  terms 
intercourse  and  ambassies,  so  often  used  ^\■ith  reference  to  the 
nations  of  Eastern  Asia,  indicate  a  peculiar  state  of  relations 
with  them ;  for  while  other  courts  send  and  receive  resident 
ministers,  those  of  China,  Jajian,  Corea,  and  Cochinchina  liav^e 
until  very  recently  kept  themselves  aloof  from  this  national  in- 
terchange of  civilities,  neither  understanding  its  principles  nor 
appreciating  its  advantages.  Embassies  have  been  sent  by  most 
European  nations  to  the  two  first,  which  have  tended  rather  to 
strengthen  their  assumptions  of  supremacy  than  to  enlighten 
them  as  to  the  real  objects  and  wishes  of  the  courts  proposing 
such  courtesies.  The  commercial  intercourse  has,  like  the 
political,  either  been  forced  upon  or  begged  of  these  govern- 
ments, constantly  subject  to  those  vexatious  restrictions  and  in- 
terru])tions  which  might  be  expected  from  such  ill-defined  ar- 
rangements ;  and  though  mutually  advantageous,  has  never 
been  conducted  on  those  principles  of  reciprocity  and  equality 
which  characterize  commerce  at  the  West.  As  yet,  the  rulers 
and  merchants  of  oriental  nations  are  hardly  well  enough  ac- 
quainted with  their  own  and  others'  rights  to  be  able  or  willing 


^  The  Chinese,  2  Vols.,  Harper's  Family  Library,  1837.  See  also  Murray's 
China,  Vol.  I.,  1848.  Montgomery  Martin's  Chiu(t,  passim,  1847.  Memoires 
conr.  les  Chino/K,  Tome  V.,  pp.  1-23.  T.  W.  Kingsmill  in  iV'.  C.  Br.  M.  A. 
Soc.  Jourml,  N.  S.,  No.  XIV.,  1879. 


ISOLATION   AND   SUSPICION   OF   THE   CIIIXESE.  407 

to  enter  into  close  relations  with  European  powers.  Both  magis- 
trates and  people  are  ignorant  and  afraid  of  the  resources,  power, 
and  designs  of  Christian  nations,  and  consequently  disinclined 
to  admit  them  or  their  subjects  to  unrestrained  intercourse. 
When  western  adventurers,  as  Pinto,  Andrade,  Wcddell,  and 
others  came  to  the  shores  of  China  and  Japan  in  the  sixteenth 
and  seventeenth  centuries,  they  found  the  governments  dis- 
posed to  traffic,  but  the  conquests  subsequently  made  by 
Europeans  in  the  neighboring  regions  of  Lu9onia,  Java,  and 
India,  and  their  cruel  treatment  of  the  natives,  led  these  tAvo 
powers  to  apprehend  like  results  for  themselves  if  they  did  not 
soon  take  precautionary  measures  of  exclusion  and  restriction. 
Nor  can  there  be  much  doubt  that  this  policy  was  the  safest 
measure,  in  order  to  preserve  their  independence  and  maintain 
their  authority  over  even  their  own  subjects.  Might  made 
right  more  generally  among  nations  then  than  it  does  now,  and 
the  belief  entertained  by  most  Europeans  at  that  period,  that 
all  pagan  lands  belonged  justly  to  the  Pope,  only  wanted  men 
and  means  to  be  everywhere  carried  into  effect.  Had  the  Chi- 
nese and  Japanese  governments  allowed  Portuguese,  Spanish, 
French,  and  English  colonists  to  settle  and  increase  within  their 
borders,  they  would,  probably,  long  since  have  crumbled  to 
pieces  and  their  territories  have  been  possessed  by  others. 

The  data  brought  together  by  Davis  in  1838  on  this  subject 
has  since  been  enlarged  and  illustrated  by  Col.  Yule  in  his 
admirable  "  Preliminary  Essay  "  of  18GG,  prefixed  to  ddJiay  and 
the  Way  Thither,  and  by  Richthofen,  tlie  latter  half  of  whose 
first  volume  on  China  is  devoted  to  an  exhaustive  treatise  upon 
the  "  Development  of  the  Knowledge  of  China." '  A  digest 
of  these  elaborate  works  would  be  too  long  for  our  purpose  here, 


'  China,  Ergehnisse  eigener  Beisen  und  darnvf  gegriindeter  Studien,  Berlin, 
1877.  This  author's  arrangement  of  the  subject  into  "  Periods  "  is  as  follows  : 
I. — Legendary  notices  of  intercourse  before  the  year  1122  B.C.  II. — From 
the  accession  of  the  Chans  to  the  building  of  the  Great  Wall  (1122-213  B.C.). 
III.— From  the  building  of  the  Great  Wall  to  the  accession  of  the  Tangs  (212 
B.C.-619  A.D.).  IV.— From  the  Tangs  to  the  Mongols  (619-1205).  V.— From 
the  rise  of  the  Mongol  power  to  the  arrival  of  the  Portuguese  in  China  (1205- 
1517).     VI. — From  the  arrival  of  the  Portuguese  to  the  present  time. 


408  THE   .MI1)1)I>E    KINGDOM. 

where  only  the  most  interesting  points  can  be  noticed.  The  first 
recorded  knowledge  of  China  among  the  nations  of  the  West 
does  not  date  further  hack  than  the  geographer  Ptolemy,  a.d.  150, 
who  seems  himself  to  have  Ijeeii  indebted  to  the  Tyrian  author 
Marinus.  The  Periplus  of  the  Erythraean  Sea,  however,  refers 
to  the  same  land  under  the  name  ©Iv,  or  77iin,  at  perhaps  an 
earlier  date.  Previous  to  this  time,  moreover,  accounts  of  the 
existence  of  the  land  of  Confucius,  and  an  appreciation  and  de- 
mand for  the  splendid  silks  made  there,  had  reached  Persia, 
judging  from  the  legends  found  in  its  writers  alluding  to  ancient 
w^ars  and  embassies  with  China,  in  which  tlie  country,  the  gov- 
ernment, people,  and  fabrics  are  invested  with  a  halo  of  power 
and  wealth  which  has  not  yet  entirely  vanished.  These  legends 
strengthen  the  conclusion  that  the  Prophet  Isaiah  has  the  first 
mention  now  extant  of  the  FloMcry  Land  under  theimmeSinujK 
The  interchange  of  the  initial  in  China,  Thina  or  Tina,  and 
Sitia  onght  to  give  no  trouble  in  identifying  the  land,  for  such 
changes  in  pronunciation  are  still  common  in  it ;  e.g.,  Chun-cha^b 
fu  into  Tlt-chiu  hu. 

The  Periphis  of  Ari-ian  places  the  city  of  Thina  perhaps  as 
far  east  as  Si-ngan,  but  too  vaguely  to  be  relied  on  ;  that  great  city 
must  certainly  have  then  been  known,  liowever,  among  the  tradei's 
of  Central  Asia,  who  probably  were  better  acquainted  with  its 
geography  than  the  authors  who  have  survived  them.  Under 
the  term  Seres  the  Chinese  are  more  clearlj^  referred  to  at  even 
an  earlier  date  tlian  Sina,  and  among  the  Latin  writers  it  was 
about  the  only  term  used,  its  association  wnth  the  silks  brought 
thence  keeping  it  before  them.  The  two  names  were  used  for 
different  regions,'  the  Seres  being  understood  as  lying  to  the 
north.  Mela  places  them  between  the  Lidians  and  Scythians; 
Ptolemy  calls  the  country  Seriee  and  the  capital  Sera,  but  re- 
garded them  as  distinct  from  the  Slna>,  precisely  as  a  Chinese 
geograplier  might  confuse  Britain  and  England.     He  says  there 


'  The  diflFerent  appellations  soeiu  to  have  been  employed  according  as  it  was 
regarded  as  tlie  terminus  of  a  southern  sea  route  f)r  a  journey  across  the  con- 
tinent. In  the  former  aspect  the  name  has  nearly  always  beim  some  form  of 
Sin,  (Jhiii,  Hinjc,  Cliina  ;  in  the  latter,  to  the  ancients  as  the  land  of  the  Seres, 
to  the  middle  ages  as  the  Empire  of  Catlxnj. — Yule. 


EARLIEST   NOTICES   OF   CHINA.  409 

was  a  long  and  dangerous  land  route  leading  to  Sera  through 
Persia  to  Bactria,  over  mountain  deiiles  and  perilous  patlis, 
wliicli  occupied  the  largest  part  of  a  year.  Besides  Ptolemy, 
there  are  notices  by  Pliny  of  the  Seres,  and  these  two  authors 
furnished  their  successors  with  most  of  their  knowledge  down 
to  the  reign  of  Justinian.  Col.  Yule  concisely  summarizes  the 
knowledge  of  China  down  to  that  date  among  the  Romans : 
"  The  region  of  the  Seres  is  a  vast  and  populous  country,  touch- 
ing on  the  east  the  ocean  and  the  limits  of  the  habitable  world ; 
and  extending  west  nearly  to  Imaus  and  the  confines  of  Bactria. 
The  people  are  civilized  men,  of  mild,  just,  and  frugal  temper ; 
eschewing  collisions  with  their  neighbors,  and  even  shy  of  close 
intercourse,  but  not  averse  to  dispose  of  their  own  products,  of 
which  raw  silk  is  the  staple,  but  which  include  also  silk  stuffs, 
furs,  and  iron  of  remarkable  quality."  lie  further  explains  how 
authors  writing  at  Pome  and  Constantinople  were  quite  unable 
to  traverse  and  rectify  what  was  said  of  the  marts  and  nations 
spoken  of  in  the  farthest  East,  and  place  them  with  any  precision. 
They  wei"e,  in  truth,  in  the  same  difficulty  in  coming  to  an  ac- 
curate conclusion  that  the  Chinese  geographer  Sen  Ki-yu  was 
when  writing  at  Fulichau  in  1847  ;  he  could  not  explain  the  dis- 
crepancies he  found  between  llhodes  and  its  colossus  and  Rhode 
Island  in  the  United  States. 

Among  the  marts  mentioned  in  the  various  authors,  Greek, 
Roman,  and  Persian,  only  a  few  can  be  identified  with  even  fair 
])robability.  The  "  Stone  Tower "  of  Ptolemy  seems  to  have 
denoted  Tashl-eiul,  a  name  of  the  same  meaning,  and  a  town 
still  resorted  to  for  trade.  His  port  of  Cattigara  may  have 
l)een  a  mart  at  the  mouth  of  the  Meinani,  the  Meikon,  the  Chu 
Kiang,  or  some  other  large  stream  in  that  region,  where  sea- 
faring people  could  exchange  their  wares  with  the  natives,  then 
quite  independent  of  the  Chinese  in  Shensf,  who  were  known 
to  him  as  Seres.  Cattigara  is  more  probably  to  be  looked  for 
near  Canton,  for  its  annals  state  that  in  the  reign  of  11  wan  ti 
(a.d.  147-168)  "  Tienchuh  (India),  Ta-tsin  (Rome,  Egypt  or 
Arabia),  and  other  nations  came  by  the  southern  sea  with 
tribute,  and  from  this  time  trade  was  carried  on  at  Canton  with 
foreigners."     During    the    same    dynasty  (tlie  Eastern    Han), 


410  THK   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

foreigners  came  from  Cantoo,  Lu-li\vaiig-clii,  and  other  nations 
in  the  sonth.  The  nearest  was  about  ten  days'  journey,  and  tlie 
farthest  about  iive  months'.' 

On  the  hind  frontier,  the  Chinese  annals  of  the  Ilan  dynasty 
record  the  efforts  of  Wu  ti  (b.c.  140-86)  to  open  a  communica- 
tion with  the  Yuehchi,  or  Getji?,  who  liad  driven  out  the  Greek 
rulers  in  Bactria  and  settled  themselves  north  of  the  lliver  Oxns, 
in  order  to  get  their  help  against  his  enemies  the  Huns.  He 
sent  an  envoy,  Chang  Kiang,  in  135,  who  was  captured  by  the 
Iluns  and  kept  prisoner  for  ten  j^ears,  when  he  escaped  with 
some  of  his  attendants  and  got  to  Ta-wan,  or  Ferghana,  and 
thence  reached  the  Yuehchi  further  south.  He  was  unsuccess- 
ful in  his  mission,  and  attempted  to  return  home  through 
Tibet,  but  was  re-taken  by  the  Huns,  and  did  not  succeed  in 
reporting  himself  at  Chang-an  till  thirteen  years  had  elapsed. 
The  introduction  of  the  vine  into  China  is  rather  doubtfully 
ascribed  to  this  brave  envoy. 

De  Guignes  concludes  that  this  notice  about  trade  at  Canton 
refers  to  the  embassy  sent  in  a.d.  IGG  by  the  Emperor  Marcus 
Aurelius  (whom  the  Chinese  call  An-tun),  which  entered  China 
by  the  south  at  Tongking,  or  Canton.  The  Latin  author  Florus, 
who  lived  in  Trajan's  reign,  about  fifty  years  before,  has  a  pas- 
sage showing,  as  proof  of  the  universal  awe  and  veneration  in 
which  the  power  of  Rome  was  held  under  Augustus,  that  am- 
bassadors fi-om  the  remotest  nations,  the  Seres  and  the  Indians, 
came  with  presents  of  elephants,  gems,  and  pearls — a  rhetorical 
exaggeration  quite  on  a  par  with  tlie  Chinese  account  of  the 
tribute  sent  from  An-tun,  and  not  so  well  authenticated. 
AVhether,  indeed,  the  Ta-tsin  kwoh  mentioned  by  Chinese  writ- 
ers meant  Judea,  Home,  or  Persia,  cannot  now  be  exactly  as- 
certained, though  Yule  concludes  that  this  name  almost  cer- 
tainly means  the  Roman  Empire,  otherwise  called  the  Kingdom 
of  the  Western  Sea.  The  title  was  given  to  these  regions  be 
cause  of  the  analogy  of  its  people  to  those  of  the  Middle  King- 


'  Chinese  Eeiiository,  I.,  p.  365.  Heeren,  Addtir  Ri'HeairhcH,  IT.,  pp.  285-295. 
Murray's  China,  I.,  p.  141.  Yulo's  Cathay,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  xli-xlv.  Smith, 
Claaskal  Dictionary,  Art.  SicuES. 


INTERCOUIlSK    RKTWKEX    MOMV.   AXD    CHINA.  411 

dom.'  The  envoys  sent  to  tliut  coiintiT  repoi-ted  that  "  beyond 
the  territoi-y  of  the  Tuu-slii  (perhaps  tlie  Persians)  there  was 
a  great  sea,  by  wliicli,  sailing;  (hie  west,  one  might  arrive  at  tlie 
country  where  tlie  sun  sets."  like  most  attempts  of  the  kind 
in  subsequent  days,  the  mission  of  Antoninus  appears  to  liave 
been  a  faihn-e,  and  to  have  returned  without  accomplishing 
any  practical  benefit  to  intercourse  or  trade  between  the  two 
greatest  empires  in  the  world.  It  was  received,  no  doubt,  at 
Lohyang,  then  the  capital,  with  ostentatious  show  and  patroniz- 
ing kmdness,  and  its  occurrence  inscribed  in  the  national  i-ecords 
as  another  evidence  of  the  glory  and  fame  of  the  Son  of 
Heaven.  That  a  direct  trade  between  Home  and  China  did 
not  result  at  this  period  may  have  been  largely  due  to  the 
jealousy  of  the  Parthian  merchants,  who  reaped  great  profits 
as  middle-men  in  the  traffic,  and  disposed  of  their  own  woven 
and  colored  stuffs  to  the  Romans,  all  of  which  gain  they  knew 
would  have  passed  over  their  heads  had  the  extreme  East  and 
West  come  into  more  intimate  relations. 

It  is  worthy  of  observation  how,  even  from  the  earliest  times, 
the  traffic  in  the  rich  natural  and  artificial  productions  of  India 
and  China  has  been  the  great  stimulus  to  urge  adventurers  to 
come  from  Europe,  who  on  their  part  offered  little  in  exchange 
besides  precious  metals.  The  Scrk-a  'vestls,  whether  it  was  a 
silken  or  cotton  fabric,  and  other  rarities  found  in  those  regions, 
bore  such  a  high  price  at  Pome  as  to  tempt  the  merchants  to 
undertake  the  longest  journeys  and  undergo  the  greatest  hard- 
ships to  procure  them  ;  and  such  was  the  case  likewise  during 
the  long  period  before  the  discovery  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 
The  existence  of  this  trade  early  enabled  the  Xestorian  mission- 
ai'ies  to  penetrate  into  those  remote  regions,  and  keep  up  a 
communication  with  their  patrons  at  home  ;  the  more  extended 

'  Cathay  and  iJie  Way  Thilher,  p.  Ivi.  Klaproth,  Tahleanx  IIistoriqne>i  de 
VAsie  (Paris,  182G),  p.  68.  So  Richtliofen  {China,  Bd.  I.,  p.  470),  who  adds :  "  It 
is  accepted  now,  by  almost  all  those  who  have  written  on  the  subject,  that  the 
Chinese  by  Ta-tsin  meant  to  denote  'Great-China,'  and  through  this,  on  the 
other  hand,  we  have  a  proof  that  the  Chinese  called  their  own  country  Ti^in. 
It  will  hardly  do,  however,  to  suppose  that  so  prejudiced  a  people  as  they 
would  recognize  anotlier  folk  as  greater.  The;  appellation  Ta  (great)  is  given, 
to  every  nation  whoso  power  the  Chinese  feel  to  l)e  considerable." 


4rl2  THE    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

voyages  of  modern  comniorce  likewise  assist  benevolent  poi- 
sons in  reaching  the  remotest  tribes  and  carrying  on  their  labors, 
through  their  patrons  on  the  other  side  of  the  world,  probably 
with  less  danger  and  delay  than  a  mission  at  Cadiz  could  have 
been  directed  from  Jerusalem  in  the  days  of  the  apostles. 

The  notices  in  Cosmas  (a  Greek  monk  who  had  been  a  mer- 
chant, and  wrote  his  "  Universal  Christian  Topography"  be- 
tween 530  and  550  a.d.)  of  China  and  its  products  refer  to  the 
maritime  trade  under  the  Byzantine  emperors.  This  country 
he  locates  very  correctly  as  occupying  the  extreme  east  of  Asia, 
and  calls  Tzinista^  a  name  probably  picked  up  from  the  Per- 
sians or  old  Hindus,  and  nearly  similar  to  the  Tsinisthan  of  the 
tablet  at  Si-ngan.  Another  Greek,  Theophylact,  in  the  next 
century  describes  the  internal  intercourse  in  Central  Asia,  and 
a  great  Turkish  people,  the  Taugas,  whom  he  was  unaware  were 
the  Chinese.  It  may  be  that  he  miswrote  Taiig  in  a  grecized  form 
for  the  dynasty  just  about  that  time  settling  its  power.  The 
indirect  commerce  between  China  and  the  Greek  Empire  in- 
creased by  sea  and  land  until  the  i-ise  of  the  Moslem  power. 
The  same  indifference  on  the  part  of  the  Chinese  respecting 
the  power,  resources,  and  position  of  other  lands  is  seen  through 
all  their  notices  of  those  western  kingdoms.  The  products  car- 
ried west  were  silk  in  various  forms,  but  the  demand  for  this 
article  diminished  after  the  worms  had  been  successfully  taken 
to  Greece  about  a.d.  550.  Cotton  fabrics,  medicines,  and  spices 
went  westward  as  well  as  silk,  but  it  is  impossible  to  dis- 
tinguish the  trade  with  China  from  that  with  India.  The  leaf 
called  raalcibathrum  in  the  Periplus  was  not  a  Chinese  plant, 
but  the  tamalapatra,  a  kind  of  cassia  {Cinnamonutm  liitidum, 
whose  leaves  were  purchased  in  Rome  for  three  hundred  denarii 
per  pound),  and  now  called  Malabar  leaf  ;  it  was  probably  mixed 
or  confounded  with  tlie  Indian  nard  and  with  camphor.  The 
people  called  SesaUe  in  the  Periplus  are  probably  to  be  looked 
for  in  Assam  or  Sikkim,  where  wild  cassia  grows,  and  where 
the  real  tea  plant  is  native  ;  but  neither  tea  nor  betel-leaf  can 
be  regarded  as  the  ancient  malabathrum.' 

'Heeren's  Asiatic  Researches,  II.,  p.  294;  Yule's  Cathciy,  pp.  xlvi,  cxliv. 


co:\rMrNiCATiox  wnii  tiik  greek  empire.        413 

Witliin  the  last  few  years  the  translations  of  the  travels  of 
Buddhist  ])ilgrinis  hetweon  China  and  India  have  furnished 
more  satisfactory  details  of  the  peoples  iidiahiting  the  central 
and  western  parts  of  Asia  than  all  the  Greek  and  Latin  authors. 
Those  of  Fahian  (309-414),  of  Iliucn-tsang  (628-645),  and  of 
Ilwui-sing  (518),  are  the  most  extensive.  Further  researches  into 
conventual  libraries  in  China  and  Tibet  are  encouraged  by 
what  has  been  found  on  their  shelves,  and  from  them  enough 
has  already  been  gained  to  .reward  the  labor.  Of  greater  worth 
than  these,  perhaps,  are  the  official  histories  of  the  Han,  Tsin, 
and  Tang  dynasties,  reaching  from  b.c.  200  to  a.d.  900,  only 
portions  of  which  have  yet  been  made  accessible  in  full.  Their 
trivialties  are  so  numerous  that  their  entii-e  translation  intoEng;- 
lish  would  hardly  repay  the  printing,  as  the  experiment  by 
Mailla,  in  1785,  oitheTang  Klen.  Kang-mnh,  in  thirteen  volumes 
quarto,  shows.  These  histories,  on  the  whole,  supply  more  ac- 
curate information  about  Syria,  Pei-sia,  Greece,  and  Parthia, 
than  the  Avriters  of  those  countries  give  about  China ; — for 
example,  the  notices  of  FuUn,  or  Constantinople,  are  more 
minute  than  any  account  of  Chang-an  in  western  writers.  But 
as  Yule  well  remarks,  there  is  much  analogy  between  the  frag- 
mentary views  each  party  had,  the  same  uncertainty  as  to  exact 
position,  and  the  same  application  of  facts  belonging  to  the 
nearer  skirts  of  a  half-seen  empire  to  the  whole  land.  It  can 
M^ell  be  paralleled  by  reading  some  of  our  own  travellers  who 
applied  all  that  they  saw  and  heard  at  Canton  to  the  Eighteen 
Pi-ovinces.  Only  a  few  emljassies  from  Ta-tsin  and  Falln  are 
enumerated  by  Pauthier  in  his  Chine  as  coming  down  to  the  year 
1091  ;  but  the  tractate  by  Dr.  E.  Bretschneider,  of  the  Russian 
Legation  at  Peking,'  shows  how  constant  were  the  visits  of  the 
Arabs  down  to  the  Sung  (a.d.  1086),  and  especially  during  the 
Tang  dynasty.  During  the  Tsin  and  Wei  dynasties  the  visits 
of  envoys  from  Ceylon  were  frequent,  all  of  them  an  outgrowth 
of  Buddhism,  but  repaid  in  more  ways  than  one  by  the  trade 
and  its  results — as  shown  by  Sir  E.  Tennent  in  his  H'lMory  of 
Ceylon.     In  1266  the  King  of  Ceylon  had  Chinese  soldiers  in 

'  On  the  Knmdedge  of  the    Arabs  and    Arabian  Colonies  possessed  by   th» 
Ancient  Chinese,  London,  1871. 


414  THE   MIDDLE    KlNGDuM. 

his  service,  and  envoys  came  to  liiiii  to  \n\\  Iluddlia's  sacred 
alms-disli.  In  14(»5  tlie  Emperor  Ynngloh  of  the  Ming  dynasty, 
taking  underage  at  the  indiginties  offered  to  liis  re[)resenlative 
by  Wijayabahu  IV.,  despatclied  Ching  IIo  with  a  Heet  of  sixty- 
two  ships  and  a  hind  force  to  cruise  along  the  coasts  of  Cam- 
bodia, Siam,  and  other  places,  demanding  ti-ihnte  and  con- 
ferring gifts  as  the  successor  of  the  throne  held  by  the  great 
Kublai.  Going  again  the  next  year  as  far  as  Ceylon,  Ching 
IIo  evaded  a  snare  set  by  the  king,  and  captured  him  and  his 
whole  familv  and  officials,  carrvini>;  them  all  to  Pekinj;.  In 
1411  the  latter  were  set  free,  but  a  new  king  was  appointed 
to  the  vacant  throne,  who  reigned  fifty  jears  and  sent  tribute 
till  1459 ;  this  was  only  thirty-eight  years  before  Gama  ar- 
rived at  Calicut.  It  was  the  last  attempt  of  the  Chinese  to 
assert  their  sway  beyond  the  limits  of  the  Middle  Kingdom 
seaward.' 

One  intimation  of  a  continuance  of  the  intercourse  with  China 
from  the  time  of  Justinian  to  that  of  the  Arab  travellers  Wa- 
hab  and  Abu  Zaid,  is  the  Xestorian  inscription  (page  277).  The 
narratives  of  the  Arabs  (a.d.  850  and  877)  are  trustworthy  in 
their  general  statements  as  to  the  course  pursued  in  the  voyage, 
the  port  to  which  they  sailed  in  C^hina,  the  customs  of  the 
people  there,  and  the  nature  and  mode  of  conducting  the  trade ; 
they  form,  in  fact,  the  first  authentic  accounts  we  have  of  the 
C^hinese  from  western  writers,  and  make  us  dinibt  a  little  whether 
others  like  them  have  not  been  lost,  rather  than  suppose  that 
such  were  never  written.  These  interesting  relics  were  trans- 
lated by  Reinaud  in  1845,  with  the  text  and  notes."  The  second 
traveller  speaks  of  the  sack  of  the  city  of  Canfu,  then  the  port 
of  all  the  Arabian  merchants,  in  which  one  hundred  and  twenty 
thousand  Mohannnedans,  Jews,  Christians,  and  Magians,  or 
Parsees,  engaged  in  traffic,  were  destroyed.  This  shows  the 
extent  and  value  of  the  trade.  Canfu  was  Kanpu,  a  fine  port 
near  the  modern  town  of  the  same  name,  twenty-five  miles  from 
Ilangchau,  and  near  Chapu  on  the  Bay  of  Ilangchau ;    the 

'Tennent's  Ccijlov,  I.,  pp.  607-62G.     Yule's  Cathay,  pp.  Ixvi-lxxvi. 
-  Relation  des  Voyar/es  faitit  par  l('«  Anihes  ct  Ics  JVi-nans  (hum  Vlnde  et  dla 
Chine  dans  le  IX""  Siede  de  Ver'  Chretienitc,  2  Vols.,  Paris,  1845. 


NOTICES   OF   ARAB  TRAVELLERS.  41fi 

Gates  of  China  were  probably  in  the  Chusan  Arcliipelago  and 
its  nmnerons  channels.  ]\[uch  of  the  statement  made  1)V  >\bn 
Zaid  respecting  the  wealth,  extent,  and  splendor  <»f  Canf u  really 
refers  to  the  city  of  Ilangchau.  The  bore  in  the  Tsientaiig 
niver  makes  it  impossible  for  ships  to  lie  off  that  place,  and 
this  had  its  effect  in  developing  Kanpn.  The  destruction  of  the 
capital  in  877  contributed  to  direct  part  of  the  trade  to  Canton, 
which  even  then  and  long  after  was  comparatively  a  small 
place,  and  the  people  of  that  part  of  the  countrj-  but  little  i-e- 
moved  from  gross  barbarism.  In  Marco  Polo's  time  Ganpu 
was  frequented  by  all  the  ships  that  bring  merchandise  from 
India.' 

Prior  to  the  date  when  he  reached  the  confines  of  the  Pacific, 
the  ravages  of  the  Mongols,  under  Genghis  and  his  successors,  in 
the  regions  between  the  Mediterranean  and  Caspian,  and  their 
great  victory  near  Lignitz,  April  12,  1241,  had  aroused  the  fears 
of  the  Pope  and  other  potentates  for  their  own  safety.  After 
the  sudden  recall  of  the  hosts  of  Okkodai,  in  the  same  year,  at 
his  death,  and  their  retreat  from  Bohemia  and  Poland  to  the 
Dneiper,  the  Pope  determined  to  send  two  missions  to  the  Tar- 
tars to  urge  them  to  greater  humanity.  One  was  a  Franciscan 
monk,  John  of  Piano  Carpini,  wdio  carried  the  following  letter 
to  Batu  klian  on  the  Wolga : 


INNOCENT,  BISHOP,  SERVANT  OF  THE  SERVANTS  OF  GOD,  TO  THE 
KING  AND  PEOPLE  OF  THE  TARTARS. 

Since  not  only  men,  but  also  irrational  animals,  and  even  the  mechanical 
mundane  elements,  are  united  by  some  kind  of  alliance,  after  the  example  of 
superior  spirits,  whose  liosts  the  Author  of  the  universe  has  established  in  a 
perpetual  and  peaceful  order,  we  are  compelled  to  wonder,  not  without  reason, 
how  you,  as  we  have  heard,  having  entered  many  lands  of  Christians  and 
others,  have  wasted  them  with  horrible  desolation,  and  still,  with  continued 
fury,  not  ceasing  to  e.xtend  further  your  destroying  hands,  dissolving  every 
natural  tie,  neither  sparing  sex  nor  age,  direct  indifferently  against  all  the  fury 
of  the  sword.  We  therefore,  after  the  example  of  the  Prince  of  Peace,  desir- 
ing to  unite  all  mankind  in  unity  and  the  fear  of  God,  warn,  beseech,  and  ex- 
hort you  henceforth  to  desist  wholly  from  such  outrages,  and  especially  from 

'  Chinese  ReposiUrry,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  G,  42,  2.')2 ;  Vol.  III.,  p.  115.  Yule's ilfarctf 
Pdo,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  149,  1.50.      Catltiiy^  p.  uxciii. 


416  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

the  persecution  of  Christians  ;  and  since,  b}-  so  many  and  so  great  offences,  you 
have  doubtless  grievously  provoked  the  wrath  of  the  Divine  majesty,  that  you 
make  satisfaction  to  him  by  suitable  penitence  ;  and  that  you  be  not  so  daring 
as  to  carry  your  rage  further,  because  the  omnipotent  God  has  hitherto  per- 
mitted the  nations  to  be  lai<l  prostrate  before  your  face.  He  sometimes  thus 
passes  by  the  proud  men  of  the  age ;  but  if  they  do  not  humble  themselves, 
he  will  not  fail  to  inflict  the  severest  temporal  punishment  on  tlieir  guilt. 
And  now,  behold,  we  send  our  beloved  brother  John,  and  his  companions, 
bearers  of  these  presents,  men  conspicuous  for  religion  and  honesty,  and  en- 
dued with  a  knowledge  of  sacred  Scripture,  whom  we  hope  you  will  kindly 
receive  and  honorably  treat  as  if  they  were  ourselves,  placing  confidence  in 
what  they  may  say  from  us,  and  specially  treat  with  them  on  what  relates  to 
peace,  and  fully  intimate  what  has  moved  you  to  this  extermination  of  other 
nations,  and  what  you  further  intend,  providing  them  in  going  and  returning 
with  a  safe  conductor,  and  other  tilings  needful  for  returning  to  our  presence. 
We  have  chosen  to  send  to  you  the  said  friars,  on  account  of  their  exemplary 
eonduct  and  knowledge  of  the  sacred  Scriptures,  and  because  they  would 
be  more  useful  to  you  as  imitating  the  humility  of  our  Saviour,  and  if  we  had 
thought  they  would  be  more  grateful  and  useful  to  you,  we  would  have  sent 
ither  prelates  or  powerful  men. ' 

M.  D'Avezac's  essay  contains  a  full  account  of  the  travels 
and  proceedings  of  Carpini  and  his  companion,  Benedict,  in 
their  hazardous  journey  of  a  hundred  days  from  Kiev,  across 
the  plains  of  Russia  and  Bokhara,  to  the  court  of  Kuyuk,  who 
had  succeeded  Okkodai.  They  were  first  sent  forward  by  the 
commanding  ofiicers  of  the  several  posts  to  Batu's  camp,  where 
the  Pope's  letter  was  translated  ;  from  hence  they  were  again 
despatched  at  the  most  rapid  rate,  on  horseback,  to  Kara-korum, 
M'here  they  arrived  July  22,  124G,  almost  exhausted.  After 
they  had  been  there  a  few  days  the  election  was  decided,  and 
all  ambassadors  were  introduced  to  an  audience  to  the  khan, 
when  the  Pope's  envoys  alone  werf^  without  a  present.  The 
letter  was  read,  and  an  answer  ret':<i-ned  in  a  few  weeks  in  the 
same  style.  These  two  potentates,  so  singularly  introduced  to 
each  other  in  tlieir  mutual  ignorance  by  the  letters  carried  by 
John,  had  much  more  in  common  in  their  pretensions  to  uni- 
versal dominion  by  the  command  of  God  than  they  suspected. 
The  khan's  letter  was  as  follows  : 


'  Murray's  Marco  Polo,  p.  49.    Yule's  CatJuty,  p.  cxxiii  ff.     D'Avezac's  essaj^ 
in  the  liecueU  de  Voyages,  IV. ,  p.  399, 


MISSION   OF   THE   POPE   TO    BATU    KUAN.  417 

LETTER  OF  THE  KING  OF  THE  TARTARS  TO  THE  LORD  POPE. 

The  strength  of  God,  Kuyiik  kliiui,  the  ruler  of  all  men,  to  the  great  Pope. 
You  and  all  the  Christian  people  who  dwell  in  tlie  West  have  sent  by  your 
messengers  sure  and  certain  letters  for  the  purpose  of  making  peace  with  us. 
This  we  have  heard  from  them,  and  it  is  contained  in  your  letter.  Therefore, 
if  you  desire  to  have  peace  with  us,  you  Pope,  emperors,  all  kings,  all  men 
powerful  in  cities,  by  no  means  delay  to  come  to  us  for  the  purpose  of  con 
eluding  peace,  and  you  will  hear  our  answer  and  our  will.  The  series  of  your 
letters  contained  that  we  ought  to  be  baptized  and  to  become  Christians ;  we 
briefly  reply,  that  we  do  not  understand  why  we  ought  to  do  so.  As  to  what 
is  mentioned  in  your  letters,  that  you  wonder  at  the  slaughter  of  men,  and 
chiefly  of  Christians,  especially  Hungarians,  Poles,  and  Moravians,  we  shortly 
answer,  that  this  too  we  do  not  understand.  Nevertheless,  lest  we  should 
seem  to  pass  it  over  in  silence,  we  think  proper  to  reply  as  follows:  It  is  be- 
cause they  have  not  obeyed  the  precept  of  God  and  of  Genghis  khan,  and, 
holding  bad  counsel,  have  slain  our  messengers;'  wherefore  God  has  ordered 
them  to  be  destroyed,  and  delivered  them  into  our  hands.  But  if  God  had 
not  done  it,  what  could  man  liave  done  to  man  V  But  you,  inhabitants  of  the 
West,  believe  that  you  only  are  Christians,  and  despise  others  ;  but  how  do 
you  know  on  whom  he  may  choose  to  bestow  his  favor  ?  We  adore  God,  and, 
in  his  strength,  will  overwhelm  the  whole  earth  from  the  east  to  the  west. 
But  if  we  men  were  not  strengthened  by  God,  what  could  we  do  ?  '■' 

The  khan  took  the  precaution,  wliich  the  Pope  did  not,  of 
putting  his  reply  into  an  intelligible  language,  and  when  it  yvaa 
written  in  Tartar  he  had  it  carefully  explained  to  the  friars, 
who  translated  it  into  Latin,  and  were  soon  after  dismissed. 
They  left  the  court  on  Xovember  13,  1246,  and  "  travelled  all 
winter  through  a  wide  open  country,  being  commonly  obliged 
to  sleep  on  the  ground  after  clearing  away  the  snow,  with 
which  in  the  morning  they  often  found  themselves  covered." 
They  reached  Kiev  the  next  June,  and  Carpini  was  rewarded 
for  his  hardships  by  being  appointed  Archbishop  of  Antivari 
in  Dalmatia.  As  Yule  remarks,  "they  were  the  first  to  bring 
to  western  Europe  the  revived  knowledge  of  a  great  and  civ- 
ilized nation  lying  in  the  extreme  East  upon  the  shores  of  the 
ocean." 

Louis  XL  of  France  having  heard  that  Sartach,  the  son 
of  Batu,  then  commanding  on  the  w^estern  frontier,  was  a  Chris- 

'  Allusion  is  here  made  to  Tartar  ambassadors,  whom  the  Russians  murdered 

before  the  battle  of  Kalka. 
'■'Murray's  Marco  Polo,  p.  59. 


418  TIIK    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

tian,  sent  z  mission  to  liini,  consistin<5  of  the  friar  AVilliani 
Rubrnquis '  and  three  companions.  They  left  Constantinople 
May  7,  1253,  and  proceeded  to  the  Crimea,  from  wlience  they 
set  ont  with  a  present  of  wines,  frnits,  and  biscuits  intended  for 
the  khan.  In  three  days  they  met  the  Tartars,  who  conducted 
them  first  to  Scacatai,  a  chieftain  by  whom,  after  considerable 
delay  and  vexation,  they  were  furnished  with  everything  neces- 
sary for  a  journey  across  the  plains  of  southei-n  Russia  to  the 
Wolga  and  the  camp  of  Sartach.  The  monks  attempted  to 
convert  the  rude  nomads,  but  igno.ance  of  the  language  and 
suspicions  of  their  intentions  interposed  great  obstacles  on 
both  sides.  On  arriving  at  the  end  of  their  journey,  they  were 
disappointed  at  finding  the  ruler  of  these  warriors  a  besotted 
infidel,  who  expected  all  persons  admitted  into  his  presence  to 
bring  him  costly  presents.  A  Nestorian  named  Cojat,  whom 
Rubruquis  regarded  as.  no  better  than  a  heretic,  was  high  in 
authority,  and  the  only  medium  of  counmmication  with  the 
khan.  He  told  the  friar  to  bring  his  books  and  vestments 
and  make  himself  ready  to  appear  before  the  khan  on  the 
mori'ow  ;  their  elegance  was  such  that  at  the  close  of  the  audi- 
ence Cojat  seized  most  of  them  under  an  idle  pretext  that  it 
was  improper  to  appear  in  them  a  second  time  before  Batu 
khan,  to  whom  Rubruquis  and  his  companions  were  to  be  sent. 
Their  journey  was  soon  after  prosecuted  by  following  up  the 
Wolga  some  distance,  and  when  they  arrived  at  the  encampment 
of  Batu  khan,  he  made  many  inquiries  about  the  resources  and 
power  of  the  French  king  and  the  war  he  was  waging  with  the 
Saracens.  On  his  introduction,  "  the  friar  bent  one  knee,  but 
finding  this  unsatisfactory  did  not  choose  to  contend,  and  drop- 
ped on  both.  Misled  by  his  position,  instead  of  answering  ques- 
tions he  began  a  prayer  for  the  conversion  of  the  khan,  with 
warning  of  the  dreadful  consequences  of  unbelief.  The  prince 
merely  smiled  ;  but  the  derision  which  was  loudly  expressed  by 
the  surrounding  chiefs  threw  him  into  a  good  deal  of  confusion." 
The  interview  was  followed  by  an  order  to  proceed  to  the  court 

'  Or,  more  correctly,  Rubruk,  as  D'Avezac  lias  pointed  out  {Bull.  <1e  hi  Soc. 
de  Geof/i:,  18G8),  and  in  whose  conclusions  Yule  joins  {Marco  Polo,  second 
edition,  p.  536). 


EMBASSY   OF    KUBRUQUIS   TO   MANGU    KlIAI^.  419 

of  Mangu,  who  had  succeeded  Kuyuk  as  Grand  khan.  This 
long  journey  occupied  four  months,  through  the  higli  hind 
of  Central  Asia  (farther  eastward  than  where  Carpini  found 
Kuyuk's  court),  and  subjected  them  to  severe  hardships.  Mangu 
received  the  mission  hardly  with  civility,  but  having  been  ex- 
amined by  some  Xestorian  priests,  they  were  admitted  to  an 
audience.  The  same  ceremonies  were  required  as  at  Batu's  court, 
and  inquiries  made  as  to  the  possessions  of  the  French  king,  es- 
pecially the  number  of  rams,  horses,  and  oxen  he  owned,  which, 
the  friar  was  amazed  to  learn,  were  soon  to  be  attacked  by  the 
Tartars.  Xo  permission  to  remain  could  be  obtained,  but  he 
was  furnished  with  a  house  and  allowed  to  tarry  till  the  cold 
mitigated.  In  this  remote  region  he  found  a  European  archi- 
tect, William  Bourchier,  and  his  Avife,  from  Mentz,  besides  many 
Armenians,  Saracens,  and  Xestorians,  all  of  whom  the  khan  re- 
ceived, lie  accompanied  the  coin-t  to  Kara-korum,  where  he 
nearly  became  involved  in  dangei'ous  religious  disputes,  and  on 
the  approach  of  milder  weather  was  conqjelled  to  return  to 
Batu  khan,  by  whom  he  was  sent  on,  in  a  south-westerly  direc- 
tion, until  he  entei'ed  Armenia,  and  thence  found  his  way  to 
Iconium,  having  been  absent  nearly  two  years. 

These  ambassadors  had  not  the  aid  of  printing  to  diffuse  their 
narratives,  and  it  was  perhaps  chiefly  owing  to  the  high  standing 
of  those  who  sent  them  that  their  relations  have  been  preserved. 
In  the  case  of  many  travellers  of  humbler  origin  or  pretensions, 
there  Avas  no  inducement  to  write  what  they  had  seen ;  these 
therefore  only  told  their  stories,  which  were  lost  with  the  narra- 
tors. Even  the  travels  of  Marco  Polo  would  perhaps  never  have 
been  given  to  the  world  if  the  leisure  of  captivity  had  not  in- 
duced him  to  adopt  this  method  of  relieving  its  tedium.  Every 
examination  of  his  record  has  added  to  its  reputation  for  accu- 
racy, both  in  the  position  of  the  cities  he  mentions  or  visited  and 
in  the  events  he  details ;  and  when  it  is  considered  that  he  dic- 
tated it  several  years  after  his  return  to  a  fellow-prisoner,  Rus- 
ticiano  of  Pisa,  who  wrote  it  in  French,  his  accuracy  is  wonder- 
ful. The  edition  by  Marsden  in  1818  remained  for  fifty  years 
the  chief  authority,  but  the  recent  editions  by  Pauthier  and 
Yule,  with  their  full  notes,  have  made  the  traveller's  record  vastly 


420  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

better  understood,  while  adding  iiiiich  to  oui'  knowledge  of 
mediaeval  Asia. 

Ser  Marco  Polo,  the  Venetian,  was  tlie  son  of  ]Sieolo  Polo, 
who  with  his  brother  Matteo,  nobles  and  merchants  of  Venice, 
first  left  that  city  about  125-i,  and  Constantinople  in  1260, 
on  a  mercantile  voyage  to  the  Crimea,  from  which  point  a 
series  of  events  led  them  eastward  as  far  as  China,  then  lately 
conquered  by  Kublai,  the  Grand  Khan  and  successor  of  Mangu 
khan,  whom  Rubruquis  visited.  They  were  favorably  received, 
and  when  they  left  Kublai  it  was  under  a  promise  to  return, 
which  they  did  about  December,  1274,  bearing  letters  from 
Gregory  X.,  and  accompanied  by  young  Marco,  then  about  six- 
teen years  old.  He  soon  became  a  favorite  with  the  Emperor, 
and  was  able  to  travel  to  many  parts  of  the  country,  spending  in 
all  about  twenty-one  years  in  the  East ;  the  three  Polos  reached 
Venice  again  in  1295.  Marco  was  prefect  at  Yangchau  on  the 
Grand  Canal  for  three  years,  and  this  involves  a  knowledge  of 
Mongolian  and  Chinese  speech  and  writing,  without  which  he 
could  hardly  have  administered  its  ofHcial  duties.  His  posses- 
sion of  these  accomplishments  was  nearly  indispensable  to  the 
post,  though  Col.  Yule  infers,  from  an  easily  explained  mistake 
in  Chapter  LXXV.,  that  he  did  not  have  them.  On  reaching 
Venice,  by  way  of  India  and  Persia,  the  long-lost  travellers  ap- 
peared so  completely  altered  that  their  friends  and  countrymen 
did  not  recognize  them.  Their  wealth  and  entertainini>-  recitals, 
however,  soon  restored  them  to  the  highest  ranks  of  society. 
The  industry  of  recent  editors  has  probably  brought  togethei-  all 
that  can  be  learned  of  their  subsequent  history,  which  is  now  so 
well  known  as  to  require  no  further  words  here. 

In  the  year  1254,  Ilethum,  or  Hayton,  king  of  Little  Ar- 
menia, undertook  a  journey  to  Mangu  khan,  to  petition  for  an 
abatement  of  the  tribute  which  he  had  been  obliged  to  pay  the 
Mongols.  Having  first  sent  forth  his  brother,  Senipad,  or 
Sinibald  (in  1240),  to  Kuyuk  khan,  Hayton  himself  set  out  upon 
the  accession  to  the  throne  of  his  successor.  Passing  through 
Kars  and  Armenia  Proper  to  the  Wolga,  he  was  there  received 
by  Patu  and  foi-warded  by  a  route  to  the  north  of  that  traversed 
by  Carpini  to  Kara-korum  and  the  Grand  khan.     At  the  end 


NARRATIVES   OF   POLO    AND    OF   KING    TTAYTON.        -t21 

of  a  six  weeks'  sojourn  witl)  the  court,  during  which  time  he 
appears  to  have  beeu  kindly  i-eceived,  Ilayton  connnenccd  liis 
homeward  journey  via  Bishbalig  and  Song-aria  to  Samarkand, 
Bokhara,  Khorasan,  and  thence  to  Tabriz.  Tlie  accounts  of 
tliese  two  embassies,  wlierein  arc  described  many  wonderful 
things  concerning  the  heathens  of  the  East  and  barbarians  upon 
the  route,  made  up,  doubtless,  a  large  part  of  the  "  History '' 
(written  in  1307)  by  the  king's  relative,  Ilayton  of  Gorigos.' 
The  different  positions  held  by  these  men  and  the  Polos  natur- 
ally led  each  of  them  to  look  upon  the  same  people  and  events 
with  vastly  different  feelings.  The  efforts  of  John  of  Monte- 
corvino  to  propagate  Christianity  in  China  were  undertaken 
just  as  the  Polos  returned,  but  no  detailed  accounts  of  his  labors 
(beyond  what  Col. Yule  has  gathered  in  his  Cathay)  have  been 
preserved. 

Among  the  most  important  mediaeval  travellers  in  Asia  was 
the  Moor,  Ibn  Batuta,  who  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  set  out 
(in  1325)  upon  his  journeys,  from  which  he  did  not  return  until 
thirty  years  later."  Abu-Abdullah  Mahomed  (nicknamed  Ibn 
Batuta,  "  The  Traveller ")  connnenced  his  wanderings,  which 
were  contemporaneous  with  those  of  the  more  doubtful  English- 
man, Sir  John  Mandeville,  by  a  series  of  pilgrimages  to  the 
sacred  places  of  his  religion  ;  among  other  excursions,  he  found 
time  at  one  period  to  continue  three  years  in  Mecca.  Going 
from  one  city  to  another,  along  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean, 
and  in  the  countries  between  it  and  the  Caspian,  he  at  length 
reached  Delhi,  where  he  resided  eight  years,  enjoying — until 
the  latter  end  of  his  stay — high  favor  from  the  Sultan  Maho- 
med. The  versatile  Moor  occupied  the  position  of  judge,  though 
there  is  good  reason  to  doubt  his  serious  attention  to  any  busi- 
ness while  at  this  magnificent  court,  other  than  that  of  spending 
liis  master's  money.     In  the  spring  of  1342,  having  recovered 

'  The  chapter  concerning  Cathay  appears  in  Yule's  Cathay,  p.  cxcv.  A 
translation  of  the  elder  Hayton's  narrative  is  given  by  Klaprotli  in  the  Journal 
Asiatique,  IV"  Scries,  Tome  XII.,  pp.  273  ff. 

'  His  work  has  been  very  ably  edited  and  translated  into  French  by  M.  De- 
fremery  and  Dr.  Sanguinetti  (four  volumes,  Paris,  1858-5!)),  under  the 
patronage  of  the  Asiatic  Society  of  Paris.  Several  partial  translations  of  the 
journal  have  appeared  from  time  to  time  within  the  present  century. 


422  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

tVoin  a  temporary  disgrace,  he  was  despatched  on  an  ambassy  to 
China  hy  tlie  Sultan.  It  seems  that  a  ("liincse  envoy  had  ar- 
rived at  Delhi  to  request  permission  for  the  natives  to  rebuild 
a  temple  in  Butan,  as  they  were  poor  and  dependent  upon  the 
inhabitants  of  the  plain,  and  had  besought  tlie  Chinese  govern- 
ment to  intercede  for  them.  Ibn  Batuta  was  sent  with  lavish 
presents  to  the  Emperor,  but  a  refusal  to  assist  in  the  building 
project  uidess  that  sovereign  would  go  through  the  form  of 
paying  a  poll-tax  to  the  Sultan.  This  embassy  was  attacked  by 
a  body  of  Hindus  when  scarcely  out  of  Delhi,  and  obliged  to 
return.  Again  it  was  sent  out,  going  to  Calicut  on  the  Malabar 
coast,  where  were  found  fifteen  Chinese  vessels  or  galleys  at 
anchor,  whose  crews  and  guard  amounted  to  a  thousand  men 
each.  The  envoy  embarked  his  attendants  on  one  of  these 
ships,  but  while  he  remained  on  shore  to  pray  for  a  prosperous 
voyage,  a  storm  sunk  the  vessel  and  all  on  board.  After  this 
second  mishap  the  luckless  Moor  was  afraid  to  return  to  Ids 
master,  and  went  to  Sumatra,  from  whence  he  found  his  way 
to  China,  landing  at  Zayton,  the  present  Chinchew,  in  Fuhkien. 

Though  it  is  doubtful  if  Ibn  Batuta,  notwithstanding  his  de- 
scription of  the  place,  ever  reached  Peking,  his  spirited  accounts 
of  Zayton,  Sinkalan  (Canton),  Khansa  (Hangchau),  Kanjanfu, 
and  other  centres  of  trade  in  the  soutli,  are  both  entertain- 
ing and  important.  Spite  of  exaggerations,  confusion  of  names 
and  dates,  and  certain  cases  of  positive  fiction,  one  can  hardly 
fail  to  put  faith  in  the  generality  of  his  statements  and  conclude 
in  favor  of  his  veracity  and  genuine  character.  He  mentions 
that  tlie  circulation  of  paper  money,  wliich  Marco  Polo  thought 
so  excellent  a  device  for  a  king  to  raise  funds,  had  entirely 
driven  out  the  use  of  metallic  currency.  In  every  large  town 
lie  found  Mohammedans,  ruled  by  officers  of  their  own  per- 
suasion. 

The  journal  of  Friar  Odoric  (1286-1331)  contains  much  of 
interest  in  connection  with  (/hina  of  the  middle  ages.  This 
worthy  priest  landed  at  "  Censcalan  "  (Canton),  after  a  long  and 
tedious  trip  from  Bagdad  round  by  Sumatra  and  thence  north- 
east by  land  to  Zayton.  Here,  says  he,  "  we  friars  minor  have 
two  houses,  and  there  I  deposited  the  bones  of  our  friars  who 


TRAVELS   OF   IBN   BATUTA    AND   FRIAR   ODORIC.         423 

suffered  martyrdom  for  the  faitli  of  Jesus  Christ."  He  had 
brought  these  relics  from  Tana,  near  Bombay.  Thence  he  jour- 
neyed to  Fnlichau,  Ilangchau,  and  Nanking,  going  on  nortli- 
ward  to  Peking,  where  the  aged  archbishop,  (Jorvino,  was  still 
living,  and  remained  there  three  years.  His  return  journey  as 
far  as  H'lassa  was  not  very  different  from  that  of  Hue  and 
Gabet  in  184-3  ;  from  the  Tibetan  capital  he  probably  continued 
on  a  westerly  course  to  Cabul  and  Tabriz,  reaching  Venice  in 
1330,  after  an  absence  of  thirteen  years.  His  itinerary  was 
taken  down  the  following  year  by  William  of  Solagna,  a  brother 
of  the  order,  at  Padua. 

In  this  narrative  there  is  mention  of  a  number  of  characterise 
tics  of  the  Chinese,  well  known  to  all  the  world  of  to-day,  but 
left  wholly  unnoticed  by  other  travellers  of  his  age.  "His 
notices  of  the  custom  of  fishing  witli  cormorants,  of  the  habits 
of  letting  tlie  finger-nails  grow  long,  and  of  compressing  the 
women's  feet,  as  well  as  of  the  divisions  of  the  khan's  Emj^ire 
into  twelve  provinces,  with  four  chief  vizirs,  are  peculiar  to 
him,  I  believe,  among  all  the  European  travellers  of  the  age. 
Polo  mentions  none  of  them.  The  names  which  he  assigns  to 
the  Chinese  post-stations,  and  to  the  provincial  Boards  of  Ad- 
ministration, the  technical  Turki  term  which  he  uses  for  a  sack 
of  rice,  etc.,  are  all  tokens  of  the  reality  of  his  experience.'" 
On  the  other  hand,  the  influence  of  superstition  upon  their  own 
minds  rendered  most  of  the  religious  travellers  into  Central 
Asia — Odoric  as  well  as  the  others— less  trustworthy  and  ob- 
servant than  they  would  perhaps  have  been  either  centuries 
before  or  after  that  period.  Everything  of  a  religious  sort  they 
regarded  as  done  under  the  direct  agency  of  the  powers  of  dark- 
ness, into  whose  dominions  they  were  venturing.  Too  fearful, 
moreover,  to  examine  candidly  or  record  accurately'  what  they 
beheld,  these  pious  adventurers  were  constant!}'  misled  l)y  en- 
deavors to  explain  any  uncommon  experience  by  referi-ing  the 
same  to  their  own  imperfect  or  erroneous  conceptions.  This 
is  true  as  well  of  the  Bomish  priests  connected  with  the  Peking 
mission,  a  few  of  whose  letters  have  been  pi-eserved  and  re- 

•  Yule,  Catlmy  and  the  Way  Tliither,  p.  31. 


424  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

ceutly  made  known  to  the  public  by  Col.  Yule;  among  tlieso 
are  Friar  Jordanus,  Bishop  Andrew  of  Zayton,  Pascal  of  Vit- 
toria,  toj^ether  with  the  Ai-chbisliop  of  Soltania,  author  of  the 
"Book  of  the  Estate  and  Governance  of  the  (Ireat  Caan  of 
Cathay." ' 

But  much  fairer  than  these  missionaries,  in  his  reputation 
for  veracity,  was  tlie  Jesuit  Benedict  Goes,  wlio  in  the  cen- 
tui-y  preceding  what  nva,y  be  termed  the  modern  period  of  our 
knowledge  of  China,  undertook  a  journey  across  the  desert, 
to  die  on  the  threshold  of  the  Empire.  Born  in  one  of  the 
islands  of  the  Azore  group.  Goes  spent  his  youth  in  the  profes- 
sion of  a  soldier  on  board  of  the  Portuguese  fleet.  Becoming 
suddenly  converted,  he  entered  the  service  of  the  Jesuits  as  a 
lay  brother — which  humble  i-ank  he  i-esolutely  held  during  the 
rest  of  his  career — and  was  sent  to  the  court  of  Akbar,  His 
residence  in  India  gained  hijn  a  high  reputation  for  courage, 
judgment,  and  skill  in  the  Persian  tongue,  the  lingua  franca 
of  Asia  at  that  date.  He  was  selected,  therefore,  to  undertake 
a  journey  to  the  Cathay  of  Marco  Polo,  in  the  capital  of  which 
Jerome  Xavier  thought  he  had  hopes  of  finding  the  Christian 
ruler  and  descendant  of  Prester  John.  Goes  set  out  from 
Agra  in  1602,  joined  a  company  of  merchants,  and  with  them 
took  a  route  passing  through  Cabul,  the  Hindu  kush,  along 
the  River  Oxus  to  its  head-waters  on  the  Pamir  table-land, 
and  so  to  Yangi  Hissar,  Yarkand,  Aksu,  and  Suh-chau,  where 
he  was  detained  seventeen  months,  and  finally  died,  shortly 
after  assistance  had  been  sent  him  from  the  mission  at  Pe- 
king. 

His  journey  was  full  of  terrible  hardships,  and  it  was  to 
these  as  well  as  to  the  careless  treatment  he  suffered  in  Suh- 
chau  that  he  owed  his  untimely  end.  Could  we  have  Goes' 
own  narrative  of  his  experience,  the  information  concerning 
the  unknown  regions  of  Central  Asia  over  which  he  toiled 
would  be  of  priceless  worth.  His  journals,  however,  were 
either  lost  or  destroyed  during  his  miserable  detention  at  the 
frontier  town,  and  nothing  remained  save  a  few  meagre  notes 

'  About  13:30.     See  ibid.,  pp.  238-250. 


JOURNEY    OF  BENEDICT   GOES.  425 

and  his  faithful  Armenian  servant  Isaac,  whose  language  no  one 
at  Peking  could  undei'stand.  Such  as  it  was,  an  account  was 
compiled  from  these  soun-es  by  Ilicci  himself,  and  published 
soon  after  that  missionary's  death  in  the  work  of  Trigautius, 
De  Christiana  Ej'pedit'wne  apiul  /Sinas.'  To  Benedict  Goes 
we  may  give  the  credit  of  the  discovery  that  Cathay  and  China 
{Sina)  were  in  reality  one  and  the  same  land.  It  is  a  curious 
illustration  of  the  condition  of  intercommunication  between 
distant  parts  of  the  world  in  those  days,  that  this  fact  must 
have  been  known  to  the  earliest  Jesuit  missionaries  in  Peking, 
though  the  friars  of  the  same  order  stationed  in  India  held  to 
a  belief  in  Cambaluc  and  its  Christian  prince  until  far  into  the 
seventeenth  century. 

In  many  particulars  the  practical  descriptions  of  Abu  Zaid, 
Masudi,''  Ibn  Wahab,  and  Marco  Polo  stand  in  decided  contrast 
to  the  details  noted  down  by  such  as  Rubruquis  and  Odoric. 
The  accounts  of  all  these  writers  convey  the  impression  that 
China  was  in  their  time  free  to  all  travellers.  Ibn  Wahab, 
speaking  of  the  regulations  practised  under  the  Tang  dynasty, 
observes : 

If  a  man  would  travel  from  one  province  to  another,  he  must  take  two 
passes  with  him,  one  from  the  governor,  the  other  from  the  eunuch  [or  lieu- 
tenant]. The  governor's  pass  permits  him  to  set  out  on  his  journey  and  con- 
tains the  names  of  the  traveller  and  those  also  of  his  company,  also  the  ages 
of  the  one  and  the  other  and  the  clan  to  which  he  helongs.  For  every  travel- 
ler in  China,  whether  a  native  or  an  Arab,  or  other  foreigner,  cannot  avoid 
carrying  a  paper  with  him  containing  everything  by  which  he  can  be  verified. 
The  eunuch's  pass  specifies  the  quantities  of  money  or  goods  wliich  the  travel- 
ler and  those  with  liim  take  along  ;  this  is  done  for  the  information  of  officers 
at  the  frontier  places  where  these  two  passes  are  examined.  Whenever  a 
traveller  arrives  at  any  of  them,  it  is  registered  that  "  .Such  a  one,  son  of  such 
a  one,  of  such  a  calling,  passed  here  on  such  a  day,  month,  and  year,  having 

'  A  translation  of  this  notice  appears  in  Col.  Yule's  oft-quoted  CatJuiy  and 
the  Wiiy  Thither,  pp.  529-591.  Trigautins'  work  appeared  in  1615,  and  was 
subsequently  translated  into  all  the  continental  languages.  Compare  Purchas, 
His  PiUjriiites,  Vol.  III.,  pp.  380,  ff. — A  Ducourse  of  the  Kingdonte  of  Ghimi, 
tnken  ont  of  Eiecivs  and  I'rif/avfivii,  rontayning  the  Conntrey,  People,  Gotiern- 
mevt,  etc.,  etc. 

°  Reinaud,  Relation  des  Voyaf/e,i,  etc.  MM.  Barbier  de  Meynard  and  Favet 
de  Courteille,  Les  Prariex  d'Or,  Paris,  1801-OG. 


426  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

sufii  tilings  with  him."  The  governmpnt  resorts  to  tliis  means  to  prevent  dan- 
ger to  travellers  in  their  money  or  goods  ;  for  should  one  suifer  loss  or  die, 
everything  about  him  is  immediately  known  and  lie  himself  or  his  heirs  after 
his  death  receive  whatever  is  his. ' 

The  same  writer  speaks  of  the  Mabed,  a  nation  dwelling  in 
Yunnan,  on  the  south-west,  who  sent  ambassadors  every  year 
with  presents  to  the  Emperor ;  and  in  return  he  sent  presents 
annually  to  them.  These  embassies,  indeed,  were  simply  trad- 
ing companies  in  disguise,  who  came  from  the  Persians,  Arabs, 
and  other  nations,  with  every  protestation  of  respect  and  hu- 
mility, bearing  presents  to  the  Son  of  Heaven.  The  dignity 
of  the  Emperor  denumded  that  these  should  be  returned  with 
gifts  three  or  four  times  the  value  of  this  "  tribute,"  and  that 
the  ambassadors  should  be  royally  entertained  during  their  so- 
journ at  the  capital.  It  is  needless  to  add  that  such  missions 
were  repeated  by  the  merchants  as  often  as  circumstances 
would  permit.  Entrance  into  the  country  overland  otherwise 
than  by  some  such  ruse  seems  to  have  been  withheld  after  the 
fall  of  the  Mongol  dynast3\ 

It  was,  however,  not  until  the  subjugation  of  the  Empire  by 
the  Manchus  that  foreign  trade  was  limited  to  Canton,  the 
jealous  conduct  of  the  present  rulers  being  to  a  certain  extent 
actuated  by  a  fear  of  similar  reprisals  from  some  quarter,  which 
the  Mongols  experienced.  The  outrageous  behavior  of  foreign 
traders  theujselves  must,  moreover,  be  regarded  as  a  chief 
cause  of  the  watchful  seclusion  with  which  they  were  treated. 
"  Their  early  conduct,"  says  Sir  John  Davis,  referring  to  the 
Portuguese,  "  was  not  calculated  to  impress  the  Chinese  witli 
any  favorable  idea  of  Europeans  ;  and  when  in  course  of  time 
they  came  to  be  com])etitors  with  the  Dutch  and  the  Eng- 
lish, the  contests  of  mert;antile  avarice  tended  to  place  them 
all  in  a  still  worse  point  of  view.  To  tliis  day  the  character  of 
the  Europeans  is  represented  as  that  of  a  race  of  men  intent 
alone  on  the  gains  of  commercial  traffic,  and  regardless  alto- 
gether of  the  means  of  attainment.  Struck  by  the  perpetual 
hostilities  which  existed  among  these  foreign  adventurers,  as- 


lleinaud,  IkUition,  Tome  I.,  p.  41. 


THE  empire:  closed  to  foreigners.  427 

siiiiilated  in  other  respects  by  a  close  resemblance  in  their 
costumes  and  manners,  the  government  of  the  country  became 
disposed  to  treat  them  with  a  degree  of  jealousy  and  exclusion 
which  it  had  not  deemed  necessary  to  be  exercised  toward  the 
more  peaceable  and  well  ordered  Arabs,  their  predecessors."  ' 

These  characteristics  of  avarice,  lawlessness,  and  power  have 
been  the  leading  traits  in  the  Chinese  estimate  of  foreigners 
from  their  first  acquaintance  with  them,  and  the  latter  have 
done  little  to  effectually  disabuse  orientals  upon  these  points. 
The  following  record  of  their  first  arrival,  taken  from  a  Chi- 
nese work,  is  still  good  authority  in  the  general  opinion  of  the 
natives : 

During  the  reign  of  Cliingtili  [1506],  foreigners  from  the  West,  called  Fah- 
lan-ki  [Franks],  who  said  that  they  had  tribute,  abruptly  entered  the  Bogue, 
and  by  tlxeir  tremendously  loud  guns,  shook  the  place  far  and  near.  This  was 
reported  at  court,  and  an  order  returned  to  drive  them  away  immediately  and 
stop  their  trade.  At  about  this  time  also  the  Hollanders,  who  in  ancient 
times  inhabited  a  wild  territory  and  had  no  intercourse  with  China,  came  to 
Macao  in  two  or  three  large  ships.  Their  clothes  and  their  liair  were  red ; 
their  bodies  tall ;  they  had  blue  eyes,  sunk  deep  in  their  heads.  Their  feet 
were  one  cubit  and  two-tenths  long  ;  and  they  frightened  the  people  by  their 
strange  appearance.  "■' 

Tlie  Portuguese  Hafael  Perestrello  sailed  in  a  junk  for 
China  in  1516,  five  3'ears  after  the  conquest  of  IVIalacca,  and 
was  the  first  person  who  evei-  conducted  a  vessel  to  China  un- 
der a  European  flag.  Ferdinand  Andrade  came  in  the  next 
year,  in  fcjur  Portuguese  and  four  Malay  ships,  and  gave  great 
satisfaction  to  the  authorities  at  Canton  by  his  fair  dealings; 
his  galleons  were  allowed  to  anchor  at  Shangchuen,  or  St.  John's 
Island.  His  brother  Simon  came  the  following  year,  and  by 
his  atrocious  conduct  entirely  reversed  the  good  opinion  formed 
of  his  countrymen ;  the  Chinese  besieged  him  in  port  and 
drove  him  away  in  1521.  Othei-s  of  his  countrymen  followed 
him,  and  one  of  the  earliest  ships  accom]">anied  some  Chinese 
junks  along  the  coast,  and  succeeded  in  establishing  a  factory 

'  The  Chinese,  Vol.  I.,  p.  20. 

-  The  term  Jlinig-mao,  or  *  red-haired,'  then  applied  to  the  Dutch,  has  sLuc« 
been  transferred  to  the  English. 


428  .  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

at  2singpo;  trade  was  also  coiicliicted  at  Amoy.  In  1537  there 
were  three  Portuguese  settlements  near  Canton,  one  at  St. 
John's,  one  at  a  smaller  island  called  Lanipa9ao  (Lang-peh-kau), 
lying  north-west  of  the  Grand  Ladroncs,  and  the  third  just 
l)eirun  on  Macao.'  In  1542  traders  had  left  St.  John's  for 
Lainpa9ao,  and  ten  years  afterward,  at  the  time  of  Xavier's 
death,  trade  was  concentrated  at  the  latter,  where  five  or  six 
hundred  Portuguese  constantly  resided  in  1500.  Macao  was 
connnenced  under  the  pretext  of  erecting  sheds  for  drying  goods 
introduced  under  the  appellation  of  trihute,  and  alleged  to  have 
been  damaged  in  a  storm.  In  1573  the  Chinese  government 
erected  a  barrier  wall  across  the  isthmus  joining  Macao  to  the 
island  of  liiangshan,  and  in  1587  established  a  civil  magistracy 
to  rule  the  Chinese.  By  their  ill  conduct  atNingpo  the  Portu- 
guese drew  upon  them  the  vengeance  of  the  people,  who  rose 
upon  them  and  "  destroyed  twelve  thousand  Christians,  includ- 
ing eight  hundred  Portuguese,  and  burned  thirty-five  ships  and 
two  junks."  One  of  their  provocative  acts  is  stated  to  have 
been  going  out  in  large  parties  into  the  neighboring  villages 
and  seizing  the  women  and  virgins,  by  which  they  justly  lost 
their  privileges  in  one  of  the  provinces  and  ports  best  adapted 
to  European  trade.  Four  years  later,  in  15-19,  they  were  also 
driven  from  their  newly  formed  settlement  at  Chinchew. 

The  Portuguese  have  sent  four  embassies  to  the  Emperor  of 
China.  The  first  envoy,  Thome  Pires,  was  appointed  by  the 
Governor  at  Goa,  and  accompanied  Ferdinand  Andi-adc  lo 
Canton,  in  1517,  where  he  was  received  and  treated  in  the 
usual  style  of  foreign  ambassadors.  When  his  mission  was  i-e- 
ported  at  Peking  the  Emperor  Chingtih  was  infiuenced  against 
it  by  a  subject  of  the  Sultan  of  Malacca,  and  detahied  Pires  at 
Canton  three  years;  the  flagitious  conduct  of  Andrade's brother 


'  There  stood  originally  on  tlio  site  of  tins  town  an  idol  known  as  Avia. 
Amau-gau,  or  Ama-kdu,  then,  meant  the  'Harbor  of  Ama,'  which  in  Portu- 
guese was  written  Amiicuo,  and  afterward  shortened  to  Marao.  Conip.  Trigau- 
tius,  Be  OJiristiana  E.vjmHtione  apvd  S/iiks,  Hiir).  Nieuwhof,  Niivirhriiru;e 
Bes'-Jiryrivf/e  nivH  Gosandarhitp,  etc.,  Amsterdam,  ^CtGA.  Sir  A.  Ljungstedt, 
Historical  Sketch  of  the  Port ii (pi cue  Settlements  in  China,  Boston,  18^(5.  Chinese 
Commercial  Guide,  lifth  edition,  i^.  22'J. 


PORTUGUESE   RELATIONS    WITH   CHINA.  429 

and  tlie  character  of  the  Portuguese  induced  the  Emperor  to 
appoint  a  court  to  examine  whether  the  embassy  was  legitiujate 
or  spurious,  and  Pires  and  his  companions  were  adjudged  to  be 
spies  and  sent  back  to  Canton  to  be  detained  till  Malacca  was 
restored.  This  not  being  done,  he  and  others  suffered  death  in 
September,  1523 ;  other  accounts  lead  to  the  inference  that  he 
died  in  2)rison.  Thus  the  innocent  were  made  to  suffer  for  the 
guilty.  The  next  embassy  was  undertaken  in  155'2,  at  the  sug- 
gestion of  Xavier,  by  the  Viceroy  of  Goa,  but  the  mission  pro- 
ceeded no  farther  than  Malacca,  the  governor  of  that  towTi 
refusing  to  allow  it  to  leave  the  place — a  significant  intimation 
of  the  degree  of  subordination  and  order  maintained  by  the 
Portuguese  in  the  administration  of  their  new  colonies.  The 
third  was  also  sent  from  Goa  in  1667,  in  the  name  of  Alfonso 
YL,  on  occasion  of  the  suspension  of  the  trade  of  Macao  by 
Kanghi ;  the  expense  was  defrayed  by  that  colony  (about 
forty  thousand  dollars),  and  "  the  result  of  it  so  little  answered 
their  expectations  that  the  Senate  solicited  his  Majesty  not  to 
intercede  in  behalf  of  his  vassals  at  Macao  with  the  govern- 
ment of  China,  Avere  it  not  in  an  imperious  and  cogent  case." 

A  good  opportunity  and  necessity  for  this,  it  was  thought,  pre- 
sented itself  in  1723,  when  Magaillans  returned  to  China  carry- 
ing the  answer  of  the  Pope  to  Kanghi,  to  send  an  envoy, 
Alexander  Metello,  along  with  him  to  Peking,  lie  arrived  at 
court  in  May,  1727,  and  had  his  audience  of  leave  in  July,  re- 
ceiving in  exchange  for  the  thirty  chests  of  presents  which  he 
offered,  and  which  Yungching  received  with  pleasure  "  as  evi- 
dences of  the  affection  of  the  King  of  Portugal,"  as  many  for  his 
master,  besides  a  cup  of  wine  and  some  porcelain  dishes,  sent 
from  the  Emperor's  table,  and  other  presents  for  himself  and 
his  retinue,  which  were  "  valuable  solely  because  they  were  the 
gifts  of  a  monarch."  Xo  more  advantage  resulted  from  this 
than  the  embassy  sent  a  century  previous,  though  it  cost  the  in- 
habitants of  Macao  a  like  heavy  sum.  Another  and  last  Portu- 
guese embassy  reached  Peking  in  1753,  conducted  and  ending  in 
much  the  same  maimer  as  its  predecessors ;  all  of  them  exhibit- 
ing, in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  the  spectacle  of  humiliating 
submission  of  independent  nations  through  their  envoys  to  a 


430  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

I'oiirt  which  took  pleasure  in  arrogantly  exalting  itself  on  the 
homage  it  received,  and  studiously  avoided  all  reference  to 
the  real  business  of  the  embassy,  that  it  might  neither  give  nor 
deny  anything.  But  in  estimating  its  conduct  in  these  respects, 
it  must  not  be  overlooked  that  the  imperial  court  never  asso- 
ciated commercial  equality  and  regulations  with  embassies  and 
tribute. 

The  influence  and  wealth  of  the  Portuguese  in  China  for  the 
last  century  and  a  half  have  gradual  decreased.  A  Swedish 
knight.  Sir  Andrew  Ljungstedt,  published  a  historical  sketch 
of  their  doings  down  to  1833,  including  an  account  of  the 
colony,  which  is  still  the  fullest  book  on  the  subject.  In  1820 
the  opium  trade  was  removed  to  Lintin,  and  that  being  the 
principal  source  of  income,  the  commerce  of  the  place  for  many 
years  was  at  a  low  ebb.  The  imperial  commissioner  Iviying 
granted  some  additional  privileges  to  the  settlement  in  1844, 
among  others,  permitting  the  inhabitants  to  build  and  repair 
new  houses,  churches,  and  ship's  without  a  license,  and  to  trade 
at  the  five  ports  open  to  foreign  commerce  on  the  same  terms 
as  other  nations ;  it  was  just  three  centuries  before  this  that  the 
Poi'tuguese  were  driven  away  from  Xingpo.  The  anchorage  of 
the  Typa  was  included  in  the  jurisdiction  of  Macao,  but  the  ap- 
plication of  the  Portuguese  commissioner  to  surcease  payment 
of  the  anmial  ground-rent  of  five  hundred  taels  to  the  (^hinese 
met  with  a  decided  refusal.  Its  advantages  as  a  summer  resort 
and  its  accessibility  to  a  densely  peopled  region  M^est  invite 
visitors  and  traders  to  some  extent,  but  the  proximity  and 
wealth  of  Hongkong  make  it  secondary  to  that.  Its  shoi-t-lived 
prosperity  in  1839-50,  during  the  opium  war  aud  curly  days 
of  Hongkong,  was  followed  b}'  the  enlargement  of  the  coolie 
trade,  which  for  twenty-five  years  was  the  only  real  business. 
The  Chinese  have  never  ceded  the  peninsula  to  the  Portuguese 
crown,  although  they  were  powerless  to  pi-event  the  export  of 
coolies  ;  the  relations  now  between  the  two  countries  are  not 
distinctly  defined.  In  1862  a  treaty  was  negotiated  at  Peking 
by  Governor  Guimaraes,  in  which  the  supremacy  of  the  Portu- 
guese authority  o\er  the  ten-itoi-y  within  the  Barrier  was  implied 
rather   than   declared    in    Article  IX.,  Avherein   the  ecpial   ap- 


THEIR   EMBASSIES   AND   TRADE.  431 

pointment  of  consular  officers  was  mutually  agreed  to.  The 
Chinese  found  out,  however,  that  this  virtually  acknowledged 
the  independence  of  the  colony,  and  refused  to  i-atify  the  ti-eaty 
without  an  express  stipulation  asserting  tlieir  i-ight  of  domain  to 
the  peninsula.  It  has  never  been  ratified,  therefore,  but  trade 
is  unfettered,  and  the  Chinese  inhabitants  continue  to  increase ; 
no  rental  lias  been  paid  for  the  ground-tax  since  1849.  The 
cessation  of  the  coolie  trade  in  1873  has  reduced  Macao  lower 
than  ever,  and  it  now  hardly  pays  its  own  officials ;  all  the 
thrifty  or  wealthy  foreign  citizens  have  removed  elsewhere. 

The  trade  between  the  Spaniards  and  C^hinese  has  been 
smaller,  and  their  relations  less  important  than  most  other 
European  nations.  The  Spanish  admiral  Legaspi  conquered 
the  Philippines  in  1543,  and  Chinese  merchants  soon  began  to 
trade  with  Manila ;  but  the  first  attempt  of  the  Spaniards  to 
enter  China  was  not  made  until  1575,  when  two  Augustine 
friars  accompanied  a  Chinese  naval  officer  on  his  return  home 
from  the  pursuit  of  a  famous  pirate  named  Li-ma-lion,  whom 
the  Spaniards  had  driven  away  from  their  new  colony.  The 
missionaries  landed  at  Tansuso,  a  place  on  the  coast  of  Kwang- 
tung,  and  went  up  to  Canton,  where  they  were  courteously  re- 
ceived. The  prefect  sent  them  to  the  governor  at  Shanking, 
by  whom  they  were  examined  ;  they  stated  that  their  chief  ob- 
ject was  to  form  a  close  alliance  between  the  two  nations  for 
their  mutual  benefit,  adding  at  the  same  time  what  their  coun- 
trymen had  done  against  Li-ma-hon  ;  a  second  object  was  their 
wish  to  learn  the  lanji'uai'-e  of  China  and  teach  its  inhabitants 
their  religion.  The  governor  kept  them  in  a  sort  of  honorable 
bondage  several  weeks,  and  at  last  sent  them  back  to  Manila, 
doubtless  by  orders  from  court,  though  he  alleged  as  a  reason 
that  the  pirate  Li-ma-hon  was  still  at  large.  After  the  return 
of  this  mission  the  governor  of  the  Philippines  deemed  it  ad- 
visable to  let  the  trade  take  its  own  course,  and  tlierefore 
refused  the  proposal  of  a  body  of  Franciscans  to  enter  the  coun- 
try. They,  however,  made  the  attempt  in  a  small  native  ves- 
sel, and  passed  up  the  river  to  Tsiuenchau,  wiiei-e  they  were 
seized  and  examined  as  to  their  designs.  Not  being  acquainted 
with  the  language,  they  were  both  themselves  deluded  and  mis- 


432  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

represented  to  tlie  prefect  by  a  |)r()fes.se(l  native  friend  who  nn 
derstood  Portnguese ;  after  many  months'  delay  they  were  mor- 
tified to  learn  that  no  permission  to  remain  wonld  be  given, 
and  in  1580  they  retnrned  to  Manila,  not  at  all  disposed  to  re- 
new the  enterprise. 

Philip  II,,  however,  having  received  the  suggestion  made  by 
the  Chinese  admiral  that  he  should  send  an  embassy  to  Peking, 
had  already  ordered  the  governor  to  undertake  such  an  enter- 
prise. He  fitted  out  a  mission,  therefore,  in  1580,  at  the  head 
of  which  was  Martin  Ignatius.  It  gives  one  a  low  idea  of  the 
skill  of  navigators  at  that  day  to  learn  that  in  this  short  trip, 
the  vessel  being  carried  np  the  coast  northward  of  Canton,  the 
party  thought  it  better  to  land  than  to  try  to  beat  back  to  their 
destination.  The  envoy  and  all  with  him  were  brought  before 
the  Chinese  officers,  who,  probably  entirely  misunderstanding 
their  object,  imprisoned  them ;  after  considerable  delay  they 
were  brought  before  a  hio;her  officer  and  sent  on  to  Canton, 
where  they  were  again  imprisoned  ;  the  Portuguese  governor  of 
Macao  subsequently  obtained  their  liberation.  This  unlucky 
attempt,  if  Mendoza  is  right  in  calling  it  an  embassy,  was  the 
only  one  ever  made  by  the  Spanish  government  to  communicate 
with  the  court  of  Peking  nntil  the  mission  of  Don  Sinibaido  de 
Mas  in  1847  and  his  treaty  of  18G4.  The  pecular  feature  of 
that  treaty  was  the  piivilege,  first  granted  to  Spanish  mer- 
chants, of  engaging  coolies  as  contract  lal)orcrs  for  Cuba.  The 
harsh  treatment  they  received  there  led  the  Chinese  to  send  a 
commission  of  inquii-y  in  1873,  aiul  to  suspend  the  validity  of 
this  article  until  the  truth  could  l)e  ascertained.  This  pro- 
cedure has  resulted  in  a  cessation  of  imported  Chinese  laborers 
at  Havana. 

The  Chinese  have  carried  on  a  valuable  trade  at  Manila,  but 
the  Spaniards  liave  treated  them  with  peculiar  sevei'ity.  They 
are  burdened  Avith  special  taxes,  and  their  innnigration  is 
rather  restrained  than  encouraged.  The  harsh  treatment  of 
Chinese  settlers  there  excited  the  attention  and  indignation  of 
one  of  tlieir  countrymen  many  yeai-s  ago,  and  on  his  return  to 
Canton  he  exercised  all  his  inHuence  with  officers  of  his  own 
govermnent,  making  what  he  had  seen  the  model  and  the  ma 


INTERCOUKSE   BETWEEN    HOLLAND    AND   THE    EAST.      43.J 

tive  to  induce  them  to  treat  all  foreigners  at  Canton  in  the 
same  way.  It  ended  in  perfecting  the  pi-incipal  features  of  the 
system  of  espionage  and  restriction  of  the  co-hong  which  ex- 
isted for  nearly  a  century,  until  the  treaty  of  1842; — another 
instance  of  the  treatment  requited  upon  foreigners  for  their  own 
acts. 

The  Dutch  commerce  with  the  East  commenced  after  their 
successful  struggle  against  the  Spanish  yoke,  and  soon  after 
completing  their  independence  they  turned  their  arms  against 
the  oriental  possessions  of  their  enemies,  capturing  Malacca, 
the  Spice  Islands,  and  other  places.  They  appeared  before 
Macao  in  1622  with  a  squadron  of  seventeen  vessels,  but  being 
repulsed  with  the  loss  of  their  admiral  and  about  three  hundred 
men,  they  retired  and  established  themselves  on  the  Pescadores 
in  1624.  Their  occupation  of  this  position  was  a  source  of 
great  annoyance  both  to  the  Spaniards  and  to  the  Chinese  au- 
thorities in  Fuhkien.  According  to  the  custom  of  those  days, 
they  began  to  build  a  fort,  and  forced  the  native  Chinese  to  do 
their  work,  treating  them  with  great  severity.  Man}-  of  the 
laborers  wei'e  prisoners,  whom  the  Dutch  had  taken  in  their  at- 
tacks. Alternate  hostilities  and  parleys  succeeded,  the  Chinese 
declaring  that  the  Dutch  must  send  an  envo}'  to  the  authorities 
on  the  mainland  ;  they  accord  higly  despatched  Yon  Mildert  to 
Amoy,  and  the  sub-prefect  forwarded  him  to  Fuhchau  to  the 
governor.  He  decided  to  send  a  messenger  to  the  Dutch  to 
state  to  them  that  trade  would  be  allowed  if  they  would  remove 
to  Formosa,  but  this  proposition  was  refused.  However,  after 
a  series  of  attacks  and  negotiations,  the  Chinese  constantly  in- 
creasing their  forces  and  the  Dutch  diminishing  in  their  sup- 
plies, the  latter  acceded  to  the  proposition,  and  removed  to 
Formosa,  where  they  erected  Fort  Zealandia  in  1G24.  It  is  re- 
corded that  the  Chinese  landed  five  thousand  troops  on  one  of 
the  Pescadore  Islands ;  and  their  determined  efforts  in  repelling 
the  aggressions  or  occupation  of  their  soil  by  the  Dutch  proba- 
bly raised  their  reputation  for  courage,  and  prevented  the  repe- 
tition of  similar  acts  by  others.  It  was  doubtless  a  good  stroke 
of  policy  on  their  part  to  propose  the  occupation  of  Formosa  to 
the  Dutch  in  exchange  for  the  Pescadores,  for  they  had  not  the 


434  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

least  title  to  it  themselves,  aiul  hardly  knew  its  exact  size  at 
the  character  of  the  inhabitants.  The  Dutch  endeavored  ta 
extend  their  power  over  it,  but  with  only  partial  success;  in 
the  villages  around  Fort  Zealandia  they  introduced  new  laws 
among  the  inhabitants,  and  instead  of  their  councils  of  elders, 
constituted  one  of  their  chief  men  supervisor  in  every  village, 
to  administer  justice  and  )-eport  his  acts  to  the  governor  of  the 
island. 

The  moral  interests  of  the  natives  were  not  neglected,  and  in 
162G  George  (Jandidius,  a  Protestant  minister,  Avas  aj)pointed 
to  labor  among  them,  and  took  great  pains  to  introduce  Chris- 
tianity. The  natives  were  ignorant  of  letters,  their  superstitions 
resting  only  on  traditions  or  customs  which  were  of  recent  ori- 
gin ;  the  prospects,  therefore,  of  teaching  them  a  better  religion 
were  favorable.  In  sixteen  months  he  had  instructed  over  a 
hundred  in  the  leading  truths  of  (,'hristianity.  The  work  was 
progressing  favorably,  churches  and  schools  were  nuiltiplying, 
the  interniarria£:es  of  the  colonists  and  natives  M-ere  brinffuiir 

o  oft 

them  into  closer  relationship  with  each  other,  and  many  thou- 
sands of  the  islanders  had  been  baptized,  when  the  Dutch  gov- 
ernors in  India,  feai'ful  of  offending  the  Japanese,  who  were 
then  persecuting  the  Christians  in  Japan — in  which  the  Dutch 
helped  them,  to  their  lasting  disgrace — restricted  these  benevo- 
lent labors,  and  discouraged  the  further  conversion  of  the 
islanders.  Thus,  as  often  elsewhere  in  Asia,  the  interests  of 
ti'ue  religion  were  sacrificed  upon  the  altar  of  mammon,  and 
the  trade  thus  bought  died  from  inanition. 

During  the  struggles  ensuent  upon  the  overthrow  of  the 
Ming  dynasty,  many  thousands  of  families  emigrated  to  For- 
mosa, some  of  whom  settled  under  the  Dutch,  while  others 
planted  separate  colonies  ;  their  industry  soon  changed  the 
desolate  island  into  a  cultivated  country,  and  increased  the  pro- 
duce of  rice  and  sugar  for  exportation.  The  immigration  went 
on  so  rapidly  as  to  alarm  the  Dutch,  who,  instead  of  taking 
wise  measures  to  conciliate  and  instruct  the  colonists,  tried  to 
prevent  their  landing,  and  thereliy  did  much  to  irritate  them 
and  lead  them  to  join  in  any  likely  attempt  to  expel  the  for 
eigners. 


DUTCH   OCCUPATION   OF    FORMOSA.  435 

Meanwhile,  their  trade  with  China  itself  was  trifling  com- 
pared with  that  of  their  rivals,  the  Portuguese,  and  when  the 
undoubted  ascendancy  of  the  Manchus  was  evident,  the  govern- 
ment of  Batavia  resolved  to  despatch  a  deputation  to  Canton 
to  petition  for  trade.  In  January,  1653,  Schedel  was  sent  in  a 
richly  freighted  ship,  but  the  Portuguese  succeeded  in  prevent- 
ing any  further  traflic,  even  after  the  envoy  had  spent  consid- 
erable sums  in  presents  to  the  authorities,  and  obtained  the 
governor's  promise  to  allow  his  countrymen  to  build  a  factory. 
Schedel  was  informed,  however,  that  his  masters  would  do  well 
to  send  an  embassy  to  Peking,  a  suggestion  favoi-ably  enter- 
tained by  the  Companj-,  which,  in  1055,  appointed  Goyer  and 
Keyzer  as  its  envoys.  The  narrative  of  this  embassy  by 
Nieuwhof,  the  steward  of  the  mission,  made  Europeans  better 
acquainted  with  the  country  than  they  had  before  been — almost 
the  only  practical  benefit  it  produced,  for  as  a  mercantile  specu- 
lation it  proved  nearly  a  total  loss.  Their  presents  were  re- 
ceived and  others  given  in  return ;  they  prostrated  themselves 
not  only  before  the  Emperor  in  person,  but  made  the  kotow  to 
his  name,  his  letters,  and  his  throne,  doing  everything  in  the 
way  of  humiliation  and  homage  likely  to  please  the  new  rulers. 
The  only  privilege  their  subserviency  obtained  was  permission 
to  send  an  embassy  once  in  eight  3'ears,  at  which  time  they 
might  come  in  four  ships  to  trade. 

This  mission  left  China  in  1657,  and  very  soon  after,  the 
Chinese  chieftain,  Ching  Ching-kung  (Koshinga,  or  Koxinga 
as  his  name  is  written  by  the  Portuguese),  began  to  pi-epare  an 
attack  upon  Formosa.  The  Dutch  had  foreseen  the  probability 
of  this  onset,  and  had  been  strengthening  the  garrison  of  Zea- 
landia  since  1G50  while  they  were  negotiating  for  trade  ;  Kox- 
inga, too,  had  confined  himself  to  sending  emissaries  among 
his  countrymen  in  Formosa,  to  inform  them  of  his  designs. 
He  set  about  preparing  an  armament  at  Amoy,  ostensibly  to 
strengthen  himself  against  the  Manchus,  meanwhile  carrying 
oil  his  ordinary  traffic  with  the  colony  to  lull  all  apprehensions 
until  the  council  had  sent  away  the  admiral  and  force  de- 
spatched from  Java  to  protect  them,  when  in  June,  1661,  he 
landed  a  force  of  twenty-five  thousand  troops,  and  took  up  a 


436  THI-:    MIDDLK    KIXGDOM. 

stroll""  position.  Tlie  coinmniiicatinn  hctweoii  tlic  forts  being 
cnt  off,  the  governor  sent  t\v<>  ImiKbvd  ami  forty  nien  to  dis- 
lodiTc  the  enemy,  only  luilf  of  whom  retiirneil  alive  ;  one  (»f 
the  four  ships  in  the  luirbor  was  burned  by  the  Chinese,  and 
another  hastened  to  Batavia  for  reinforcements.  Koxinga  fol- 
\o\voa\  u\>  these  successes  by  cuttiuj:;  off  all  conimunication  be- 
tween the  garrison  and  the  surrounding  country,  and  compelling 
the  surrender  of  the  garrison  and  cannon  in  the  small  fort. 
Fort  Zealandia  was  now  closely  invested,  but  finding  himself 
severely  galled,  he  turned  the  siege  into  a  blockade,  and  vented 
his  rage  against  the  Dutch  living  in  the  surrounding  country, 
and  such  Chinese  as  abetted  them.  Some  of  the  ministers  and 
schoolmasters  were  seized  and  crucified,  under  the  pretext  that 
they  encouraged  their  parishioners  to  resist ;  others  were  used 
as  ao-ents  to  treat  concerninG;  the  surrender  of  the  fort.  Yal- 
entyn  has  given  a  clear  history  of  the  occupation  of  Formosa 
by  his  countrymen  in  his  great  work,  and  especially  of  their 
defeat  at  Zealandia.  He  narrates  an  incident  of  Rev.  A.  Ilam- 
broek,  as  does  also  ^^ieuwhof,  from  whose  travels  it  is  quoted. 

Among  the  Dutch  prisoners  taken  in  the  country,  was  one  Mr.  Ilambroek,  a 
minister.  This  man  was  sent  by  Koxinga  to  the  governor,  to  propose  terms  for 
surrendering  the  fort ;  and  that  in  case  of  refusal,  vengeance  would  be  taken 
on  the  Dutch  prisoners.  Mr.  Ilambroek  came  into  the  castle,  being  forced  to 
leave  his  wife  and  children  behind  him  as  hostages,  which  sufficiently  proved 
that  if  he  failed  in  his  negotiation,  they  had  nothing  but  death  to  expect  from 
the  chieftain.  Yet  was  he  so  far  from  persuading  the  garrison  to  surrender, 
that  lie  encouraged  them  to  a  brave  defence  by  hopes  of  relief,  assuring  them 
that  Koxinga  had  lost  many  o"  his  best  ships  and  soldiers,  and  began  to  be 
weary  of  the  siege.  When  ho  had  ended,  the  council  of  war  left  it  to  his 
choice  to  stay  with  them  or  return  to  the  camp,  where  he  could  expect  noth- 
ing but  present  death  ;  every  one  entreated  him  to  stay.  He  had  two  daugh- 
ters within  the  castle,  who  hung  upon  his  nock,  overwhelmed'  with  grief  and 
tears  to  see  their  father  ready  to  go  where  they  knew  he  must  bo  sacrificed  by 
the  merciless  enemy.  But  he  represented  to  them  that  having  left  his  wife 
and  two  other  children  as  hostages,  nothing  but  death  could  attend  them  if  he 
returned  not :  so  unlocking  himself  from  his  daughters'  arms,  and  exhort- 
ing everybody  to  a  resolute  defence,  he  returned  to  the  camp,  telling  them  at 
parting  that  he  hoped  he  might  prove  serviceable  to  his  poor  fellow-prisoners, 
fvoxinga  received  his  answer  sternly ;  then  causing  it  to  be  rumored  that  the 
prisoners  excited  the  Formosans  to  rebel,  he  ordered  all  the  Dutch  male 
prisoners  to  be  slain  ;  some  being  beheaded,  others  killed  in  a  more  barbarous 
manner,  to  the   number  of  five  hundred,  th  ir  b  di  .>  .sviijipcd  quite   naked 


KOXIXCiA    DRIVES    THEM    FROM    TIIK    ISLAND.  4'17 

and  buried  ;  nor  were  the  women  and  children  spared,  many  of  tliem.  like- 
wise being  slain,  thongh  some  of  the  best  were  preserved  for  the  use  of  the 
commanders,  and  the  rest  sold  to  the  common  soldiers.  Among  the  slain  were 
Messrs.  Hambruik,  Mus,  Wiiisam,  Ampzingius,  and  Campius,  clergymen,  and 
many  schoolmasters. 

A  force  of  ten  ships  and  seven  Imndred  men  arriving  from 
Batavia,  tlie  besieged  began  to  act  on  the  offensive,  but  were 
nnal)le  to  drive  Koxinga  from  tlie  town,  though  they  checked 
his  operations  and  brought  down  the  garrisons  from  Kihmg 
and  Tamsui  to  tlieir  aid.  A  letter  from  the  governor  of  Fuh- 
kien  to  Coyet,  the  Dutcli  governor,  came  soon  after,  suggesting 
a  junction  of  their  forces  to  drive  Koxinga  away  fi-om  the  coast, 
after  which  both  could,  easil}'  conquer  him  in  Formosa.  This 
proposal  was  followed,  but  no  sooner  had  the  five  vessels  gone 
than  Koxinga  made  his  advances  so  vigorously  that  the  garrison 
was  forced  to  surrender,  after  a  siege  of  nine  months  and  the 
loss  of  one  thousand  six  hundred  men.  Thus  ended  the  Dutcli 
rule  in  Formosa,  after  twenty-eight  years'  duration.' 

This  loss  induced  the  council  at  Batavia  to  prosecute  their 
former  enterprise  against  Anioy,  where  Koxinga  still  had  a  gar- 
rison. Twelve  vessels  were  fitted  out  under  Bort,  who  arrived, 
in  1662,  at  the  mouth  of  the  River  Min,  where  he  was  visited 
by  deputies  from  the  governor,  and  induced  to  send  two  of  his 
officers  to  arrange  with  him  concerning  operations.  The  gover- 
nor was  in  the  country,  and  the  two  officers,  on  reaching  his 
camp,  soon  saw  that  there  could  be  no  cordiality  between  their 
leaders  ;  this  proposal  of  a  foreign  power  to  assist  them  against 
the  Chinese  was  too  much  like  that  of  Wn  San-kwei  to  their 
chieftains  in  1644  for  the  Manchus  to  entertain  it.  Bort,  de- 
sirous of  doing  something,  commenced  a  series  of  attacks  on 
the  fleet  and  garrisons  of  Koxinga,  burning  and  destroying  them 

^  Chinese  Repository,  Vols.  I.,  p.  414,  and  XX.,  p.  543.  Journal  N.  C.  Br. 
R.  As.  Soc,  Vol.  XI.  (1876),  Art.  I.  Moreau  de  St.-Mery,  Vot/iu/e  de  VArn- 
bassade  de  la  ComjMignie  des  Iiuks  orientales  Ilolldnduises  vers  V Einpereur  de  la 
Chine,  tire  dujoiirtnd  d^Andre  Evcnird  van,  Branm  Houckc/eest,  translated  and 
published  in  London,  2  Vols.,  1798.  J.  Nieuwhof,  JVamrkenrir/c  Beachryrincie 
ran't  Oesandschap  der  NederlandtscJie  Oost-Lidische  Compagnie  van  Batavia  nar 
Peking  in  Sina,  door  de  Ileeren  Pieter  de  Ooyer  en  Jacob  de  Keyser,  Amster- 
dam, 1G64. 


438  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

in  a  piratical  manner,  tliat  was  nut  less  ineffectual  toward  re 
gaining  Formosa  and  ol)taining  privilege  of  trade  at  Canton 
than  harassing  to  the  Chinese  on  the  coast.  lie  returned  to 
Batavia  in  1663,  and  was  despatched  to  Fnhkien  in  a  few 
months  with  a  stronger  force,  and  ordered  to  make  reprisals  on 
both  Manchus  and  Chinese,  if  necessary,  in  order  to  get  satis- 
faction for  the  loss  of  Formosa.  The  governor  received  him 
favorably,  and  after  a  number  of  skirmishes  against  the  rebel- 
lious Chinese,  Amoy  was  taken  and  its  troops  destroyed,  which 
completed  the  subjugation  of  the  province  to  the  Manchus.  As 
a  reward  for  this  assistance,  the  real  value  of  which  cannot, 
however,  be  easily  ascertained,  the  governor  lent  two  junks  to 
the  Dutch  to  retake  Formosa,  but  Koxinga  laughed  at  the  piti- 
ful force  sent  agaii-st  him,  and  Bort  sailed  for  Batavia. 

These  results  so  cliagrined  the  council  that  they  fitted  out  no 
more  expeditions,  preferring  to  despatch  an  embassy,  under  Van 
lloorn,  to  Peking,  to  petition  for  trade  and  permission  to  erect 
factories,  lie  landed  at  Fulichau  in  1664,  where  he  was  re- 
ceived in  a  polite  manner.  The  imperial  sanction  had  been 
already  received,  but  he  unwisely  delayed  his  journey  to  the 
capital  until  his  cargo  was  sold.  While  discussing  this  matter 
the  Dutch  seized  a  Chinese  vessel  bringing  bullion  from  Java 
contrary  to  their  colonial  regulations,  and  the  governor  very 
properly  intimated  that  until  restitution  was  made  no  amicable 
arrangement  could  be  completed  ;  consequently  Van  lloorn,  in 
order  to  save  his  dignity  and  not  contravene  the  orders  of  his 
own  o;overnment,  was  oblio;ed  to  allow  the  bullion  to  be  carried 
ofp,  as  if  by  force,  by  a  police  officer. 

These  preliminary  disputes  were  not  settled  till  nearly  a  year 
had  elapsed,  wdien  A^an  lloorn  and  his  suite  left  Fulichau,  and 
after  a  tedious  journey  up  the  River  Min  and  across  the  moun- 
tains to  llangchau,  they  reached  the  canal  and  Peking,  having 
been  six  months  on  the  way,  "  during  which  they  saw  thirty- 
seven  cities  and  three  hundred  and  thirty-five  villages."  The 
same  succession  of  prostrations  before  an  empty  throne,  followed 
by  state  banquets,  and  accompanied  by  the  presentation  and  con- 
ferring of  presents,  characterized  the  reception  of  this  embassy 
as  it  had  all  its  predecessors.    It  ended  with  a  similar  farce,  alike 


EMBASSIES    OF    VAN    IIOORN   AND   VAN   BRAA:\r.         439 

pleasing  to  the  haughty  court  wliich  received  it,  and  unworthy 
the  Christian  nation  wliieh  gave  it;  and  the  "only  result  of 
this  grand  expedition  was  a  sealed  letter,  of  the  contents^  of 
which  they  were  wholly  ignorant,  but  which  did  not,  in  fact, 
grant  any  of  the  privileges  they  so  anxiously  solicited."  They 
had,  by  their  performance  of  the  act  of  prostration,  caused  their 
nation  to  be  enrolled  among  the  tributaries  of  the  Grand  khan, 
and  then  were  dismissed  as  loyal  subjects  should  be,  at  the  will 
of  their  liege  lord,  with  what  he  chose  to  give  them.  It  was  a 
fitting  end  to  a  career  begun  in  rapine  and  aggression  toward 
the  Chinese,  who  had  never  provoked  them. 

The  Dutch  sent  no  more  embassies  to  Peking  for  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty  years,  but  carried  on  trade  at  Canton  on  the 
same  footing  as  other  nations.  The  ill  success  of  Macartney's 
embassy  in  1793  induced  Van  Braam,  the  consular  agent  at 
Canton,  to  propose  a  mission  of  salutation  and  respect  from  the 
government  of  Batavia,  on  the  occasion  of  Kienlung  reaching 
the  sixtieth  year  of  his  reign.  He  hoped,  by  conforming  to 
Chinese  ceremonies,  to  obtain  some  privileges  which  would 
place  Dutch  trade  on  a  better  footing,  but  one  would  have  sup- 
posed that  the  miscarriage  of  former  attempts  might  have 
convinced  him  that  nothing  was  to  be  gained  by  new  humilia- 
tions before  a  court  which  had  just  dismissed  a  well-appointed 
3mbassy.  The  Company  appointed  Isaac  Titsingh,  late  from 
lapan,  as  chief  commissioner,  giving  Van  Braam  the  second 
place,  and  making  up  their  cortege  with  a  number  of  clerks 
and  interpreters,  one  of  whom,  De  Guignes,  \vrote  the  re- 
sults of  his  researches  during  a  long  residence  in  Canton,  and 
his  travels  with  the  embassy  to  Peking,  under  the  title  of  Vo;/- 
arjen  d  Peking.  It  is  needless  to  detail  the  annoyances,  humil- 
iations, and  contemptuous  treatment  experienced  by  the  em- 
bassy on  its  overland  journey  in  midwinter,  and  the  degrading 
manner  in  wliich  the  Emperor  received  the  envoys :  his  hauteur 
was  a  befitting  foil  to  their  servility,  at  once  exhibiting  both  his 
pride  and  their  ignorance  of  their  true  position  and  rights. 
They  were  brought  to  the  capital  like  malefactors,  treated  when 
there  like  beggars,  and  then  sent  back  to  Canton  like  mounte- 
banks to  perform  the  three-times-three  prostration  at  all  times 


440  THE   MIDDLE   KIJ^GDOM. 

and  before  e\  ei-ytliiiig  their  conductors  saw  fit ;  avIio  on  their 
part  stood  by  and  hiughed  at  their  embarrassment  in  mailing 
tljese  evolutions  in  their  tight  clothes.  They  were  not  allowed 
a  single  opportunity  to  speak  about  business,  wliicli  the  Chinese 
never  associate  with  an  embassy,  but  were  entertained  with 
banquets  and  theatrical  shows,  and  performed  many  skilful 
evolutions  themselves  upon  their  skates,  greatly  to  the  Em- 
perors gratification,  and  received,  moreover,  a  present  of  broken 
victuals  from  him,  which  had  not  only  been  honored  by  coming 
from  his  Majesty's  own  table,  but  bore  marks  of  his  teeth  and 
good  appetite  ;  "  they  were  upon  a  dirty  plate,  and  appeared 
rather  destined  to  feed  a  dog  than  form  the  repast  of  a  human 
creature."  Van  Braanrs  account  of  this  embassy  is  one  of  the 
most  humiliating  records  of  ill-requited  obsequiousness  before 
insolent  government  lackeys  which  any  European  was  ever 
called  upon  to  pen.  The  mission  returned  to  Canton  in  April, 
1706,  having  attained  no  more  noble  end  than  that  of  saluting 
the  Emperor,  and  this,  indeed,  was  all  the  Chinese  meant  should 
be  done  when  themselves  suggesting  the  entire  performance ; 
for  in  order  to  understand  much  of  their  conduct  toward  their 
guests,  the  feelings  they  entertained  toward  them  must  not  be 
lost  sight  of. 

In  1843  the  governor-general  at  Batavia  sent  T.  Modderman 
to  Canton  to  make  inquiries  respecting  trade  at  the  newly 
opened  ports  and  establish  consulates.  The  council  there  had, 
in  1839,  forbidden  Chinese  to  settle  in  any  of  their  Indian 
colonies,  owing  to  their  skill  in  engrossing  the  native  trade;  but 
when  this  prohibition  was  removed  about  1875,  the  Chinese 
showed  no  disposition  to  emigrate  to  Java.  In  1803  a  treaty 
was  negotiated  by  M.  Van  der  Ilooven  at  Tientsin,  which  })laced 
the  trade  on  the  same  footing  as  other  nations. 

The  French  Government  has.  never  sent  a  formal  mission  to 
tlie  capital  to  petition  for  trade  and  make  obeisance,  though 
thnjugii  their  missionaries  that  nation  has  made  Europeans 
better  acquainted  with  China  and  given  the  Chinese  more 
knowledge  of  western  counti-ies  than  all  other  Christian  nations 
together.  In  the  year  12S!)  Pliilij)  the  Fair  received  a  letter 
from  Argun  khan  in  Persia,  and  in  1305  another  from  Oljaitu, 


RELATIONS  OF  FRANCE  AND  KTTSSIA  WITH  CHIXA.        441 

both  of  thetn  proposing  joint  action  against  their  enemies  the 
Saracens.  The  originals  are  still  to  be  seen  in  Paris.  In  1G88 
Louis  XIV.  addressed  a  letter  to  Ivanghi,  whom  he  called 
"Most  high,  most  excellent,  most  puissant,  and  most  magnani- 
uious  prince,  dearly  belov^ed  good  friend  ; "  and  signed  himself 
"Your  most  dear  and  good  friend,  Louis."  Li  1844  diplomatic 
relations  were  resumed  by  tlie  appointment  of  a  large  mission, 
at  the  head  of  which  was  M.  Lagrenc,  by  whom  a  treaty  was 
formed  between  France  and  China.' 

The  Russians  have  sent  several  embassies  to  Peking,  and 
compelled  the  Chinese  to  treat  them  as  equals.  The  first  re- 
corded visit  of  Russian  agents  at  Peking  is  that  of  two  Cos- 
sacks, Petroff  and  Yallysheff,  in  1567,  who,  however,  did  not 
see  the  Emperor  Lungking,  who  succeeded  to  the  throne  that 
year,  because  they  had  brought  no  presents.  In  1619  Evashko 
Pettlin  i-eached  that  city,  having  come  across  the  desert  from 
Tomsk ;  but  he  and  his  companion,  having  no  presents,  could 
not  see  the  "  dragon's  face,"  and  were  dismissed  with  a  letter, 
which  all  the  learning  at  Tobolsk  and  Moscow  could  not  de- 
cipher.  Thirty-four  years  after,  the  Czar  Alexis  (1653)  sent  his 
envoy  Baikoff,  who  refused  to  prostrate  himself  before  the 
Erapei-or  Shunchl,  and  was  promptly  dismissed.  This  repulse 
did  not  interfere  with  trade,  for  in  the  years  1658,  1672,  and 
1677  three  several  trading  embassies  reached  Peking.  During 
j»ll  this  time  Russian  and  Chinese  subjects  and  soldiers  fre- 
quently quarrelled,  especially  along  the  banks  of  the  Amur,  and 
the  necessity  of  settling  these  disturbances  and  pretexts  for 
trouble  by  fixing  the  boundary  line  being  evident  to  both  na- 
tions, commissioners  were  appointed  and  met  at  Xipchu,  where, 
on  August  27,  1689,  they  signed  the  first  treaty  ever  agreed 
upon  by  the  court  of  Peking.  The  principal  points  in  it  were 
the  retirement  of  the  Russians  from  Albazin  and  Manchuria, 
where  they  had  held  their  own  for  thirty-eight  years,  the  fj-ee- 
dom  of  trade,  and  defining  the  frontier  along  the  Daourian 
Mountains.    The  missionary  Gerbillon  was  mainly  instrumental 

'  CMnese  Repository,  Vol.  XIX.,  pp.  526-535.  Yule's  CatJiay,  p.  cxxx.  Re* 
muriut  in  Mem.  de  I'AacJ.  Ins.,  Vol.  VII.,  pp.  367,  391  ff. 


442  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

ill  settling  these  disputes,  and  neitlier  party  would  probably 
have  lowered  its  ari-ogaut  claims  if  it  had  not  been  through  his 
influence  ;  the  Chinese  were  far  the  most  difficult  to  please.' 

Peter  sent  Ysbrandt  Ides  in  1G92  as  his  envoy  to  Peking  to 
exchange  the  ratitications.  llis  journey  across  the  wilds  and 
wastes  of  Central  Asia  took  up  more  time  than  a  voj^age  by 
sea,  for  it  was  not  till  a  year  and  eight  months  that  "he  could 
return  thanks  to  the  great  God,  who  had  conducted  them  all 
safe  and  well  to  their  desired  place."  Ides'  own  account  of  his 
mission  contains  very  slight  notices  regarding  its  object  or  how 
he  was  received  ;  but  it  is  now  credibly  believed  that  he  per- 
formed the  kotoio  before  the  Emperor.  About  twenty  years 
after  iiis  departure,  Kanghi  sent  a  Manchu  envoy,  Tulishen, 
through  Russia  to  confei"  with  the  khan  of  the  Tourgouth  Tar- 
tars about  their  return  to  China,  which  a  portion  of  them  ac- 
complished some  years  after.  Tulishen  executed  his  mission  so 
well  that  he  was  sent  again  as  envoy  to  the  Czar  about  1730, 
and  reached  Petersburg  in  the  reign  of  Peter  II.  In  1719 
Peter  the  Great  despatched  another  embass}',  under  Ismailoif,  to 
arrange  the  trade  then  conducted  on  a  precarious  footing — an 
account  of  which  was  drawn  up  by  John  Bell  in  17G3.  Ismai- 
loff  refused  to  prostrate  himself  until  it  was  agreed  that  a  Chi- 
nese minister,  whenever  sent  to  Petersburg,  should  conform  to 
the  usages  of  the  Russians ;  a  safe  stipulation,  certainly,  to  a  court 
which  never  demeans  itself  to  send  missions.  The  evident  de- 
sii-ableness  of  keeping  on  good  terms  with  the  Russians  led  the 
Chinese  to  treat  their  envoys  with  unusual  respect  and  attend  to 
the  business  they  came  to  settle.  One  of  the  most  instructive 
books  on  the  kind  of  intercourse  carried  on  during  this  pei'iod  is 
the  Journal  of  Lange,  who  went  first  in  1716,  and  thrice  after- 
ward, and  has  left  an  account  of  his  residence  at  Kanghi's  capital.' 


'  Chinese  Repository,  Vol.  VIII.,  pp.  417,  500.  Du  Halde,  Description  geo' 
gi'fiphiqiie,  historiqne,  chronologique,  ]iulitique  el  phyHique  iJe  V Empire  tie  la  Chine 
"t  deht,  T(trf(irie  chinoiHC,  4  vols.,  Paris,  1735.  G.  Timkowski,  Travels  of  the 
liiisKian  Mission  throngh  Mongolia  to  China,  etc.,  2  vols.,  London,  1827.  Klap- 
roth,  Memoires  stir  I' A.sie,  Tome  I.,  pp.  1-81. 

''  Published  in  one  volume  with  Bell:  Joitritcy  froni  St.  Petersburgh  in  Rua 
tin  to  Ispahan  in  Persia,  etc.,  London,  1715. 


RUSSIAN    MISSIONS   TO    PKKIXG.  443 

In  1727  a  fifth  mission  was  sent  by  the  Empress  Catherine 
under  Count  Vladishivitcli,  which  succeeded  in  establishing  the 
intercourse  on  a  still  better  basis,  viz.,  that  a  mission,  consisting 
of  six  ecclesiastical  and  four  lay  members,  should  remain  at 
Peking  to  study  the  Chinese  and  Manchu  langnagea,  so  that  in 
terpreters  could  be  prepared  and  comnumications  carried  on  sat- 
isfactorily; the  members  were  to  be  changed  decennially.  The 
caravans,  which  had  been  the  vehicles  of  trade,  were  regulated 
about  1730  by  the  establishment,  at  Kiakhta  and  Maimaichin, 
of  two  marts  on  the  frontier,  where  it  could  be  brought  under 
regulations;  the  last  reached  Peking  in  1755.  This  embassy 
was  the  most  successful  of  all,  and  partly  owing  to  the  Emperor 
Yungcliing''s  desire  to  counterbalance  Jesuit  intrigues  by  raising 
up  other  interpreters.  This  treaty,  signed  August  27,  1727,  re- 
mained in  force  till  June,  1858 — the  longest  lived  treaty  on  record. 
The  narrative  of  George  Timkowski,  who  conducted  the  relief 
sent  in  1821,  gives  an  account  of  his  trip  from  Kiakhta  across  the 
desert,  together  with  considerable  information  relating  to  the  Kal- 
kas  and  other  Mongol  tribes  subject  to  China.  The  archiman- 
drite. Hyacinth  Batchourin,  lias  given  a  description  of  Poking, 
but  such  works  as  the  members  of  the  Russian  college  have  written 
are  for  the  most  part  still  in  that  language.  Up  to  the  present 
date  there  have  been  sixteen  archiniandrites  (1736  to  1880)  and 
many  monks  attached  to  the  ecclesiastical  mission  in  Peking.' 

The  intercourse  of  the  English  with  Chiria,  though  it  com- 
menced later  than  other  maritime  nations  of  Europe,  has  been 
far  more  important  in  its  consequences,  and  their  trade  greater 
in  amount  than  all  other  foreign  nations  combined.  This  inter- 
course has  not  been  such  as  was  calculated  to  impress  the  Chi- 
nese with  a  just  idea  of  the  character  of  the  British  nation  as  a 
leading  Christian  people  ;  for  the  East  India  Company,  which 
had  the  monopoly  of  the  trade  between  the  two  countries  for 
nearly  two  centuries,  systematically  opposed  every  effort  to  dif- 
fuse Christian  doctrine  and  general  knowledge  among  them 
down  to  the  end  of  their  control  in  1834. 

'  Dudgeon's  monograph  on  Russian  Intercourse  with  China  contains  notices 
of  all  events  of  any  importance  between  the  two  nations,  digested  with  great 
care,  pp.  80,  Peking,  1872.     Also,  Martin's  China,  Vol.  I.,  p.  386. 


444  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

The  liri^t  En<j;li.sh  vessels  anc-liored  oft  Macao  in  July,  1G35 
under  the  coiumand  of  AVeddell,  who  was  sent  to  China  in  ac 
o'ordance  witli  a  "truce  and  free  trade''  which  liad  been  entered 
into  between  the  Enghsh  merchants  and  the  viceroy  of  Goa,  wlio 
gave  letters  to  the  governor  of  Macao.  The  iieet  was  coldlj 
received  and  AVeddell  deluded  with  vain  promises  until  the 
Portuguese  fleet  had  sailed  for  Japan,  when  he  was  denied  per- 
mission to  trade.  Two  or  three  of  his  officers  having  visited 
Canton,  he  was  very  desirous  to  participate  in  the  traffic,  and 
proceeded  wi'di  his  whole  fleet  up  to  the  Bogue  forts,  where 
this  desire  was  made  known  to  the  commanders  of  the  forts, 
who  promised  to  return  an  answer  in  a  week.  Meanwhile  the 
Portuguese  so  misrepresented  them  to  the  Chinese  that  the 
commander  of  the  forts  concluded  to  end  the  matter  by  driving 
them  away.  Having  made  every  preparation  during  the  j^eriod 
the  fleet  M'as  waiting,  an  attack  was  first  made  upon  a  watering- 
boat  by  firing  shot  at  it  when  passing  near  the  forts. 

"  Herewith  the  whole  fleet,  being  instantly  incensed,  did,  on 
the  sudden,  display  their  bloody  ensigns  ;  and,  weighing  their 
anchors,  fell  up  with  the  flood,  and  berthed  themselves  before 
the  castle,  from  whence  came  many  shot,  yet  not  any  that 
touched  so  much  as  ludl  or  rope  ;  wdierenpon,  not  being  able  to 
endure  their  bravadoes  any  longer,  each  ship  began  to  play 
furiously  upon  them  with  their  broadsides  ;  and  after  two  or 
three  hours,  perceiving  their  cowardly  fainting,  the  boats  were 
landed  with  about  one  hundred  men  :  which  sight  occasioned 
them,  w'ith  great  distractions,  instantly  to  abandon  the  castle  and 
fly  ;  the  boats'  crews,  in  the  meantime,  without  let,  entering  the 
same  and  displaying  his  Majesty's  colors  of  Great  Britain  upon 
the  walls,  having  the  same  night  put  aboard  all  their  ordnance, 
fired  the  council-house  and  demolished  wdiat  they  could.  The 
boats  of  the  fieet  also  seized  a  juidv  laden  with  boards  and  tim- 
ber, and  another  wuth  salt.  Another  vessel  of  small  moment 
was  surprised,  by  whose  boat  a  letter  was  sent  to  the  chief 
mandarins  at  Canton,  expostulating  their  breach  of  truce,  ex- 
cusing the  assailing  of  the  castle,  and  withal  in  fair  terms  r& 
i[uiring  the  liberty  of  trade."  '    This  letter  was  shortly  answered, 

'  Staunton's  E^mbassy^  Vol.  I. ,  y\>.  5-12. 


COMMENCEMENT   OF   J5KIT1SII    INTEKCOUKSE.  44^ 

and  after  a  little  explanatory  negotiation,  hastened  to  a  favor- 
able conclusion  on  the  part  of  the  Chinese  by  what  they  had 
seen,  trade  was  allowed  after  the  captured  guns  and  vessels 
were  restored  and  the  ships  supplied  with  cargoes. 

No  other  attempt  to  open  a  trade  was  made  till  1G64,  and 
during  the  change  of  dynasty  which  took  place  in  the  interim, 
the  trade  of  all  nations  with  China  suffered.  The  East  India 
Company  had  a  factory  at  ijantam  in  Java,  and  one  at  Madras, 
but  their  trade  with  the  East  was  seriously  inconnnoded  by  tlie 
war  with  the  Dutch ;  when  it  was  renewed  in  1664,  only  one 
ship  was  sent  to  Macao,  but  such  v/ere  the  exactions  imposed 
upon  the  trade  by  the  Chinese,  and  the  effect  of  the  misrepre- 
sentations of  the  Portuguese,  that  the  ship  returned  without 
effecting  sale.  This  did  not  discourage  the  Company,  however, 
who  ordered  their  agents  at  Bantam  to  make  inquiries  respect- 
ing the  most  favorable  port  and  what  commodities  were  most 
in  demand.  They  mentioned  "  Fuhchau  as  a  place  of  great 
resort,  affording  all  China  commodities,  as  raw  and  wrought 
silk,  tutenague,  gold,  china-root,  tea,  etc."  A  trade  had  been 
opened  with  Koxinga's  son  in  Formosa  and  at  Amoy,  but  this 
rude  chieftain  had  little  other  idea  of  traffic  than  a  means  of 
helping  himself  to  every  curious  commodity  the  ships  brought, 
and  levying  heavy  imposts  upon  their  cargoes.  A  treaty  was 
indeed  entered  into  with  him,  in  which  the  supercargoes,  as 
was  the  case  subsequently  in  1842,  stipulated  for  far  greater 
privileges  and  lighter  duties  than  Chinese  goods  and  ves- 
sels would  have  had  in  English  ports.  Besides  freedom  to 
go  where  they  pleased  without  any  one  attending  them,  access 
at  all  times  to  the  king,  liberty  to  choose  their  own  clerks 
and  trade  with  whom  they  pleased,  it  was  also  agreed  "  that 
what  goods  the  king  buys  shall  pay  no  custom ;  that  rice 
imported  pay  no  custom  ;  that  all  goods  imported  pay  three 
per  cent,  after  sale,  and  all  goods  exported  be  custom  fi-ee." 
The  trade  at  Amoy  was  more  successful  than  at  Zealandia, 
and  a  small  vessel  was  sent  there  in  16TT,  which  brought 
back  a  favorable  report.  In  1078  the  investments  for  these 
two  places  were  $30,000  in  bullion  and  $20,000  in  goods ;  the 
returns  were  chiefly  in  silk  goods,  tutenague,  rhubarb,  etc. ; 


446  THE  MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

the  trade  was  continued  fur  several  years,  ajiparently  with  con 
siderable  profit,  though  the  Manchus  continually  increased  the 
resti-ictions  under  which  it  labored.  In  16S1  the  Company  or- 
dered their  factories  at  Anioy  and  Formosa  to  be  withdrawn, 
and  one  establislied  at  Canton  or  Fuhchau,  but  in  1685  the 
trade  was  renewed  at  Amoy. 

The  Portuguese  managed  to  prevent  the  English  obtaining  a 
footing  at  Canton  until  about  10S4  ;  and,  as  Davis  remarks,  the 
stupid  pertinacity  with  which  they  endeavored  to  exclude  them 
from  this  port  and  trade  is  one  of  the  most  striking  circum- 
stances connected  with  these  trials  and  rivalries.  It  is  the  more 
inexplicable  in  the  case  of  the  rortuguese,  for  they  could  cai-ry 
nothing  to  England,  nor  could  they  force  the  English  to  trade 
with  them  at  second  hand  ;  theirs  M'as  truly  the  "  dog  in  the 
manger"  policy,  and  they  have  subsequently  starved  upon  it. 
In  10S9  a  duty  of  five  shillings  per  pound  was  laid  upon  tea  im- 
ported into  England  ;  and  the  principal  articles  of  export  are 
stated  to  have  been  wrought  silks  of  every  kind,  poi-celain,  lac- 
quered-ware, a  good  quantity  of  fine  tea,  some  fans  and  screens. 
Ten  years  aftei-,  the  court  of  directors  sent  out  a  consul's  com- 
mission to  the  chief  supercargo,  Mr.  Catchpoolo,  which  consti- 
tuted him  king's  minister  or  consul  for  the  whole  Emi)ire  of 
China  and  the  adjacent  islands.  In  ITOl  an  attempt  was  made 
by  him  to  open  a  trade,  and  he  obtained  permission  to  send 
sliips  to  Chusan  or  Ningj)o ;  an  investment  in  three  vessels, 
worth  £101,300,  was  accordingly  made,  but  he  found  the  exac- 
tions of  the  government  so  grievous,  and  the  monopoly  of  the 
merchants  so  oppressive,  that  the  adventure  proved  a  great  loss, 
and  the  traders  were  compelled  to  withdraw.  The  Company's 
hopes  of  trade  at  that  port  nuist,  liowever,  have  been  great,  for 
their  investment  to  Amoy  that  year  was  only  ,£34,400,  and  to 
Canton  £40,800.  In  1702  Catchpoole  also  established  a  factory 
at  Pulo  Condore,  an  island  near  the  coast  of  Cochinchina  which 
had  been  taken  by  the  English.  The  whole  concern,  however, 
experienced  a  tragical  end  in  1705,  when  the  Malays  rose  upon 
the  English,  murdered  them  all,  and  burned  the  factory.  The 
Cochinchinese  are  said  to  have  instigated  this  treacherous  at 
tack  to  regain  the  island,  Mhicli  was  claimed  by  them. 


EARLY  EFFORTS   IX   ESTABLISHING    A   TRADE.  447 

The  extortions  and  grievances  suffered  by  the  traders  at  Can- 
ton were  increased  in  1T02  by  the  appointment  of  an  individual 
M'ho  alone  had  the  ri^ht  of  trading  with  them  and  of  farming 
it  out  to  those  who  had  the  means  of  doing  so.  The  trade 
seems  liardly,  even  at  this  time,  to  have  taken  a  regular  form, 
but  by  1720  the  nnmber  and  value  of  the  annual  connnodities 
had  so  much  increased  that  the  Chinese  established  a  uniform 
duty  of  four  per  cent,  on  all  goods,  and  appointed  a  body  of 
native  merchants,  who,  for  the  privilege  of  trading  with  for- 
eigners, became  security  for  their  payment  of  duties  and  good 
behavior.  The  duty  on  imports  was  also  increased  to  about 
sixteen  per  cent,  and  an  enormous  fee  demanded  of  purveyors 
before  they  could  supply  ships  with  provisions,  besides  a  heavy 
measurement  duty  and  cumshaw  to  the  collector  of  customs. 
These  exactions  seemed  likely  to  increase  unless  a  stand  was 
taken  against  them.  This  was  done  by  a  united  appeal  to  the 
governor  in  person  in  1728  ;  yet  the  relief  was  only  temporary, 
for  the  plan  was  so  effectual  and  convenient  for  the  government 
that  the  co-hona;  was  ei-e  lono-  re-established  as  the  onlv  me- 
dium  through  which  the  foreign  trade  could  be  conducted.  An 
additional  duty  of  ten  per  cent,  was  laid  upon  all  exports,  which 
no  efforts  were  effectual  in  removing  until  the  accession  of 
Kienlung  in  1736.  This  apparently  suicidal  practice  of  levying 
export  duties  is,  in  China,  really  a  continuation  of  the  internal 
excise  or  transit  duties  paid  upon  goods  exported  in  native  ves- 
sels as  well  as  foreign. 

The  Emperor,  in  taking  off  the  newly  imposed  duty  of  ten 
per  cent,  required  that  the  merchants  should  hear  the  act  of 
grace  read  upon  their  knees ;  but  the  foreigners  all  met  in  a 
bodv,  and  each  one  ao;i'eed  on  his  honor  not  to  submit  to  this 
slavish  posture,  nor  make  any  concession  or  proposal  of  accom- 
modation without  acquainting  the  I'est.  The  Emperor  also  re- 
quired the  delivery  of  all  the  arms  on  board  ship,  a  demand 
afterward  waived  on  the  payment  of  about  ten  thousand  dollars. 
The  hong  merchants  shortly  became  the  only  medium  of  com- 
munication with  the  government,  themselves  being  the  exactors 
of  the  duties  and  contrivers  of  the  grievances,  and  when  com- 
plaints were  made,  the  judges  of  the  equity  of  their  own  acta 


448  THE   MIDDLE    KI^NGDOil. 

In  1734  only  one  English  ship  came  to  Canton,  and  one  waa 
sent  to  Anioy,  but  the  extortions  there  were  greater  than  at  the 
other  port,  whereupon  the  latter  vessel  withdrew.  In  1736  the 
number  of  ships  at  Canton  was  four  English,  two  French,  two 
Dutch,  one  Danish,  and  one  Swedish  vessel ;  the  Portuguese 
ships  had  been  restricted  to  Macao  before  this  date. 

Commodore  Anson  arrived  at  Macao  in  1742,  and  as  the 
Centurion  was  the  first  British  man-of-war  which  had  visited 
China,  his  decided  conduct  in  refusing  to  leave  the  river  until 
provisions  were  furnished,  and  his  determination  in  seeking  an 
interview  with  the  governor,  no  doubt  had  a  good  effect.  A 
mixture  of  decision  and  kindness,  such  as  that  exhibited  by 
Anson  when  demanding  only  what  was  in  itself  right,  and 
backed  by  an  array  of  force  not  lightly  to  be  trifled  with  or 
incensed,  has  always  proved  the  most  successful  way  of  dealing 
with  the  Chinese,  who  on  their  part  need  instruction  as  well  as 
intimidation.  The  constant  presence  of  a  ship  of  war  on  the 
coast  of  China  would  perhaps  have  saved  foreigners  nnich  of 
the  personal  vexations,  and  prevented  many  of  the  imposts 
upon  trade  which  the  history  of  foreign  intercourse  exhibits, 
making  it  in  fact  little  better  than  a  recital  of  annoyances  on 
the  part  of  a  government  too  ignorant  and  proud  to  understand 
its  own  true  interests,  and  recriminations  on  the  part  of  traders 
unable  to  do  more  than  protest  against  them. 

In  consequence  of  the  exactions  of  the  government  and  the 
success  of  the  co-hong  in  preventing  all  direct  intercourse  with 
the  local  authorities,  the  attempt  was  again  made  to  trade  at 
.Vmoy  and  jSingpo.  The  llardwicke  was  sent  to  Amoy  in 
1744,  and  obliged  to  return  without  a  cargo.  Messrs.  Flint  and 
Harrison  were  despatched  to  Tsingpo  in  1755,  and  were  well 
received  ;  but  when  the  Ilolderness  subsequently  came  to  trade, 
it  was  with  difficulty  that  she  procured  a  cargo,  and  an  iuq)erial 
edict  was  promulgated  soon  after  restricting  all  foreign  ships  to 
Canton.  In  175i>  the  factor}-  at  IS'ingpo  was  demulished,  so 
that  Mr.  Flint,  who  repaired  there  that  year,  was  imable  to  do 
anything  toward  restoring  the  trade.  This  gentleman  was  a 
person  of  unconnnon  perseverance  and  talents,  and  had  mas- 
tered the  difficulties  of  the  Chinese  language  so  as  to  act  as 


EXERTIONS   AND   PUNISHMENT   OF    MR.   FLINT.        449 

interpreter  at  Canton  twelve  years  before  lie  was  sent  on  his 
mission,  "  The  ungrateful  return  which  his  energy  and  exer- 
tions in  their  service  met  with  from  his  employers,"  jnstly  ob- 
serves Sir  erolin  Davis,  "  was  such  as  tended  in  all  probability, 
more  than  any  other  cause,  to  discourage  his  successors  from 
undertaking  so  laborious,  unprofitable,  and  even  hazardous  a 
work  of  supererogation." 

On  his  arrival  at  Ningpo,  Mr.  Flint,  finding  it  useless  to  attempt 
anything  there,  proceeded  in  a  native  vessel  to  Tientsin,  from 
whence  he  succeeded  in  making  his  case  known  to  the  Emperor 
Kienlung.  A  commissioner  was  deputed  to  accompany  him 
overland  to  Canton  ;  Mr.  Flint  proceeded  to  the  English  factory 
soon  after  his  arrival,  and  the  foreigners  of  all  nations  assembled 
before  the  commissioner,  who  informed  them  that  the  hoppo 
had  been  superseded,  and  all  duties  remitted  over  six  per  cent, 
on  goods  and  the  cumshaw  and  tonnage  dues  on  ships.  The 
sequel  of  Mr.  Flint's  enterprise  was  unfortunate,  and  the  mode 
the  Chinese  took  to  bring  it  about  thoroughly  characteristic. 

It  proved,  however,  that  these  fair  appearances  were  destined  only  to  be 
tlie  prelude  to  a  storm.  Some  days  afterward  the  governor  desired  to  see  Mr. 
Flint  for  the  purpose  of  communicating  the  Emperor's  orders,  and  was  accom- 
panied by  the  council  of  his  countrymen.  When  the  party  had  reached  the 
palace,  the  hong  merchants  proposed  their  going  in  one  at  a  time,  but  they  in- 
sisted on  proceeding  together ;  and  on  Mr.  Flint  being  called  for,  they  were 
received  at  the  first  gate  and  ushered  through  two  courts  with  seeming  com- 
plaisance by  the  officers  in  waiting  ;  but  on  arriving  at  the  gate  of  the  inner 
court  they  were  hurried,  and  even  forced  into  the  governor's  presence,  where 
a  struggle  ensued  with  their  brutal  conductors  to  force  them  to  do  homage 
after  the  Chinese  fashion  until  they  were  overpowered  and  thrown  down.  See- 
ing their  determination  not  to  submit  to  these  base  humiliations,  the  governor 
ordered  the  people  to  desist ;  and  then  telling  Mr.  Flint  to  advance,  he 
pointed  to  an  order,  which  he  called  the  Emperor's  edict,  for  his  banishment 
to  Macao,  and  subsequent  departure  for  England,  on  account  of  his  endeavor- 
ing to  open  a  trade  at  Ningpo  contrary  to  orders  from  Peking  He  added 
that  the  native  who  had  written  the  petition  in  Chinese  was  to  b^  beheaded 
that  day  for  traitorously  encouraging  foreigners,  which  was  performed  on  a 
man  quite  innocent  of  what  these  officers  were  pleased  to  call  a  crime.  Mr. 
Flint  was  soon  after  conveyed  to  Tsienshan,  a  place  near  Macao,  called  Casa 
Branca  by  the  Portuguese,  where  he  was  imprisoned  two  years  and  a  half  and 
then  sent  to  England. ' 

'Davis,  Chinese,  Vol.  I.,  p.  58. 


450  TIIF,    MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

Mr.  Flint  stated  to  the  Company  that  a  fee  of  one  thousand 
two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  to  the  governor  would  set  him  at 
libei'ty,  but  they  contented  themselves  Avith  a  petition.  The 
punishinent  he  received  from  the  Chinese  for  this  attempt  to 
break  their  laws  would  not  have  been  considered  as  unmerited  or 
unjust  in  any  other  country,  but  the  neglect  of  the  Company  to 
procure  the  liberation  of  one  who  had  suffered  so  much  to  serve 
them  reflects  the  greatest  reproach  upon  that  body. 

The  whole  history  of  the  foreign  trade,  as  i-elated  hy  Auber 
In  his  chronological  narrative,  during  the  one  hundred  and  fifty 
3'ears  up  to  1842  is  a  melancholy  and  curious  chapter  in  na- 
tional intercourse.  The  grievances  complained  of  were  delay 
in  loading  ships  and  plunder  of  goods  on  their  transit  to  Can- 
ton ;  the  injurious  proclamations  annually  put  up  by  the  gov- 
crmnent  accusing  foreignei's  of  horrible  crimes  ;  the  extortions 
of  the  underlings  of  office  ;  and  the  difficulty  of  access  to  the 
high  authorities.  The  hong  merchants,  from  their  position  as 
ti'aders  and  interpreters  between  the  two  parties,  were  able  to 
delude  both  to  a  considerable  extent,  though  their  responsi- 
bility for  tlie  acts  and  payments  of  foreigners,  over  whom  they 
could  exercise  no  real  restraint,  rendered  their  .situation  by  no 
means  pleasant.  The  rule  on  which  the  Chinese  government 
proceeded  in  its  dealings  with  foreigners  was  this :  *'  The  bar- 
bariaTis  are  like  beasts,  and  not  to  be  ruled  on  the  same  prin- 
ciples as  citizens.  AYere  any  one  to  attempt  controlling  them 
by  the  great  maxims  of  reason,  it  would  tend  to  nothing  but 
confusion.  The  ancient  kings  well  understood  this,  and  ac- 
cordingly ruled  barbarians  by  misrule  ;  therefore,  to  rule  bar- 
barians by  misrule  is  the  true  and  best  way  of  ruling  them." 
The  same  rule  in  regard  to  foreign  traders  was  vii-tuallj^  acted 
on  in  England  during  the  reign  of  Henry  A"II.,  and  the  ideas 
among  the  Chinese  of  their  power  over  those  who  visit  their 
shoi'es  are  not  unlike  those  which  prevailed  in  Europe  before 
the  Reformation. 

The  entire  ignorance  of  foreign  traders  of  the  spoken  and 
written  language  of  China  brought  them  into  contempt  with 
all  classes,  and  where  all  intercourse  was  carried  on  in  a  jargon 
which  each  party  despised,  the  results  were  often  misunder' 


ANOMALOUS    POSITION    OF    FOREIGNERS   IX   CHINA.       451 

standing,  dislike,  and  hatred.  Another  frnitful  source  oi  diffi- 
culty was  the  turbulent  conduct  of  sailors.  The  J^'rench  and 
English  seamen  at  Whanipoa,  in  1754,  carried  their  national 
hatred  to  such  a  degree  that  they  could  not  pursue  their  trade 
without  quarrelling ;  and  a  Frenchman  having  killed  an  Eng- 
lish sailor,  the  Chinese  stopped  the  trade  of  the  former  nation 
until  the  guilty  person  was  given  np,  though  he  was  subse- 
quently liberated.  The  Chinese  allotted  two  different  islands 
in  the  river  at  Whampoa  for  the  recreation  of  the  seamen  of  each 
nation,  in  order  that  such  troubles  might  be  avoided  in  future, 
A  similar  case  occurred  at  Canton  in  17S0,  when  a  Frenchman 
killed  a  Portuguese  sailor  at  night  in  one  of  the  merchants' 
houses  and  fled  to  the  consul's  for  refuge.  The  Chinese  de- 
manded the  criminal,  and  after  some  days  he  was  given  up  to 
them  and  publicly  strangled  ;  this  punishment  he  no  doubt  mer- 
ited, although  it  was  the  fii'st  case  in  which  they  had  interfered 
where  the  matter  was  altogether  among  foreigners.  In  1784 
a  native  was  killed  by  a  ball  left  in  a  gun  when  firing  a  salute, 
and  the  Chinese,  on  the  principle  of  requii-ing  life  for  life,  de- 
manded the  man  who  had  fired  the  gun.  Knowing  that  the 
English  were  not  likely  to  give  him  up,  the  police  seized  Mr. 
Smith,  the  supercargo  of  the  vessel,  and  carried  him  a  prisoner 
into  the  city.  On  the  seizure  of  this  gentleman  the  ships' 
boats  were  ordered  up  from  Whampoa  with  armed  crews  to  de- 
fend the  factories,  A  messenger  from  the  Chinese,  liowever, 
declared  that  their  purpose  in  seizing  Smith  was  simply  to  ex- 
amine him  on  the  affair,  to  which  statement  the  captive  him- 
self added  a  request  that  the  gunner  should  be  sent  up  to  the 
authorities  and  submit  to  their  questions.  Trusting  too  much 
to  their  promises,  the  man  was  allowed  to  go  alone  before  the 
officials  within  the  city  walls,  when  Mr.  Smith  was  immediately 
liberated  and  the  unhappy  gunner  strangled,  after  some  six 
weeks'  confinement,  by  direct  orders  of  the  Emperor.  The 
man,  probably,  underwent  no  form  of  trial  intelligible  to  him- 
self, and  his  condemiuition  was  the  more  unjust,  as  by  Section 
CCXCII.  of  the  Chinese  code  he  was  allowed  to  ransom  himself 
by  a  fine  of  about  twenty  dollars.  As  a  counterpart  of  this 
tragedy,  the  Chinese  stated  (and  there  was  reason  for  believing 


452  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

tliein)  tliat  a  native  who  had   accidentally  killed  a  British  sea 
man  about  the  same  time  was  executed  for  the  casualty. 

The  Chinese  mode  of  operations,  when  it  was  inipracticablo 
to  get  possession  of  the  guilty  or  accused  party,  was  well  ex- 
hibited in  the  ease  of  a  homicide  occurring  in  1807.  A  party 
of  sailors  had  been  drinking  at  Canton,  when  a  scuffle  ensued, 
and  the  sailors  put  the  populace  to  flight,  killing  one  of  the 
natives  in  tlie  onset.  The  trade  was  promptly  stopped,  and  the 
liong  merchant  M'ho  liad  sccxred  the  .ship  lield  responsible  for 
the  delivery  of  the  offender.  Eleven  men  were  arrested  and  a 
court  instituted  in  the  Company's  hall  before  Chinese  judges, 
Captain  Rolles,  of  II.  B.  M.  ship  Lion,  being  present  with  the 
committee.  The  actual  homicide  could  not  be  found,  but  one 
Edward  Sheen  \vas  detained  in  custody,  which  satisfied  the 
Chinese  M'hile  he  remained  in  Canton  ;  but  when  the  committee 
wished  to  take  him  to  Macao  with  them  they  resisted,  imtil 
Captain  Holies  declai'cd  that  otherwise  he  should  take  the  ])ris- 
oner  on  board  his  own  ship,  which  he  did.  Being  now  beyond 
their  reach,  the  authorities  were  fain  to  account  for  the  affair 
to  the  supreme  triljunul  at  the  capital  by  inventing  a  tale,  stat- 
ing that  the  prisoner  had  caused  the  death  of  a  native  by  rais- 
ing an  upj)er  window  and  accidentally  dropping  a  stick  npon 
liis  head  as  he  was  passing  in  the  street  below.  This  statement 
was  reported  to  his  Majesty  as  having  been  concurred  in  by  the 
English  after  a  full  examination  of  witnesses  who  attested  to 
the  circumstances  ;  the  imperial  rescript  affirmed  the  sentence 
of  the  Board  of  Punishments,  which  ordered  that  the  prisoner 
should  be  set  at  liberty  after  paying  the  nsual  fine  of  twenty 
dollars  provided  by  law  to  defray  the  funeral  expenses.  The 
trade  was  thereupon  resumed.' 

Another  case  of  homicide  occurred  at  AVhampoa  in  1820, 
when  the  authorities  reported  that  the  butcher  of  another  ship, 
who  had  committed  suicide  the  day  of  the  inquest,  was  the 
guilty  person.  The  court  of  directors  very  properly  blamed 
their  agents  at  Canton  for  their  complicity  in  this  subterfuge, 
and  spoke  of  "  the  paramount  advantages  which  must  invari- 


'  Sir  G.  T.  Staunton,  Penal  Code  of  Chiiut^  p.  516. 


CIIIXKSK   ACTION    IN    CASP:S   OF    nOMIClDE.  453 

a])ly  be  derived  from  a  strict  and  inflexible  adlierence  to  truth 
as  tlie  foundation  of  all  nioi-al  obligations."  ' 

Other  cases  of  nnirder  and  homicide  have  since  occurred  be- 
tween foreigners  and  natives.  In  the  instance  of  the  lii-itish 
frigate  Topaze  at  Lin  tin  Island  in  1822,  whose  crew  had  been  at- 
tacked on  shore,  her  ca})tain  successfully  resisted  the  sui'render 
of  a  British  subject  for  the  death  of  two  natives  in  the  affray. 
The  dignified  and  united  action  of  the  British  authorities  on 
this  occasion  was  a  striking  contrast  to  the  weakness  of  the 
Americans  the  year  before  in  the  case  of  Terrariova.  It  proved 
the  beneficial  results  of  a  stand  for  the  I'ight,  for  no  foreigner 
has  since  been  executed  by  the  Chinese.  It  also  proved  the 
necessity  and  advantages  of  competent  interpreters  and  trans- 
lators, inasmuch  as  the  case  owed  much  of  its  success  to  Dr. 
Morrison's  aid,  which  had  been  rejected  by  the  hong  merchants 
the  previous  year." 

These  cases  are  brought  together  to  illustrate  the  anomalous 
position  which  foreigners  once  held  in  China.  They  consti- 
tuted a  community  by  themselves,  sui)ject  chiefly  to  their  own 
sense  of  honor  in  their  mutual  dealings,  but  their  relations  wdth 
the  Chinese  were  like  what  lawyers  call  a  "  state  of  nature." 
The  change  of  a  governor-general,  of  a  collector  of  customs,  or 
senior  hong  merchant,  involved  a  new  couree  of  policy  accord- 
ing to  the  personal  character  of  these  functionaries.  The  com- 
mittee of  the  East  India  Company  had  considerable  power  over 
British  subjects,  especially  those  living  in  Canton,  and  could 
deport  them  if  they  pleased  ;  but  the  consuls  of  other  nations 
had  little  or  no  authority  over  their  countrymen.  Trade  was 
left  at  the  same  loose  ends  that  politics  were,  and  the  want  of 
an  acknowledged  tariff  encouraged  sniuggling  and  kept  up  a 
constant  spirit  of  resistance  and  dissatisfaction  between  the  na- 
tive and  foreign  merchants,  each  party  endeavoring  to  get  along 
as  advantageously  to  itself  as  practicable.  IS  or  was  there  any 
acknowlediied  medium  of  communication  between  them,  for  the 

'  Auber,  Chirm:  An  Outline  of  its  Oovernment,  Tmws,  Policy,  etc.,  p.  286, 
London,  18;M. 

-  ChhuHi'  Repository,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  513-515.  Moriison's  Memoirs,  Vol.  XL. 
App.,  p.  10-     Auber,  China,  its  Government,  etc.,  pp  ~88-309. 


4.i4  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

(•(.iit^iils,  not  being  credited  by  the  Chinese  Government,  came 
and  went,  hoisted  or  lowered  their  flags,  without  the  slightest 
notice  fi'oni  the  authorities.  Trade  conld  proceed,  perhaps, 
without  involving  the  nations  in  war,  since  if  it  was  unprofitable 
it  would  cease  ;  but  while  it  continued  on  such  a  precarious 
footing  national  character  suffered,  and  tlic  misrepresentations 
produced  thereby  rendered  explanations  dilficult,  inasmuch  as 
neither  party  understood  or  believed  the  other. 

The  death  of  the  unfortunate  gunner  in  1784,  and  the  large 
debts  owed  to  the  English  by  the  hong  merchants,  Avhich  there 
seemed  no  probability  of  recovering,  induced  the  British  Govern- 
ment to  tnrn  its  attention  to  the  situation  of  the  king's  subjects  in 
China  with  the  purpose  of  placing  their  relations  on  a  better 
footing.  The  flagitious  conduct  of  a  Captain  M'Clary,  who  seized 
a  Dutch  vessel  at  Whampoa  in  1781,  which  Davis  narrates," 
and  the  inability  of  the  Company  to  restrain  such  proceedings, 
also  had  its  weight  in  deciding  the  crown  to  send  an  embassy  to 
Peking.  Colonel  Cathcart  was  appointed  envoy  in  1788,  but  his 
death  in  the  Straits  of  Sunda  temporarily  deferred  the  mission, 
which  was  resumed  on  a  larger  scale  in  1792,  when  the  Earl  of 
Macartney  was  sent  as  ambassador,  with  a  large  suite  of  able 
men,  to  place  the  relations  between  the  two  nations,  if  possible, 
on  a  well-understood  and  secure  footing.  Two  ships  were  ap- 
pointed as  tenders  to  accompany  his  Majesty's  ship  Lion  (04), 
and  nothing  was  omitted,  either  in  the  composition  of  the  mis- 
sion or  the  presents  to  the  Emperor,  to  insure  its  success.  Lit- 
tle is  known  regarding  its  real  impression  upon  the  Chinese  ; 
they  treated  it  with  great  consideration  while  it  remained  in 
the  country,  although  at  an  estimated  cost  of  $850,000,  and 
)>r(>bably  dismissed  it  with  the  feeling  that  it  was  one  of  the 
most  splendid  testimonials  of  respect  that  a  tributary  nation 
had  ever  paid  tlieir  court.  The  English  were  lienceforth  re- 
gistered among  the  nations  who  had  sent  tribute-bearers,  and 
were  consequently  only  the  more  bound  to  obey  the  injunctions 
of  their  master." 

'  The  Cfiitirsr,  Vol.  I.,  p.  03. 

'Sir  G.  L.  Staunton,  Authentic  Account  of  an  Embassy  from  the  King  oj 
Great  Britain  to  the  Emperor  of  China,  3  vols.,  London,  1798. 


EMBASSY    OF    LOIID    MAC  A  KINKY,  45.0 

To  the  European  world,  as  well  as  to  the  British  nation,  how- 
ever, this  expedition  may  be  said  to  have  opened  China,  so 
great  was  the  interest  taken  in  it  and  so  well  calculated  were 
tlie  narratives  of  Staunton  and  Bai-row  to  convey  better  ideas 
of  that  remote  country.  "  Much  of  the  lasting  impression  which 
the  relations  of  Lord  Macartney's  embassy  leave  on  the  mind  of 
his  reader,"  to  quote  from  a  review  of  it,  "  must  be  ascribed, 
exclusive  of  the  natural  effect  of  clear,  elegant,  and  able  com- 
position, to  the  number  of  persons  engaged  in  that  business, 
the  variety  of  their  chai'acters,  the  reputation  they  already  en- 
joyed or  afterward  acquired  ;  the  bustle  and  stir  of  a  sea  voyage  ; 
the  placidity  and  success  which  finally  characterized  the  inter- 
course of  the  English  with  the  Chinese  ;  the  splendor  of  the 
reception  the  latter  gave  to  their  European  guests ;  the  walks 
in  the  magnificent  gardens  of  the  '  Son  of  Heaven  ; '  the  pic- 
turesque and  almost  romantic  navigation  upon  the  imperial 
canal;  and  perhaps,  not  less  for  the  interest  we  feel  for  every 
grand  enterprise,  skilfully  prepared,  and  wdiich  proves  success- 
ful, partly  in  consequence  of  the  happy  choice  of  the  j^ersons 
and  the  means  by  which  it  was  to  be  carried  into  effect."  This 
impression  of  the  grandeur  and  extent  of  the  Chinese  Empii-e 
has  ever  since  more  or  less  remained  upon  the  minds  of  all 
readers  of  Staunton's  narrative  ;  but  truer  views  were  imparted 
than  had  before  been  entertained  concerning  its  real  civilization 
and  its  low  rank  among  the  nations. 

That  the  embassy  produced  some  good  effect  is  undeniable, 
though  it  failed  in  most  of  the  principal  points..  It  also  afforded 
the  Chinese  an  opportunity  of  making  an-angements  concerning 
that  future  intercourse  which  they  could  not  avoid,  even  if  they 
would  not  negotiate,  and  of  ac(juii'ing  information  concerning 
foreign  nations  which  would  have  proved  of  great  ad\'antage  to 
them.  Their  contemptuous  i-ejection,  ignorant  though  they 
decided  to  remain  of  the  real  character  of  these  courtesies, 
of  peaceful  missions  like  those  of  Macartney,  Titsingh,  and 
others,  takes  away  much  of  our  synq^athy  for  the  calamities 
which  subsequently  came  upon  them.  With  characteristic 
shortsightedness  they  looked  upon  the  very  means  taken  to 
arrange  existing  ill-understood  relations  as  a  reason  for  consid- 


456  THE    -MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

oring  tliose  relations  as  settled  to  their  liking,  and  a  motive  to 
^\\\\  fui-tlier  exactions. 

For  many  years  subseqnent  to  this  endjassy  the  trade  went 
on  Avithont  interruption,  tliongh  the  demands  and  duties  were 
ratlier  increased  than  diniinislied,  and  the  personal  liberty  of  for- 
eigners more  and  more  restricted.  The  government  generally, 
down  to  the  lowest  underling,  sj-stematically  endeavored  to  de- 
grade and  insult  foreigners  in  the  eyes  of  the  populace  and  citi- 
zens of  Canton,  in  order,  in  case  of  any  disturbance,  to  have  their 
co-operation  and  sympathy  against  the  "  barbarian  devils," 
The  dissolute  and  violent  conduct  of  many  foreigners  toward 
the  Chinese  gave  them,  alas,  too  many  arguments  for  their  as- 
persions and  exactions,  and  both  parties  too  frequently  consid- 
ered the  other  fair  subjects  for  imposition. 

In  1S02  the  English  troops  occupied  Macao  b}'  order  of  the 
governor-general  of  India,  lest  it  should  be  attacked  by  the 
French,  but  the  news  of  the  treaty  of  peace  arriving  soon  after, 
they  re-embarked  almost  as  soon  as  the  Chinese  remonstrated. 
The  discussion  was  revived,  however,  in  1808,  when  the  French 
again  threatened  the  settlement ;  and  the  English,  under  Ad- 
miral Drury,  landed  a  detachmcjit  to  assist  the  Portuguese  in 
defending  it.  The  Chinese,  who  had  previously  asserted  their 
complete  jurisdiction  over  this  territoiy^,  and  which  a  little  ex- 
amination would  have  plainlj'  shown,  now  protested  against  the 
armed  occupation  of  their  soil,  and  innnediately  stopped  the  trade 
and  denied  provisions  to  the  ships.  The  English  traders  were 
ordci'ed  by  the  Connnittee  to  go  aboard  ship,  and  the  governor  re- 
fused to  have  the  least  communication  with  the  admiral  until  the 
troops  were  withdrawn.  He  attempted  to  proceed  to  Canton  in 
armed  boats,  but  was  repulsed,  and  finally,  in  order  not  to  implicate 
the  trade  any  further  (a  step  not  at  all  apprehended  in  protecting 
the  Portuguese),  he  wisely  withdrew  his  troops  and  sailed  for 
India.  The  success  of  the  native  authorities  greatly  rejoiced 
them  ;  a  temple  was  built  on  the  river's  bank  to  commemorate 
their  victory,  and  a  fort,  called  "  Ilowqua's  Folly  "  by  foreignerb 
(since  washed  away),  erected  toguai'd  the  river  at  that  point. 

The  Chinese,  ignorant  of  the  principles  on  which  international 
intercourse  is  regulated  among  western  powers,  regarded  everj 


ATTITUDE  OF  CHINESE  TUWAKD  FOREIGN  TKAUEKS.       457 

hostile  deinoiistratiuii  between  them  in  tlieir  waters  as  directed 
toward  themselves,  and  demanding  their  interference.  Thongh 
often  powerless  to  defend  themselves  against  tlieir  own  piratical 
snbjects,  as  has  been  manifested  again  and  again — for  ex- 
ample, in  1810,  and  also  in  1(500,  when  Koxinga  ravaged  the 
coast — they  still  assnme  that  they  are  able  to  protect  all  for- 
eigners who  "  range  themselves  nnder  their  sway."  This  was 
exhibited  in  1814,  when  the  British  frigate  Doris,  against  all 
the  acknowledged  rights  of  a  nation  over  its  own  waters,  and 
simply  because  it  could  be  done  with  impunity,  cruised  off  the 
])ort  of  C'anton  to  seize  American  vessels.  The  provincial  au- 
thorities ordered  tlie  Committee  to  send  her  away,  saying  that  if 
the  English  and  Americans  had  any  petty  squabbles  they  must 
settle  them  between  themselves  and  not  bring  them  to  China. 
The  Committee  stated  their  inability  to  control  the  proceedings 
of  men-of-war,  whereupon  the  Chinese  began  a  series  of  annoy- 
ances against  the  merchants  and  shipping,  prohibiting  the  em- 
ployment of  native  servants,  entering  their  houses  to  seize 
natives,  molesting  and  stopping  ships'  boats  proceeding  up  and 
down  the  river  on  business,  hindering  the  loading  of  the  ships, 
and  other  like  harassing  acts  so  characteristic  of  Asiatic  govern- 
ments when  they  feel  themselves  powerless  to  cope  with  the 
real  object  of  their  fear  or  anger.  These  measures  proceeded  at 
last  to  such  a  length  that  the  Committee  determined  to  stop  the 
British  trade  until  the  governor  would  allow  it  to  go  on,  as  be- 
fore, without  molestation,  and  they  had  actually  left  Canton  for 
Whampoa,  and  proceeded  down  the  river  some  distance,  before 
he  showed  a  sincere  wish  to  arrange  matters  amicably.  A  de})u- 
tation  from  each  party  accordingly  met  in  Canton,  and  the  prin- 
cipal points  in  dispute  were  at  last  gained.  In  this  affair  the 
Chinese  would  be  adjudged  to  have  been  altogether  in  the  right 
according  to  international  law.  At  this  time  the  governor- 
general  conceded  three  important  points  to  the  Connnittee,  viz., 
the  right  of  corresponding  with  the  government,  under  seal,  in 
the  Chinese  language,  the  unmolested  employment  of  native  ser- 
vants, and  the  assurance  that  the  houses  of  foreigners  should  not 
be  entered  without  permission ;  iior  were  these  stipulations  evei 
retracted  or  violated. 


458  THK    .MIDDLE    KINGDO^f. 

The  proceedings  in  this  affair  were  conducted  with  no  little 
apprehension  on  both  sides,  for  the  value  of  the  traffic  was  of 
such  importance  that  neither  party  could  really  think  of  step- 
ping it.  Besides  the  revenue  accruing  to  government  from 
duties  and  presents,  the  preparation  and  shipment  of  the  articles 
in  demand  fur  foreign  countries  give  employment  to  millions  of 
natives  in  different  parts  of  the  Enipii-e,  and  had  caused  Canton 
to  become  one  of  the  greatest  marts  in  the  world.  The  governor 
and  his  colleagues  were  responsible  for  the  revenne  and  peaceful 
continuance  of  the  trade;  but  througli  their  ignorance  of  the 
true  principles  of  a  prosperous  commerce,  tlieir  fear  of  the  conse- 
quences ]'esidting  from  any  innovation  or  change,  or  the  least 
extension  of  privileges  to  the  few  half-imprisoned  foreigners, 
they  thought  their  security  la}'  rather  in  restriction  than  in 
freedom,  in  a  haughty  bearing  to  intimidate,  and  not  in  concilia- 
tion to  please  their  customers.  On  the  other  hand,  the  existence 
of  the  East  India  Company's  charter  depended  in  a  good  degree 
upon  keeping  a  regular  supply  of  tea  in  England,  and  therefore 
the  success  of  the  Conmiittee's  bold  measure  of  stopping  the 
trade  depended  not  a  little  upon  the  ignorance  of  the  Chinese 
of  the  great  power  a  passive  course  of  action  would  give  them. 

The  government  at  home,  on  learning  these  proceedings,  re- 
solved to  despatch  another  ambassy  to  Peking  in  order  to  stato 
the  facts  of  the  case  at  court,  and  if  possible  agree  upon  somo 
understood  mode  of  conducting  trade  and  communicating  with, 
the  heads  of  government.  Lord  Amherst,  who  like  Lord  Ma- 
cartney had  been  governor-general  of  Lidia,  was  a})pointed 
ambassador  to  Peking,  and  Henry  Ellis  and  Sir  George  T. 
Staunton  associated  with  him  as  second  and  third  commission- 
ers. A  large  suite  of  able  men,  with  Dr.  Morrison  as  princij)al 
interpreter,  accompanied  the  ambassy,  and  the  usual  quantity 
and  variety  of  presents.'  The  mission  reached  the  capital 
August  28,  1816,  but  was  summarily  dismissed  without  an 
audience,  because  the  ambassatlor  would  not  perform  the  kotow 

'  Ellis,  Embassy  to  China,  London,  1840.  Sir  J.  F.  Davis,  Sketclies  of  China, 
2  Vols.,  London,  1841.  Clarke  Abel,  Ndrrative  of  a  Journey  in  the  Interioi 
of  Chiiiii  (111(1  a  Voyaae  to  (iiid  from  that  Country  in  1816  and  1817,  London, 
1»18.     II.  Morrison,  A   View  of  China,  etc.,  Macao,  1817. 


LOKI>    AMHEKST's    embassy   TO    I'KKING.  459 

or  appear  before  his  Majesty  as  soon  as  he  un-ived  ;  tlie  in- 
trigues of  the  authorities  at  Canton  with  the  high  officers  about 
the  Emperor  to  defeat  the  ambassy  by  deceiving  their  master 
have  also  been  adduced  as  reasons  for  its  faihire.  Its  real  fail- 
ure, as  we  can  now  see,  was  owing  to  the  utter  misconception 
of  their  true  position  by  the  Emperor  and  his  officials,  arising 
from  their  ignorance,  pride,  isolation,  and  mendacity,  all  com- 
bining to  keep  them  so  until  resistless  force  should  open  them 
to  meliorating  influences.  It  was  the  last  attempt  of  the  kind, 
and  three  alternatives  only  remained  :  the  resort  to  force  to 
compel  them  to  enter  into  soine  equitable  arrangement,  entire 
submission  to  wdiatever  they  ordered,  or  the  withdrawal  of  all 
trade  until  they  proposed  its  resumption.  The  course  of  events 
continued  the  second  until  the  flrst  was  resorted  to,  and  event- 
uated in  laying  open  the  whole  coast  to  the  enterprise  of  west- 
ern nations. 

At  the  close  of  the  East  India  Company's  exclusive  rights 
in  China,  the  prospect  for  the  continuance  of  a  peaceful  trade 
was  rather  dubious.  The  enterprising  Mr.  Marjoribanks  des- 
patched a  vessel  to  ascertain  how  far  trade  could  be  cari-ied  on 
along  the  coast,  which  resulted  in  satisfactorily  proving  that  the 
authorities  were  able  and  determined  to  stop  all  traffic,  how- 
ever desirous  the  people  might  be  for  it.  The  contraband  trade 
in  opium  was  conducted  in  a  manner  that  threatened  ere  long  to 
involve  the  two  nations,  but  the  Company  nominally  kept  itself 
aloof  from  it  by  bringing  none  in  its  ships:  the  sajne  Com- 
pany, however,  did  everything  in  India  to  encourage  the 
growth  and  saleof  the  drug,  and  received  from  it  at  the  time  of 
its  dissolution  an  annual  revenue  of  neai'ly  two  millions  sterling. 
During  its  whole  existence  in  China  the  East  India  Company 
stood  forward  as  the  defenders  of  the  rights  of  foreigners  and 
humanity,  in  a  manner  which  no  community  of  isolated  mer- 
chants could  have  done,  and  to  some  extent  compelled  the 
Chinese  to  treat  all  more  civilly.  As  a  body  it  did  little  for 
the  encouragement  of  Chinese  literature  or  the  diffusion  of 
Christian  truth  or  of  science  among  the  Chinese,  except  the 
printing  of  Morrison's  Dictionary  and  an  annual  grant  to  the 
Anglo-Chinese  College ;  and  although  Di'.  Morrison  was  their 


460  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

official  translator  fur  twenty-tive  years,  the  directors  never  gavb 
liiiii  tlie  empty  compliment  of  enrolling  him  in  the  list  of  tlieii 
servants,  nor  contributed  one  penny  for  carrying-  on  his  great 
work  of  translating  and  printing  the  Bible  in  Chinese.  They 
set  themselves  against  all  such  efforts,  and  during  a  long  exist- 
ence the  natives  of  that  country  had  no  means  put  into  their 
hands,  by  their  agency,  of  learning  that  there  was  any  great  dif 
ference  in  the  religion,  science,  or  civilization  of  European  na- 
tions and  their  own. 

The  trade  of  the  Americans  to  China  connnenced  in  1784, 
the  first  vessel  having  left  Xew  York  Februaiy  22d  of  that 
year,  and  returned  May  11,  1785  ;  it  was  commanded  by  Cap- 
tain Green,  and  the  supercargo,  Samuel  Shaw,  on  liis  return, 
gave  a  lucid  narrative  of  his  voyage  to  Chief  Justice  Jay.  His 
journal,  published  in  1847,  contains  the  only  lecord  of  this 
voyage,  and  furnishes  many  curious  facts  about  the  political  and 
social  relations  existing  between  foreigners  then  in  China.  Our 
trade  with  China  steadily  increased  after  this  date,  and  has 
been  the  second  in  amount  for  many  years.  The  only  political 
event  in  the  American  intercourse  up  to  1842  was  the  suspen- 
sion of  trade  in  October,  1821,  in  consequence  of  the  homicide 
of  a  Chinese  by  a  sailor  at  Whampoa.  The  American  mer- 
chants were  really  helpless  to  carry  the  trial  of  Terranova  to  a 
just  conclusion  against  the  Chinese  law,  which  peremptorily- 
required  life  for  life  wherever  foreigners  were  concerned,  and 
gave  him  up  on  the  assurance  that  his  life  was  in  no  danger. 
They  are  stated,  in  a  narrative  published  in  the  North  American 
lieview,  to  have  told  llowtpia  at  tlie  trial  on  board  the  Emily 
at  Whampcja,  "We  are  bound  to  submit  to  yowY  laws  while  we 
are  in  your  waters;  be  they  ever  so  unjust,  we  will  not  lesist 
them."  The  poor  man  was  taken  out  of  the  ship  by  force, 
while  all  the  Americans  present  protested  against  the  unfair 
trial  he  had  had  ;  he  was  then  promptly  carried  to  Canton  and 
strangled  at  tlif  public  execution  ground  (October  25) ;  his  body 
was  given  up  next  day,  and  the  trade  reopened.' 

'Shaw's  Jonrnal,  Boston,  1847.  North  Anirrtrm)  Ifrvicir,  Jannary,  IS'^iry. 
ChiiirKP  /iVyw.v/Vo/v/,  So])t('ml)('r,  18:50  Kir  Geo.  T.  Staiiutou's  iVWi'aa  <>/  Ohiiuif 
Becond  editiuii,  pp.  4()'J— lo2,  1850. 


AMERICAN    TKADE   WITH   CIII.N'A.  461 

The  American  Goveninieiit  neither  took  notice  of  this  affaii 
nor  made  remonstrance  against  its  injustice,  but  still  left  the 
commerce,  lives,  and  property  of  its  citizens  wholly  unprotected, 
and  at  the  mercy  of  (Chinese  laws  and  rulers.  The  consuls  at 
Canton  were  merely  merchants,  having  no  salary  from  their 
government,  no  funds  to  emplo}'  interpreters  when  necessary, 
or  any  power  over  their  countrymen,  and  came  and  went  with- 
out the  least  notice  or  acknowledgment  from  the  Chinese. 

The  trade  and  intercourse  of  tlie  Swedes,  Danes,  J'russians, 
Italians,  Austrians,  Peruvians,  Mexicans,  or  Chilians,  at  Can- 
ton, have  been  attended  with  no  peculiarities  or  events  of  any 
moment.  None  of  these  nations  ever  sent  "  tribute  "  to  the 
court  of  the  Son  of  Heaven,  and  their  ships  traded  at  Canton 
on  the  same  footing  with  the  English.  The  voyage  of  Peter 
Osbeck,  chaplain  to  a  Swedish  East  Indiaman,  in  1753,  con- 
tains considerable  information  relating  to  the  mode  of  eon- 
ducting  the  trade  and  the  position  of  foreigners,  who  then 
enjoyed  more  liberty  and  suffered  fewer  extortions  than  in  later 
years.' 

The  termfaii-l'wel,  by  which  they  were  all  alike  called  by  the 
Cantonese,  indicated  the  popular  estimation,  and  this  epithet  of 
^foreign  deviV  did  mnch,  in  the  course  of  years,  to  increase  the 
contempt  and  ill  will  which  it  expressed,  not  only  there  but 
throughout  the  Empire,  for  they  wei-e  thereby  maligned  before 
they  were  known.  Another  term,  /',  has  been  raised  into  notice 
by  its  condenmation  in  the  British  Treaty  as  an  epithet  for 
British  subjects  or  counti'ies.  This  word,  there  rendered  '  har- 
harian,''  conveys  to  a  native  but  little  more  than  the  idea  that 
the  peo]ile  thus  called  do  not  understand  the  Chinese  language 
and  usages,  and  are  consequently  less  civilized.  This  epithet 
harharian  meant  to  the  Greeks  those  who  could  not  speak 
Greek,  as  it  did  to  Shakspeare  those  who  were  not  English ; 
likewise  among  the  Chinese,  under  ^were  included  great  masses 
of  theii-  own  subjects.  By  translating  icai  i  as  '  outside  har- 
hai'imis,''  foreigners  have  been  misrepresented  in  the  status  they 


'  A  Voyage  to  China  and  the  East  Indies,  translated  from  the   Germun  b^ 
Joliu  R.  Forster,  2  vols. ,  Loudou,  1771. 


462  THE  MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

held  among  educated  natives,  \vliich  was  not  that  of  savages 
but  of  tlie  illiteracy  growing  out  of  their  ignorance  of  the 
language  and  writings  of  Confucius. 

The  ancient  Chinese  hooks  speak  of  four  wild  nations  on  the 
four  sides  of  the  country,  viz.,  the  fan,  i,  tih,  man  /  the  first  two 
seem  to  have  been  applied  to  traders  from  the  south  and  west, 
and  grew  into  more  distinct  expressions  because  these  traders 
often  acted  so  outrageously.  Other  terms,  as  "  western  ocean 
men,"  "  far-travelled  strangers,"  and  "  men  f I'om  afar,"  liave 
occasionally  been  substituted  when  i  was  objected  to.  When 
used  as  a  general  term,  without  an  opprobrious  addition,  i  is  as 
well  adapted  as  any  to  denote  all  foreigners  ;  but  the  most  re- 
cent usage  gives  prominence  to  the  terms  ical  hwok  and  yang  jdn 
('  outside  country '  and  '  ocean  man  ').  Among  educated  natives 
the  national  names  are  becoming  more  and  more  common,  as 
Ying  A-wo/i,  Fah  l-woh,  Jlei  hoohy  Teh  kwoh^  for  England, 
France,  Americaj  Germany,  etc. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

ORIGIN  OF  THE  FIRST  WAR  WITH  ENGLAND. 

The  East  India  Company's  commercial  priv^ileges  ceased  in 
1834,  and  it  is  worthy  of  note  that  an  association  should  have 
been  continued  in  the  providence  of  God  as  the  principal  rep- 
resentative of  Christendom  among  the  Chinese,  which  by  its 
character,  its  pecuniary  intei'ests,  and  general  inclination  was 
bound  in  a  manner  to  maintain  peaceful  relations  with  them, 
while  every  other  important  Asiatic  kingdom  and  island,  from 
Arabia  to  Japan,  was  at  one  time  or  another  during  that  period 
the  scene  of  collision,  war,  or  conquest  between  the  nations  and 
their  visitors.  Its  monopoly  ceased  when  westei'n  nations  no 
longer  looked  upon  these  regions  as  objects  of  desire,  nor  went 
to  Rome  to  get  a  privilege  to  seize  or  claim  such  pagan  lands  as 
they  might  discover,  and  when,  too.  Christians  began  to  learn 
and  act  upon  their  duty  to  evangelize  these  ignorant  races. 
China  and  Japan  were  once  open  to  such  agencies  as  well  as 
trade,  but  no  effective  measures  were  taken  to  translate  or  dis- 
tribute the  pure  word  of  God  in  them. 

Believing  that  the  affairs  of  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  are 
ordered  hy  their  Almighty  Governor  with  regard  to  the  fulfil- 
ment of  his  promises  and  the  promulgation  of  his  truth,  the 
first  war  between  England  and  China  is  not  only  one  of  great 
historical  interest,  but  one  whose  future  consequences  cannot 
fail  to  exercise  increasing  influence  upon  many  millions  of  man- 
kind. This  war  was  extraordinary  in  its  origin  as  growing 
chiefly  out  of  a  commercial  misunderstanding  ;  remarkable  in 
its  course  as  being  waged  between  strength  and  weakness,  con- 
scious superiority  and  ignorant  pride  ;  melancholy  in  its  end 
as  forcing  the  weaker  to  pay  for  the  opium  within   its  borders 


464  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

against  all  its  laws,  thus  paralyzing  the  little  moral  pcrsi  its 
feeble  government  could  exert  to  protect  its  subjects  ;  and  mo- 
mentous in  its  results  as  introducing,  on  a  basis  of  acknow! 
edged  obligations,  one-half  of  the  world  to  the  other,  without 
any  arrogant  demands  from  the  victors  or  humiliating  conces- 
sions  from  the  vanquished.  It  was  a  turning-point  in  the  na- 
tional life  of  the  Chinese  race,  but  the  compulsory  payment  of 
six  million  dollars  for  the  opium  destroyed  has  left  a  stignui 
upon  the  English  name. 

In  1834  the  select  Committee  of  the  East  India  Company  re- 
peated its  notice  given  in  1831  to  the  authorities  at  Canton, 
that  its  ships  would  no  longer  come  to  China,  and  that  a  king's 
officer  would  be  sent  out  as  chief  to  manage  the  affairs  of  the 
British  trade.  The  only  "  chief  "  whom  the  Chinese  expected 
to  receive  was  a  commercial  headman,  qualified  to  communicate 
with  their  officers  by  petition,  through  the  usual  and  legal 
medium  of  the  hong  merchants.  The  English  Government 
justly  deemed  the  change  one  of  considerable  importance,  and 
concluded  that  the  oversight  of  their  subjects  and  the  great 
trade  they  conducted  required  a  commission  of  experienced  men. 
The  Tit.  Hon.  Lord  Xapier  was  consequently  appointed  as  chief 
superintendent  of  British  trade,  and  ari'ived  at  Macao  July  15, 
1834,  where  were  associated  with  him  in  the  commission  John 
F.  Davis  and  Sir  G.  B.  Bobinson,  formerly  servants  of  the 
Company,  and  a  number  of  secretaries,  surgeons,  chaplains,  in- 
terpreters, etc.,  whose  miited  salaries  amounted  to  $91,000. 
On  arriving  at  Canton  the  tide-waiters  officially  repoi'ted  that 
three  "  foreign  devils  "  had  landed.  As  soon  as  Governor  Lu 
had  learned  that  Lord  Xapier  had  ]-eached  Macao,  he  ordered 
the  hong  merchants  to  go  down  and  intimate  to  him  that  he 
nuist  remain  there  until  he  obtained  legal  permission  to  come 
to  Canton  ;  for,  having  received  no  orders  from  couit  as  to  the 
manner  in  which  he  should  treat  the  English  su[)erintendent, 
lie  thought  it  the  safest  plan  to  adhere  to  the  old  regulations. 

Lord  Napier  had  been  ordered  to  report  himself  to  the  gover- 
nor at  Canton  7j>/  lette/'.  A  short  extract  from  his  instructions 
will  show  the  intentions  of  the  English  (iovei'iiment  in  constitut- 
ing the  connnission,  and   the  entirely  wrong  views  it   had  of 


lORD  NAriKK  Sri'EllINTENDENT  OK  HKI'ilSII    I'KADK.      465 

the  notions  of  the  Cliinesc  respecting  foreign  intercourse,  and 
the  character  they  gave  to  the  English  authorities.  Lord  Pal- 
mer ston  says : 

In  addition  to  the  duty  of  protecting  and  fostering  the  trade  of  his  Ma- 
jesty's subjects  with  the  port  of  Canton,  it  will  be  one  of  your  principal  objects 
to  ascertain  whether  it  may  not  be  practicable  to  extend  that  trade  to  otlier 
parts  of  the  Chinese  dominions.  .  .  .  It  is  obvious  that,  with  a  view  to  the 
attainment  of  this  object,  the  establishment  of  direct  communications  with 
the  jiort  of  Peking  would  be  desirable  ;  and  you  will  accordingly  diiect  your 
attention  to  discover  the  best  means  of  preparing  the  way  for  such  communi- 
cations, bearing  constantly  in  mind,  liowever,  that  j)ecnliar  caution  and  cir 
cumspection  will  be  indispensable  on  this  point,  lest  you  should  awaken  the 
fears  or  offend  the  prejudices  of  the  Chinese  Government,  and  thus  put  to 
hazard  even  the  existing  opportunities  of  intercourse  by  a  precipitate  attempt 
to  extend  them  In  conformity  with  this  caution  you  will  abstain  from  enter- 
ing into  any  new  relations  or  negotiations  with  the  Chinese  authorities,  except 
under  very  urgent  and  unforeseen  circumstances.  But  if  any  opportunity  for 
such  negotiations  should  appear  to  you  to  present  itself,  you  will  lose  no  time 
in  reporting  the  circumstance  to  his  Majesty's  government,  and  in  asking 
for  instructions ;  but  previously  to  the  receipt  of  such  instructions  you  will 
adopt  no  proceedings  but  such  as  may  have  a  general  tendency  to  convince  the 
Chinese  authorities  of  the  sincere  desire  of  the  king  to  cultivate  the  most 
friendly  relations  with  the  Emperor  of  China,  and  to  join  with  him  in  any 
measures  likely  to  promote  the  happiness  and  prosperity  of  their  respective 
Bubjects. 

(jrovernor  Lu's  messengers  arrived  too  late  to  detain  the 
British  superintendent  at  Macao,  and  a  military  officer  des- 
patched to  intercept  liun  passed  him  on  the  way ;  so  that  the 
first  intimation  the  latter  received  of  the  governor's  disposition 
was  in  an  edict  addressed  to  tlie  hong  merchants,  from  which 
two  paragraphs  are  extracted  : 

On  ■  this  occasion  the  barbarian  eye,  Lord  Napier,  has  come  to  Canton 
witliout  having  at  all  resided  at  Macao  to  wait  for  orders  ;  nor  has  he  requested 
or  received  a  permit  from  the  superintendent  of  customs,  but  has  hastily  come 
up  to  Canton— a  great  infringement  of  the  established  laws!  The  custom- 
house waiters  and  others  who  presumed  to  admit  liim  to  enter  are  sent  with  a 
communication  requiring  their  trial.  But  in  tender  consideration  for  the  said 
barbarian  eye  being  a  new-comer,  and  unacquainted  with  the  statutes  and  laws 
of  the  Celestial  Empire,  I  will  not  strictly  investigate.  .  .  .  As  to  liis  object 
in  coming  to  Canton,  it  is  for  commercial  business.  The  Celestial  Empire  ap- 
points officers,  civil  ones  to  rule  the  people,  military  ones  to  intimidate  the 
-nicked.  The  petty  affairs  of  commerce  are  to  be  directed  by  the  merclianta 
themselves  :  the  officers  have  nothing  to  hear  on  the  subject.  ...  If  any 
affair  is  to  be  newly  commenced,  it  is  necessary  to  wait  till  a  respectful  me- 


466  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

morial  be  made,  clearly  reporting  it  to  the  great  Emperor,  and  hi?  mandate  h? 
received  ;  the  great  ministers  of  the  Celestial  Empire  are  not  permitted  to 
have  intercourse  by  letters  with  outside  barbarians.  If  the  said  barbarian 
eye  throws  in  private  letters,  I,  the  governor,  will  not  at  all  receive  or  look  at 
them.  With  regard  to  the  foreign  factory  of  the  Company  without  the  walls 
of  the  city,  it  is  a  place  of  temporary  residence  for  foreigners  coming  to  Can- 
ton to  trade  ;  they  are  permitted  only  to  eat,  sleep,  buy  and  sell  in  the  facto- 
ries ;  they  are  not  allowed  to  go  out  to  ramble  about. ' 

How  unlike  were  these  two  docunients  and  the  expectations 
of  their  writers !  The  governor  felt  that  it  was  safest  to  wait 
for  an  imperial  mandate  before  commencing  a  new  affair,  and 
refused  to  receive  a  letter  from  a  foreign  officer.  Had  he  done 
so  he  would  have  laid  himself  open  to  reprimand  and  perhaps 
punishment  from  his  superiors ;  and  in  saying  that  the  superin- 
tendent should  report  himself  and  apply  for  a  permit  before 
coming  to  Canton,  he  only  required  what  the  members  of  the 
Company  had  always  done  when  they  returned  from  their  sum 
mer  vacation  at  Macao.  Lord  Xapier  thought  he  had  tlie  same 
liberty  to  come  to  Canton  without  announcing  himself  that 
other  and  private  foreigners  exercised  ;  but  an  officer  of  his 
rank  would  have  pleased  the  Chinese  authorities  better  by  ob- 
servino;  their  regulations.  He  had  thought  of  this  contingencv 
before  leaving  England,  aiid  had  requested  "  that  in  case  of 
necessity  he  might  have  authority  to  treat  with  the  government 
at  Peking  ;  "  this  request  being  denied,  he  desired  that  his  ap- 
pointment to  Canton  might  be  announced  at  the  capital  ;  this 
not  being  granted,  he  wished  that  a  connnunication  from  the 
home  authorities  might  be  addressed  to  the  governor  of  Can- 
ton ;  but  this  was  deemed  inexpedient,  and  he  was  directed  to 
''  go  to  Canton  and  report  himself  by  letter."  These  reasonable 
requests  involved  no  loss  of  dignity,  but  the  court  of  St.  James 
chose  to  send  out  a  superintendent  of  trade,  an  officer  partaking 
of  both  ministerial  and  consular  powers,  and  ordered  him  to 
act  in  a  certain  manner,  involving  a  violation  of  the  regulations 
of  the  country  where  he  was  going,  without  providing  for  tlic 
alternative  of  his  rejection. 

'  (Jorrcspondenee  relatimj  to  China  (Blue  Book),  p.  4.     Chinese  Bepository, 
Vol.  III.,  p.  188  ;  Vol.  XL,  p.  188. 


HIS    LETTER    REJECTED    I5Y    GOVERNOR   LU.  467 

To  Canton,  therefore,  lie  came,  and  tlie  next  day  reported 
himself  by  letter  to  the  governor,  sending  it  to  the  city  gates. 
His  lordship  was  directed  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  hong 
merchants ;  and  therefore  when  they  waited  upon  him  the 
morning  of  his  arrival,  with  the  edict  they  had  been  sent  down 
to  Macao  to  "  enjoin  npon  him,"  he  courteously  dismissed  them, 
with  an  intimation  that  "he  would  connnunicate  innnediately 
with  the  viceroy  in  the  manner  befitting  his  Majesty's  commis- 
sion and  the  honor  of  the  Bi-itish  nation."  The  account  of  the  re- 
ception of  his  communication  is  taken  from  his  correspondence : 

On  the  arrival  of  the  party  at  the  city  gates,  the  soldier  on  guard  was  des- 
patched to  report  the  circumstance  to  liis  superior.  In  less  than  a  quarter  of 
an  hour  an  officer  of  inferior  rank  appeared,  whereupon  Mr.  Astell  offered  my 
letter  for  transmission  to  the  viceroy,  which  duty  this  officer  declined,  addiner 
that  his  superior  was  on  his  way  to  the  spot.  In  the  course  of  an  hour  several 
officers  of  nearly  equal  rank  arrived  in  succession,  each  refusing  to  deliver  the 
letter  on  the  plea  that  higher  officers  would  shortly  attend.  After  an  hour's 
delay,  during  which  time  the  party  were  treated  with  much  indignity,  not 
unusual  on  such  occasions,  the  linguists  and  hong  merchants  arrived,  who  en- 
treated to  become  the  bearers  of  the  letter  to  the  viceroy.  About  this  time 
an  officer  of  rank  higher  than  any  of  those  who  had  preceded  him  joined  the 
party,  to  whom  the  letter  was  in  due  form  offered,  and  as  formally  refused. 
The  officer  having  seen  the  superscrijition  on  the  letter,  argued,  that  "as  it 
came  from  the  superintendent  of  trade,  the  hong  merchants  were  the  proper 
channels  of  communication :  "  but  this  obstacle  appeared  of  minor  importance 
in  their  eyes,  upon  ascertaining  that  the  document  was  styled  a  letter,  and  not 
&  petition.  The  linguists  requested  to  be  allowed  a  copy  of  the  address,  which 
was  of  course  refused. 

About  this  time  the  kicang-hielt,  a  military  officer  of  the  rank  of  colonel, 
accompanied  by  an  officer  a  little  inferior  to  himself,  arrived  on  the  spot,  to 
whom  the  letter  was  offered  three  several  times  and  as  often  refused.  The 
senior  hong  merchant,  Howqua,  after  a  private  conversation  with  the  colonel, 
requested  to  be  allowed  to  carry  the  letter  in  company  with  him  and  ascertain 
whether  it  would  be  received.  This  being  considered  as  an  insidious  attempt 
to  circumvent  the  directions  of  the  superintendents,  a  negative  was  made  to 
this  and  other  overtures  of  a  similar  tendency.  Suddenly  all  the  officers  took 
their  departure  for  the  purpose,  as  it  was  afterward  ascertained,  of  consulting 
with  the  viceroy.  Nearly  three  hours  having  been  thus  lost  within  the  city, 
Mr.  Astell  determined  to  wait  a  reasonable  time  for  the  return  of  the  officers, 
who  shortly  afterward  reassembled  ;  whereupon  Mr.  Astell  respectfully  ofEered 
the  letter  in  question  three  separate  times  to  the  colonel  and  afterward  to  the 
other  officers,  all  of  whom  distinctly  refused  even  to  touch  it;  upon  which  the 
party  returned  to  the  factory. ' 

*  Chinese  Bepositori/,  Vol.  XI. ,  p.  27. 


468  THK   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

Tlie  goveriKir  ]e})orted  this  oecurreiu'e  at  court  in  a  meinorial, 
in  wliicli,  after  stating  that  his  predecessor  liad  instructed  the 
Company's  supercargoes  to  malce  arrangements  tluit  "a  ?'«//7<;ni 
[or  supercargo,  the  word. being  applied  to  all  foreign  consuls] 
acquainted  with  affairs  should  still  be  appointed  to  come  to 
Canton  to  conti'ol  and  direct  the  trade,"  he  states  what  had  oc- 
curred, and  adds : 

The  said  Larbarian  eye  would  not  receive  tlie  hong  merchants,  but  after- 
M'ard  repaired  to  the  outside  of  the  city  to  present  a  letter  to  me,  your  Majesty's 
minister,  Lu.  On  the  face  of  the  envelope  the  forms  and  style  of  equality  were 
used,  and  there  were  absurdly  written  the  characters  Ta  Thuj  kiroh  ['Great  Eng- 
lish nation  '].  Now  it  is  plain  on  the  least  reflection,  that  in  keeping  the  central 
and  outside  [people]  apart,  it  is  of  the  highest  importance  to  maintain  dignity 
and  sovereignty.  Whether  the  said  barbarian  eye  has  or  has  not  otficial  rank 
there  are  no  means  of  thoroughly  ascertaining.  But  though  he  be  really  an 
ofTicor  of  the  said  nation,  he  yet  cannot  write  letters  on  equality  with  the 
frontier  officers  of  the  Celestial  Empire.  As  the  thing  concerned  the  national 
dignity,  it  was  inexpedi'^nt  in  the  least  to  allow  a  tendency  to  any  approach  or 
advance  by  which  lightness  of  esteem  might  be  occasioned.  Accordingly  orders 
Mere  given  to  Ilan  Shau-king,  the  colonel  in  command  of  the  military  forces 
of  this  department,  to  tell  him  authoritatively  that,  by  the  statutes  and  enact- 
ments of  the  Celestial  Empire,  there  has  never  been  intercourse  by  letters  with 
outside  barbarians ;  that,  respecting  commercial  matters,  petitions  must  be 
made  through  the  medium  of  the  hong  merchants,  and  that  it  is  not  permitted 
to  offer  or  present  letters.  .  .  .  On  humble  examination  it  appears  that 
the  commerce  of  the  English  barbarians  has  hitherto  been  managed  by  the 
hong  merchants  and  taipans ;  there  has  never  been  a  barbarian  e^-e  to  form  a 
precedent.  Now  it  is  suddenly  desired  to  appoint  an  officer,  a  superintendent, 
which  is  not  in  accordance  with  old  regulations.  Besides,  if  the  said  nation 
has  formed  this  decision,  it  still  should  have  stated  in  a  petition  the  affairs 
which,  and  the  way  how,  such  superintendent  is  to  manage,  so  that  a  memorial 
miglit  be  presented  requesting  yovir  Majesty's  mandate  and  pleasure  as  to  what 
should  be  refused,  in  order  that  obedience  might  be  paid  to  it  and  the  same  be 
acted  on  accordingly.  But  tlie  said  barbarian  eye,  Lord  Napier,  wjthout  having 
made  any  plain  nqiort,  suddenly  came  to  the  barbarian  factories  outside  the 
city  to  reside,  and  presumed  to  desire  intercourse  to  and  fro  by  official  docu- 
ments and  letters  with  the  officers  of  the  Central  Flowery  Land  ;  this  was,  in- 
deed, far  out  of  the  bounds  of  reason.' 

The  governor  here  intimates  that  the  intention  of  his  govern- 
ment in  requesting  a  taijpan  to  come  to  Canton  was  only  to  have 
a  responsible  officer  with  whom  to  communicate.     In  refusing 

'^  Cliinese  Bepouionji  Vol.  III.,  p.  327. 


CONTEST  BETWEEN  THE  COVEIINOR  AXD  NAPIER.      460 

to  receiv^e  an  'eye,"  or  superintendent,  therefore,  lie  did  not,  in  his 
own  view  of  the  case,  suppose  that  he  was  refusing,  nor  did  he 
or  tlie  court  of  Peking  intend  to  refuse,  the  residence  of  a  super- 
cargo, for  they  were  desirous  to  have  responsible  heads  appointed 
over  the  connnerce  and  subjects  of  every  ration  trading  at 
Canton.  These  occurrences  were  discussed  by  the  Hon.  John 
Quincy  Adams  in  his  lecture  upon  the  war  with  China,  delivered 
in  1841,  in  which  he  alleged  that  the  rejection  of  Lord  JSTapier's 
letter  and  mission  was  a  sufficient  reason  for  the  subsequent  con- 
test, lie  showed  the  impolicy  of  allowing  the  Chinese  ideas  of 
supremacy  over  other  nations,  and  exhibited  their  natural  re- 
sults in  the  degraded  position  of  foreigners.  He  liad,  however, 
only  an  imperfect  conception  of  the  strength  of  this  assumption, 
but  it  was  not  debated  in  this  contest  between  Governor  Lu  and 
Lord  Napier.  The  former  was  not  blameworthy  for  endeavor- 
ing to  carry  the  laws  of  his  own  country  into  execution,  while 
the  latter  was  doing  his  best  to  obey  the  instructions  of  his  own 
sovereign.  The  question  of  the  propriety  of  those  laws,  involv- 
ing as  they  did  the  supremacy  of  the  Emperor  over  the  English, 
or  the  feasibility  of  those  instructions,  could  only  he  discussed 
and  settled  by  their  principals.  Whether  this  assumption  was 
a  proper  ground  of  hostilities  is  altogether  another  question. 
When  Lord  Napier's  letter  was  rejected  he  would  probably  have 
referred  home  to  his  government  for  further  instructions  if  it 
had  intended  to  settle  the  question  of  supremacy,  but  he  did  not 
do  so,  nor  did  the  ministry  refer  to  it  or  remonstrate  against  the 
unhandsome  treatment  their  representative  received. 

The  refusal  of  Lord  Napier  to  confer  with  the  hong  mer- 
chants, and  of  the  governor  to  receive  any  communication  ex- 
cept a  petition,  placed  the  two  parties  in  an  awkward  position. 
In  his  letter  the  former  stated  the  object  of  his  coming  to  Can- 
ton, and  requested  that  his  excellency  Avould  aecoi-d  him  an  in- 
terview in  order  that  their  future  intercoui'se  might  be  arranged  ; 
and  considering  the  desirableness  of  giving  him  accurate  views, 
the  party  at  the  gate  would  have  acted  M'isely  in  permitting  the 
hong  merchants  to  take  it  to  him.  The  governor  was  irritated 
and  alarmed,  and  vented  his  anger  upon  the  unfortunate  hong 
merchants.     These  had  two  or  three  interviews  with  Lord  Na' 


470  THE  middlp:  kingdom. 

pier  after  the  rejection  of  the  letter,  but  as  tliey  now  said  it 
Mould  not  be  received  unless  superscribed  _^??';i,  or  '  petition.' 
they  were  dismissed.  Having  heard  that  there  was  a  party 
among  the  British  residents  in  Canton  who  disapproved  of  the 
proceedings  of  the  superintendent,  they  vainly  endeavored  to 
call  a  meeting  of  the  disaffected  on  the  10th  of  August,  while  his 
lordship  assembled  all  of  his  countrymen  next  day,  and  found 
that  they  generally  approved  of  his  conduct.  On  the  14th  he 
reviews  his  position  in  consequence  of  the  rejection  of  his  letter 
ivad  tlie  subsecpient  conduct  of  the  governor.  After  recom- 
mending the  renewal  of  the  effort  to  open  better  understood 
relations  with  the  court  of  Peking  by  a  demand  upon  the  Em- 
peror to  allow  the  same  privileges  to  all  foreigners  residing  in 
China  which  Chinese  received  in  foreign  countries,  he  goes  on 
to  say : 

My  present  position  is,  in  one  i)oint  of  view,  <a  delicate  one,  because  the 
trade  is  put  in  jeopardy  on  account  of  the  difference  existing  between  the  vice- 
roy and  myself.  I  am  ordered  by  his  Majesty  to  "  go  to  Canton  and  tliere  re- 
port myself  by  letter  to  the  viceroy."  I  use  my  best  endeavors  to  do  so  ;  but 
the  viceroy  is  a  presumptuous  savage,  and  will  not  grant  the  same  privileges 
to  me  that  have  been  exercised  constantly  by  the  chiefs  of  the  committee. 
He  rakes  up  obsolete  orders,  or  perhaps  makes  them  for  the  occasion  ;  but 
the  fact  is,  the  chiefs  used  formerly  to  wait  on  the  viceroy  on  their  return 
from  Macao,  and  continued  to  do  it  nntil  the  viceroy  gave  them  an  order  to 
wait  upon  him,  whereupon  they  gave  the  practice  iip.  Had  I  even  degraded 
the  king's  commission  so  far  as  to  petition  through  the  liong  merchants  for  an 
interview,  it  is  quite  clear  by  the  tenor  of  the  edicts  that  it  would  have  been 
refused.  Were  he  to  send  an  armed  force  and  order  me  to  the  boat,  I  could 
then  retreat  with  honor,  and  he  would  implicate  himself;  but  they  are  afraid 
to  attempt  such  a  measure.  What  then  remains  but  the  stoppage  of  the  trade 
or  my  retirement  ?  If  the  trade  is  stopped  for  any  length  of  time  the  conse- 
c[uences  to  the  merchants  are  most  serious,  as  they  are  also  to  the  unoffending 
Chinese.  But  the  viceroy  cares  no  more  for  commerce,  or  for  the  comfort 
and  happiness  of  the  people  as  long  as  he  receives  his  pay  and  plunder,  than 
if  he  did  not  live  among  them.  My  situation  is  different ;  I  cannot  hazard 
millions  of  property  for  any  length  of  time  on  the  mere  score  of  etiquette.  If 
the  trade  shall  be  stopped,  which  is  probable  enough  in  the  absence  of  the  fri- 
gate, it  is  possible  I  may  be  obliged  to  retire  to  Macao  to  let  it  loose  again. 
Then  lias  the  viceroy  gained  his  point  and  the  commission  is  degraded.  Now, 
my  lord,  I  argue  that  whether  the  commission  retires  by  force  of  arms  or  by 
tlie  injustice  practised  on  the  merchants,  the  viceroy  has  committed  an  outrage 
on  the  Britisli  crown  which  should  be  e(jually  chastised.  The  whole  system 
of  government  here  is  that  of  subterfuge  and  shifting  the  blame  from  tlia 


oppositp:  vikus  of  the  two  parties,  471 

shoulders  of  the  one  to  the  other.  ...  I  shall  not  go,  however,  without 
jiublishini;  in  Cliinese  and  disseminating  far  and  wide  the  base  conduct  of  the 
viceroy  in  oppressing  the  merchants,  native  as  well  as  foreign,  and  of  my  hav- 
ing taken  the  step  out  of  pure  compassion  to  them.  I  can  only  once  more 
implore  your  lordship  to  force  them  to  acknowledge  my  authority  and  the 
king's  commission,  and  if  you  can  do  that  you  will  have  no  difficulty  in  open- 
ing the  ports  at  the  same  time. ' 

Such  were  the  sentiments  and  desires  which  filled  the  mind 
of  the  English  superintendent.  He  is  in  error  in  saying  that 
the  governor  ■would  not  grant  him  the  same  privileges  as  had 
been  accorded  to  the  chiefs  of  the  Companj-.  The  present  ques- 
tion was  not  about  having  an  interview,  but  regarding  the 
superscription  of  his  letter  ;  for  the  chiefs  of  the  Company 
sent  their  sealed  communications  through  the  hong  merchants 
as  petitions.  The  governor  stopped  the  English  trade  on  the 
16tli,  and  two  days  after  issued  an  explanatory  paper  in  reply 
to  the  report  that  his  orders  on  that  subject  had  been  carried 
into  effect.  This  document  sets  forth  his  determination  to  up- 
hold the  old  regulations,  and  a  few  sentences  from  it  are  here 
introduced  as  a  contrast  with  the  preceding  despatch.  The 
conviction  of  the  governor  in  the  supremacy  of  his  Emperor 
over  all  foreign  nations  which  had  sent  embassies  to  his  court, 
and  his  own  official  position  making  him  responsible  for  suc- 
cessfully maintaining  the  laws  over  foreigners,  must  be  borne 
in  mind  : 

To  refer  to  England :  slrould  an  official  personage  from  a  foreign  country 
proceed  to  the  said  nation  for  the  arrangement  of  any  business,  how  could  he 
neglect  to  have  the  object  of  his  coming  announced  in  a  memorial  to  tlie  said 
nation's  king,  or  how  could  he  act  contrary  to  the  requirements  of  the  said 
nation's  dignity,  doing  his  own  will  and  pleasure?  Since  the  said  barbarian 
eye  states  that  he  is  an  official -personage,  he  ought  to  be  more  thoroughly  ac- 
quainted with  these  principles.  Before,  when  he  offered  a  letter,  I,  the  gov- 
ernor, saw  it  inexpedient  to  receive  it,  because  the  established  laws  of  the 
Celestial  Empire  do  not  permit  ministers  and  those  under  authority  to  have 
private  intercourse  by  letter  with  outside  barbarians,  but  have,  hitherto,  in 
commercial  affairs,  held  the  merchants  responsible  ;  and  if  perchance  any  bar- 
barian merchant  should  have  any  petition  to  make  requesting  the  investigation 
of  any  affair,  [the  laws  require]  that  by  the  said  ttiipiiu  a  duly  prepared 
petition  should  be  in  form  presented,  and  an  answer  by  proclamation  awaited. 
There  has  never  been  such  a  thing  as  outside  barbarians  sending  in  a  letter. 

*  Chinese  Repositoi-y,  Vol.  XV.,  p.  68. 


472  tup:  .middle  kingdom. 

He  then  says  that  there  had  iic'ver  been  any  official  corre- 
spondence to  and  fro  between  the  native  officers  and  tlie  bar- 
barian merchants ;  by  this  he  means  a  correspondence  ol 
equality,  which  the  Chinese  Government  had  indeed  never 
yielded.  The  idea  of  supremacy  never  leaves  him — witness, 
for  example,  the  following  strain,  peculiarly  Chinese  : 

The  hong  merchants,  because  the  said  barbarian  eye  will  not  adhere  to  the 
old  regulations,  have  requested  that  a  stop  should  be  put  to  the  said  nation's 
commerce.  This  manifests  a  profound  knowledge  of  the  great  principles  of 
dignity.  It  is  most  highly  praiseworthy.  Lord  Napier's  perverse  opposition 
necessarily  demands  such  a  mode  of  procedure,  and  it  would  be  most  right 
immediately  to  put  a  stop  to  buying  and  selling.  But  considering  that  the 
said  nation's  king  has  hitherto  been  in  the  highest  degree  reverently  obedient, 
he  cannot  in  sending  Lord  Napier  at  this  time  have  desired  him  thus  obsti- 
nately to  resist.  The  some  hundreds  of  thousands  of  commercial  duties  yearly 
coming  from  the  said  country  concern  not  the  Celestial  Empire  the  extent  of 
a  hair  or  a  feather's  down.  The  possession  or  absence  of  them  is  utterly  un- 
worthy of  one  careful  thought.  Their  broadcloths  and  camlets  are  still  more 
unimportant,  and  of  no  regard.  But  the  tea,  the  rhubarb,  the  raw  silk  of  the 
Inner  Land,  are  the  sources  by  which  the  said  nation's  people  live  and  nuiiu- 
tain  life.  For  the  fault  of  one  man,  Lord  Napier,  must  the  livelihood  of  the 
whole  nation  be  precipitately  cut  off?  I,  the  governor,  looking  up  and  em- 
bodying the  great  Emperor's  most  sacred,  most  divine  wish,  to  nurse  and  ten- 
derly cherish  as  one  all  that  are  without,  feel  that  I  cannot  bring  my  mind  to 
bear  it !  Besides,  all  the  merchants  of  the  said  nation  dare  dangers,  crossing 
the  seas  myriads  of  miles  to  come  from  far.  Their  hopes  rest  wholly  in  the 
attainment  of  gain  by  buying  and  selling.  That  they  did  not  attend  when 
summoned  by  the  hong  merchants  to  a  meeting  for  consultation,  was  because 
they  were  under  the  direction  of  Lord  Napier  ;  it  assuredly  did  not  proceed 
from  the  several  merchants'  own  free  will.  Sliould  the  trade  be  wholly  cut 
off  in  one  morning,  it  would  cause  great  distress  to  many  persons,  who,  hav- 
ing travelled  hither  by  land  and  sea,  would  by  one  man,  Lord  Napier,  be 
ruined.  They  cannot  in  such  case  but  be  utterly  depressed  with  grief.  .  .  . 
I  hear  the  said  eye  is  a  man  of  very  solid  ai\d  expansive  mind  and  placid 
speech.  If  he  consider,  he  can  himself  doubtless  distingaiish  right  and 
wrong:  let  him  on  no  account  permit  himself  to  be  deluded  by  men  around 
him.  .  .  .  Hereafter,  when  the  said  nation's  king  liears  respecting  these 
repeated  orders  and  official  replies,  [he  will  know]  that  the  whole  wrong  lies 
on  the  barbarian  eye  ;  it  is  in  nowise  owing  to  any  want  on  the  part  of  the 
Celestial  Empire  of  extreme  consideration  for  the  virtue  of  reverential  obedi- 
ence exercised  by  the  said  nation's  king. ' 

He  consequently  sent  a  deputation  of  officials  to  Lord  Na- 
pier to  inquire  'why  he  had  come  to  Canton,  what  business  he 

'  Chinese  Bejwsitori/,  Vol.  III.,  p.  235. 


CHINESE    IDEAS    OV    SUPREMACY.  473 

was  appointed  to  perform,  and  wlien  lie  would  retire  to  Macao. 
The  letter  was  again  handed  them,  but  the  superscription  still 
remained,  and  they  refused  to  touch  it.  They,  however,  leariuKl 
enoujj'h  to  be  able  to  inform  their  master  what  he  wished  to 
know :  the  real  point  of  dispute  between  the  two  could  only  be 
settled  between  their  sovereigns.  The  governor  by  this  depu 
tation  showed  a  desire  to  make  some  arrangement,  and  the 
trade  would  probably  have  been  shortly  reopened  had  not  Lord 
Kapier  carried  out  his  idea,  two  days  after,  of  appealing  to  the 
people  in  order  to  explain  the  reasons  why  the  governor  had 
stopped  the  trade  and  brought  distress  on  them.  The  paper 
simply  detailed  the  principal  events  which  had  occurred  since 
his  arrival,  laying  the  blame  upon  the*"  ignorance  and  obsti- 
nacy "  of  the  governor  in  refusing  to  receive  his  letter,  and 
closino;  with — "  The  merchants  of  Great  Britain  wish  to  trade 
with  all  China  on  principles  of  mutual  benefit ;  they  will  never 
relax  in  their  exertions  till  they  gain  a  point  of  equal  impor- 
tance to  both  countries ;  and  the  viceroy  will  find  it  as  easy  to 
stop  the  current  of  the  Canton  River  as  to  carry  into  effect  the 
insane  determination  of  the  hong." 

In  many  of  the  former  proceedings  between  the  Chinese  and 
foreigners,  based  as  they  were  upon  incorrect  ideas,  the  rules  of 
diplomacy  elsewhere  observed  formed  no  guide  ;  but  the  pub- 
lication of  this  statement  was  unwise  and  dangerous.  Xot 
only  did  it  jeopardize  the  lives  and  property  of  British  subjects, 
but  of  all  other  foreigners  residing  at  Canton,  to  whose  safety 
and  interests,  as  involved  with  his  own  dispute.  Lord  Napier 
makes  no  reference  in  his  despatches.  Happily,  Governor  Lu 
did  not  appease  his  irritation  by  letting  loose  the  populace  of 
Canton,  which  was  highly  excited,  but  by  imprisoning  mem- 
bers of  the  co-hong  for  allowing  the  superintendent  to  come  to 
the  city. 

The  governor  and  his  colleagues  stopped  the  English  trade 
on  September  2d,  in  a  proclamation  containing  many  inac- 
curate statements  and  absurd  reasonings,  in  which  he  for- 
bade either  natives  or  foreigners  to  give  aid  or  comfort  to  Lord 
Xapier.  Communication  with  the  shipping  at  AV^hampoa  was 
also  interdicted,  so  that,  in  reality,  the  entire  foreign  trade  was 


474  TIIK    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

interrupted.  A  guard  of  Chinese  truops  was  placed  near  tlio 
(\)nipany's  factoiy,  but  no  personal  distress  was  felt  on  account 
of  the  interdict.  11.  B.  M.  frigates  Andromache  and  Imogene 
were  ordered  up  to  protect  the  shipping  and  persons  of  British 
subjects,  and  the  two  vessels  anchored  at  Whanipoa  on  the  11th. 
In  their  passage  through  the  Bogue  they  returned  the  fire  fi-om 
the  forts,  with  little  damage  to  either  ;  and  on  anchoring,  a  lieu- 
tenant and  boat's  crew  were  despatched  to  Canton  to  protect 
the  English  factory.  These  decisive  proceedings  troubled  the 
native  authorities  not  a  little,  who,  on  their  part,  prepared  for 
stronger  measures  by  blocking  up  the  river  and  stationing 
troops  about  Whampoa,  but  were  relieved  when  they  found 
that  the  ships  remained*  at  their  anchorage. 

Lord  Xapier  sent  a  protest  against  the  proceedings  of  the 
governor  in  stopping  the  trade,  through  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce and  hong  merchants  ;  but  at  this  juncture  his  health  gave 
way  so  rapidly  that  three  days  after  the  frigates  had  anchored 
he  decided  to  return  to  Macao  and  wait  for  insti'uctions.  Tlie 
Chinese  detained  him  on  his  passage  down  until  the  ships  were 
out  of  the  river;  but  he  sank  and  died  October  11th,  a  fort- 
night after  reaching  that  city.  As  soon  as  he  left  Canton  the 
trade  was  reopened.  On  hearing  that  the  ships  had  reached 
AVhampoa,  the  Emperor  degraded  or  suspended  all  the  officials 
who  had  been  in  any  way  responsible  ;  but  when  he  learned 
that  "  Lord  Xapier  had  been  driven  out,  and  the  two  ships  of 
war  dragged  over  the  shallows  and  expelled,"  he  restored  most 
of  those  whom  he  had  thus  punished.  The  governor  also  vented 
his  indignation  upon  ten  of  his  subordinates,  by  subjecting  them 
to  torture  in  order  to  "ascertain  if  they  were  guilty  of  illicit 
connection  with  foreigners."  The  drama  was  closed  on  the  part 
of  the  Chinese  by  an  imperial  mandate :  "  The  English  bar- 
barians have  an  open  market  in  the  Inner  Land,  but  there  has 
hitherto  been  no  interchange  of  official  communications.  Yet 
it  is  absoluteh'  requisite  that  there  should  be  a  person  possess- 
ing general  control,  to  have  the  special  direction  of  affairs ; 
wherefore  let  the  govei'uor  innnediately  order  the  hong  mer- 
chants to  conmiand  the  said  separate  merchants,  that  they 
send  a  letter  back   to   their  country  calling  for   the  appoint 


STOPPING  OF  THE  TP.ADK  AND  IJKA'III  OF  XAI'IKK.         475 

ineiit  of  luiotlier  person  as  taqxin^  to  come  for  tlie  couti'ol 
and  direction  of  conunercial  affairs,  in  accordance  with  the  old 
regulations." 

The  principles  on  which  the  Chinese  acted  in  this  affair  are 
plainly  seen.  To  have  granted  official  intercourse  bv  letter 
would  have  been  to  give  up  the  whole  question,  to  consider  the 
king  of  England  as  no  longer  a  tributary,  and  so  release  him 
and  his  subjects  from  their  allegiance.  To  do  so  would  not  only 
permit  them  to  come  into  their  borders  as  equals,  subject  to  no 
laws  or  customs,  but  would  f ui'ther  open  the  door  for  resistance 
to  their  authority,  armed  opposition  to  their  control,  and  ulti- 
mate in  possession  of  their  territory.  The  governor  hints  at 
this  when  speaking  of  the  necessity  of  restraining  the  barbarian 
eye:  "AVith  regard  to  territory,  it  would  also  have  its  con- 
sequences." These  would  be  the  probable  results  of  allowing 
such  a  mode  of  address  from  the  Kalkas,  or  Tibetans,  and  the 
Emperor  felt  the  importance  of  irs  concession  in  a  way  that 
Lord  Xapier  himself  could  not  appreciate.  Xcvertheless,  with 
the  inconsistency  of  children,  the  Son  of  Heaven  and  his  cour- 
tiers, in  the  mandate  just  quoted,  yi(;ld  their  obligations  to  justly 
govern  the  far-travelled  strangers,  by  requiring  them  to  get  a 
countryman  "  to  exercise  general  control  "  and  live  among  them 
— thus  establishing  the  principle  of  ex-territoriality  within  their 
borders  which  they  now  find  so  irksome. 

It  is  pitiable,  and  natural  too,  that  the  Chinese  should 
have  had  notions  so  incorrect  and  dangerous,  for  it  led  them  to 
misinterpret  every  act  of  foreigners.  Their  entire  intercourse 
with  Europeans,  since  the  Portuguese  first  came  to  their  shores, 
had  conspired  to  strengthen  the  opinion  that  all  traders  were 
crafty,  domineering,  avaricious,  and  contumacious,  and  must 
be  kept  down  in  every  possible  way  to  insure  safety  to  the 
Chinese  natives.  The  indignation  of  the  Emperor  on  hearing 
of  the  entrance  of  the  ships  of  war  was  mixed  with  great  ap- 
prehension, "  lest  there  were  yet  other  ships  staying  at  a  dis- 
tance ready  to  bring  in  aid  to  him  "  [Lord  Xapier].  Ignorant 
as  he  was  of  the  true  charactei-  of  the  embassies  which  had  been 
received  at  Peking,  he  was  still  more  likely  to  take  alarm  at  any 
attempt  to  open  an  equal  intercourse,  and  disposed  to  resist  it  as 


476  THK   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

he  would  a  forcible  occupation  of  lii.s  territory,  of  which  it  was, 
ill  his  view,  only  the  precursor. 

That  these  were  the  feelings  of  the  rulers  at  Peking  cannot 
be  doubted ;  and  we  must  know  what  views  and  fears  actuated 
them  in  order  to  undei'stand  their  proceedings.  If  the  position 
of  England  in  the  eyes  of  the  Chinese  had  been  fully  known  in 
London,  the  unequal  contest  imposed  upon  Lord  ^"apier  would 
either  hav^e  been  avoided  or  directed  against  the  imperial  gov- 
ernment. The  offer  of  an  amicable  intercourse  was  given  to 
the  Chinese,  but  through  the  inapplicable  instructions  which 
his  lordship  received  this  offer  was  not  made  to  the  weaker  and 
ignorant  party  in  such  a  way  as  not  to  excite  its  feai's,  while  it 
fully  explained  the  real  position  and  intentions  of  England,  and 
through  her  all  Christendom,  in  seeking  intercourse  with  China. 
Yet  so  long  as  the  court  of  Peking,  in  virtue  of  the  Emperor's 
vicegerency  over  mankind,  claimed  supremacy'  over  other  na- 
tions, the  struggle  to  maintain  that  assumption  was  sure  to  come. 
This  false  notion  did,  however,  really  continue  among  them  for 
about  forty  years,  till  five  foreign  ministers  had  their  first  audi- 
ence with  the  Emperor  Tungchl,  June,  1873,  and  stood  before 
his  throne  as  they  presented  their  credentials. 

The  Pritish  residents  at  Canton  saw  the  point  of  difficulty 
clearly,  and  in  a  petition  to  the  king  in  council,  dated  December 
4, 1834,  recommended  that  a  connnissioner  be  sent  to  one  of  the 
northern  ports  with  a  small  fleet  to  arrange  the  mattei-  of  future 
intercourse.  In  this  petition  they  "  trace  the  disabilities  and  re- 
strictions under  which  Pritish  connnerce  now  labors  to  a  long 
acquiescence  in  the  arrogant  assumption  of  supremacy  over  the 
monarchs  and  people  of  other  countries  claimed  by  the  Emperor 
of  China  for  himself  and  his  subjects,"  and  conclude  that  "  no 
essentially  beneficial  result  can  be  expected  to  arise  out  of  nego- 
tiations in  which  such  pretensions  are  not  decidedly  repelled." 
The  recommendations  of  the  petitioners  were  disregarded  in 
England.  The  cabinet  disapproved  of  the  spirit  of  Lord  Napier's 
despatches,  and  intimated  to  him  that  it  was  "not  by  force  and 
violence  that  his  Majesty  intended  to  establish  a  commercial  in- 
tercourse between  his  subjects  and  China,  but  by  conciliatory 
measures."   After  the  events  of  1834  if  a  commissioner,  backed 


PETITION    OF    BRITISH    MERCHANTS    TO     TIIK    KIN(}.         477 

by  a  small  fleet,  had  Leen  iininediatelj  appointed  to  Peking  to 
arrange  the  terms  of  future  intercourse,  the  subsequent  wai 
might  have  been  averted,  though  it  is  more  likely  that  the 
imperial  coui't  would  have  rejected  all  overtures  until  compelled 
to  treat  by  force. 

As  things  were  situated  at  Canton,  it  was  really  impossible  for 
the  Chinese  Government  to  carry  on  a  line  of  policy  with  respect 
to  foreign  intercourse  wdiich  would  at  once  maintain  its  assump- 
tions, avoid  the  risk  of  a  rupture,  squeeze  all  the  money  possi- 
ble out  of  the  trade,  and  repress  the  complaints  of  the  Bi-ilish 
merchants.  The  cessation  of  the  Company's  monopoly,  as  well 
as  its  control  over  all  British  subjects,  had  weakened  the  lever- 
age of  the  local  authorities  to  manage  them,  to  a  greater  degree 
than  they  were  aware. 

The  trade  was  conducted  during  the  next  season  to  the  satis- 
faction of  all  parties.  That  of  other  nations  had  been  practically 
stopped  with  that  of  the  English,  but  the  suspension  was  at  a 
dull  season  of  the  3'ear.  Their  consuls  took  no  official  part  in 
the  dispute,  though  they  had  some  ground  for  complaint  in  the 
suspension  of  their  trade  and  the  imprisonment  of  their  country- 
men. The  Chinese  shopkeepers  known  as  "outside  merchants" 
having  been  interdicted  trading  at  all  with  foreignei's,  went  to 
the  governor's  palace  in  a  laige  body  and  soon  obtained  a  re- 
moval of  the  restriction.  The  hong  mei'chants  themselves  insti- 
gated this  decree,  for  these  shopkeepers,  while  deriving  large 
profits  from  their  business,  were  almost  free  from  the  extortions 
which  the  monopolists  suffered.  All  the  extraordinary  expenses 
incurred  by  the  provincial  exchequer  in  the  late  affair  were  i"e- 
quired  of  these  unfortunate  men  ;  and  the}^  7)iifst  get  it  out  of 
the  trade  in  the  best  way  they  could.  Amelioration  could  not 
be  expected  from  such  a  system  ;  for  as  soon  as  the  foreigners 
began  to  complain,  the  hong  merchants  were  impelled  by  every 
motive  to  misrepresent  their  complaints  to  the  governor  and 
quash  every  effort  to  obtain  redress.  The  situation  of  foreigners 
there  was  aptly  likened  by  a  wi'iter  on  the  subject  to  the  inmates 
of  the  Zoological  Garden  in  Regent's  Park :  "  They  [the  ani- 
mals] have  been  free  to  play  what  pranks  they  pleased,  so  that 
they  made  no  uproar  nor  escaped  from  confinement.    The  keep 


■178  'riii-:  middle  kingdom. 

ers  looked  shai'ply  after  them  and  tried  to  keej)  tlieni  (Hiiet,  be* 
cause  annoyed  by  the  noise  tliey  made  and  responsible  for  the 
mischief  they  miglit  commit  if  they  got  at  Hberty.  They  might 
do  what  was  right  in  their  own  eyes  with  each  other.  The  au- 
thorities of  China  do  not  expect  from  wild  and  restless  bar- 
barians the  decorum  and  conduct  exemplified  in  their  own  great 
family." 

The  peculiar  position  of  the  relations  with  the  Chinese  and  the 
value  of  the  trade,  present  and  prospective,  was  so  great  that 
these  events  called  out  many  pamphleteers  both  in  England  and 
the  East.  The  servants  of  the  Company  naturally  recommended 
a  continuance  of  the  peaceable  system,  nrging  that  foreigners 
should  obey  the  laws  of  tlie  Empire  where  they  lived  and  not 
interfere  with  the  restrictions  put  upon  them.  Others  counselled 
the  occupation  of  an  island  on  the  coast,  to  which  Chinese 
"traders  would  immediately  resort,  and  which  was  to  be  held 
only  so  long  as  the  Emperor  refused  to  open  liis  ports  and  allow 
a  fair  traffic  with  his  people.  Othei'S  deprecated  resort  to  force 
until  a  commissioner  to  Peking  had  explained  the  designs  and 
wishes  of  his  government,  demanded  the  same  privileges  for 
foreigners  in  China  that  the  Chinese  enjoyed  abi'oad,  and  then, 
in  the  event  of  a  refusal,  compel  acquiescence.  Some  advised 
lettiuii:  thing's  take  their  own  course  and  conducting  trade 
as  it  could  be  at  Canton  until  circumstances  compelled  the 
Chinese  to  act.  "  That  which  we  now  require  is  not  to  lose  the 
enjoyment  of  what  w^e  have  got,"  said  the  Duke  of  Wellington, 
and  his  advice  was  followed  in  most  respects.  A  few  thought  it 
would  be  the  wiser  way  to  disseminate  juster  ideas  of  the  position, 
power,  and  wishes  of  England  and  all  foreign  nations  among  the 
Chinese  in  their  own  language.  They  argued  very  properly  that 
ignorance  on  these  points  would  neutralize  every  attempt  to 
bring  about  a  better  state  of  things ;  that  although  the  Chinese 
were  to  blame  for  their  uncompromising  arrogance,  it  was  also 
their  great  misfortune  that  they  really  had  had  little  opportunity 
to  learn  the  truth  respecting  their  visitors.  All  these  sugges- 
tions looked  forward  to  no  long  continuance  of  the  present  unde- 
fined, anomalous  relations,  and  all  of  them  contained  much  per- 
tinent advice  and  many  valuable  items  of  information ;  but  ii 


CONTINUATION   OF   THE  TRADE.  479 

was  a  question  not  more  difficult  than  important  what  course  of 
procedure  was  the  best.  AVliile  the  point  of  supremacy  seemed 
to  be  settled  in  favor  of  the  Son  of  Heaven,  the  virus  of  the 
contraband  opium  trade  was  working  out  its  evil  effects  among 
his  subjects  and  hastening  on  a  new  era. 

The  British  superintendents  now  lived  in  Macao  pending  the 
action  of  their  government,  merely  keeping  a  clerk  at  Canton 
to  sign  manifests.  The  foreign  residents  established  the  Society 
for  the  Diffusion  of  Useful  Knowledge,  and  other  benevolent 
projects  mentioned  in  a  previous  chapter ;  they  also  sent  two 
or  three  vessels  along  the  coast  to  see  what  openings  existed  for 
entering  the  countrj',  preaching  the  gospel,  or  living  on  shore. 
The  results  of  the  voyages  fully  proved  the  impossibility  of  en- 
tering the  country  in  an  open  manner  without  the  permission 
of  the  rulers,  and  the  limited  intercourse  with  the  people  also 
showed  that  the  character  of  foreigners  was  generally  associated 
with  the  opium  trade.  The  dwellers  immediately  on  the  coast 
were  eager  for  an  extension  of  the  traffic,  because  it  brought 
them  large  gains,  and  the  officers  at  the  principal  ports  were 
desirous  of  participating  in  the  emoluments  of  their  fellows 
at  Canton  ;  but  those  who  had  the  good  of  the  countiy  at 
heart  (and  there  are  many  such  in  China)  thought  that  the  ex- 
tension of  foreign  trade  would  bring  with  it  unmitigated  evil 
from  the  increased  use  of  opium. 

Sir  G.  B.  Robinson,  the  superintendent,  remained  at  Lintin 
on  board  a  cutter  among  opium  ships  anchored  there  during  the 
season  of  1835-30,  and  was  so  well  satisfied  with  his  position 
that  he  recommended  his  government  to  purchase  a  small  ship 
for  the  permanent  acconunodation  of  the  commission  there  be- 
yond the  reach  of  the  Chinese  officers,  and  to  vest  its  powers  in 
a  single  individual.  He  also  expressed  his  conviction  that  there 
was  little  hope  of  establishing  a  proper  understanding  with  the 
Chinese  Government,  except  by  a  resort  to  force  and  the  occu- 
pation of  an  island  off  the  mouth  of  the  river : 

I  see  no  grounds  to  apprehend  tlie  occurrence  of  any  fearful  events  on 
the  north-east  coast,  nor  can  I  h\arn  what  new  danger  exists.  I  am  assured 
from  tlie  best  authority  that  the  scuffles  between  different  parties  of  smugglers 
and  mandarins,  alike  engaged  and  competing  in  the  traffic,  are  not  more  seri- 


480  THE    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

ous  or  frequont  than  in  tliis  province.  In  no  case  have  Europeans  been  en^ 
gaged  in  any  kind  of  conflict  or  affray  :  and  while  this  increasing  and  lucrative 
trade  is  in  the  hands  of  the  parties  whose  vital  interests  are  so  totally  depend- 
ent ou  its  safety  and  continuance,  and  by  whose  prudence  and  integrity  it  lias 
been  brought  into  its  present  increasing  and  flourishing  condition,  I  think 
little  apprehension  may  be  entertained  of  dangers  emanating  from  imprudence 
on  their  part.  Should  any  unfortunate  catastrophe  take  place,  what  would  our 
position  at  Canton  entail  upon  us  but  responsibility  and  jeopardy,  from  which 
we  are  now  free  ?  On  the  question  of  smuggling  opium  I  will  not  enter  in 
this  place,  though,  indeed,  smuggling  carried  on  actively  in  the  government 
boats  can  hardly  be  termed  such.  Whenever  his  Majesty's  government  directs 
us  to  prevent  British  vessels  engaging  in  the  traffic,  we  can  enforce  any  order 
to  that  effect,  but  a  more  certain  method  would  be  to  prohibit  the  growth  of 
the  poppy  and  the  manufacture  of  opium  in  British  India  ;  and  if  British 
ships  are  in  the  habit  of  committing  irregularities  and  crimes,  it  seems  doubly 
necessary  to  exercise  a  salutary  control  over  them  by  the  presence  of  au  au- 
thority at  Lintin. 

Taking  all  things  into  consideration,  this  is  a  remarkable  de- 
spatch to  be  sent  by  the  representative  of  a  Cliristian  govern- 
ment writing  from  the  midst  of  a  fleet  of  smugglers  on  the 
shores  of  a  pagan  country.  "  The  scuilles  caused  by  the  intro- 
duction of  opium  are,"  he  remarks,  ^'■not  more  serious  or  fre- 
quent on  the  coast  than  about  Canton  ; "  though  even  there, 
l)i-obably,  not  one-half  which  did  occur  were  known  ;  but  Euro- 
peans never  personally  engaged  in  any  of  them.  They  only 
brought  the  cause  and  object  of  these  collisions  where  the  peo- 
ple could  get  it,  and  then  quietly  looked  on  to  see  them  fight 
about  it.  Tlie  "  prudence  and  integrity  "  of  the  merchants  were 
engaged  in  cherishing  it  to  a  high  degree  of  prosperity,  and 
they  were  not  likely  to  act  imprudently.  The  orders  of  the 
supreme  government  for  its  officers  on  the  coast  to  stop  the 
traffic  were  utterly  powerless,  through  the  cupidity  and  venality 
of  tho.se  officers  and  their  underlings  ;  yet  their  almost  com- 
plete failure  to  execute  them  does  not  impugn  the  sincerity  of 
the  court  in  issuing  them.  There  is  not  the  least  evidence  to 
show  that  the  couii  of  Peking  was  not  sincere  in  its  desire  to 
suppress  the  ti-ade,  from  the  first  edict  in  1800  till  the  war  broke 
out  in  1840.  Tlie  excuse  that  the  government  smuggled  be- 
cau.se  its  revenue  cruisers  engaged  in  it  and  the  helpless  pro- 
vincial authorities  winked  at  it,  is  no  more  satisfactory  than  to 


SIR   GEORGE    ROBINSON    ON    OPHT^r-SM  (tggF.IXG.         481 

make  tlie  successful  bribery  of  custoui-liousc  officers  in  Enghiiul 
or  elsewhere  a  proof  of  the  corruption  of  the  treasury  depart- 
ment. The  temptation  of  an  "  increasing  and  lucrative  "  ti-ade 
was  as  strong  to  the  unenlightened  pagan  Chinese  smuggler  as 
it  was  to  the  Christian  merchants  and  monopolists  who  placed 
the  poisonous  drug  constantly  M-ithin  his  reach.  It  would  have 
been  far  more  frank  on  the  i)art  of  the  IJi-itish  superintendent 
to  have  openly  defended  a  traffic  affording  a  revenue  of  more 
tlian  two  millions  sterling  to  his  own  government,  and  sug- 
gested that  such  an  '"  increasing  and  lucrative  "  business  should 
not  be  impeded,  than  to  say  that  he  could  stop  British  ships 
enji:ao;iiio:  in  it  as  soon  as  he  received  orders  to  that  effect. 

The  existence  of  tlie  commission  at  the  outer  anchoi-ages  was 
fully  known  to  the  authorities  at  Canton,  but  no  movement 
toward  reopening  tlie  intercourse  was  made  by  either  party. 
Lord  Palmerston  instructed  the  superintendent  not  to  com- 
nmnicate  with  the  governor-general  through  the  hong  mer- 
chants, nor  to  give  his  written  connnnnications  the  name  of 
petitions.  Captain  Elliot  succeeded  Sir  George  in  183G,  and 
innnediately  set  about  reopening  the  connnunication  with  the 
Chinese  officei's  in  the  same  way  that  the  supercargoes  of  the 
Company  had  conducted  it.  lie  defended  this  course  upon 
the  grounds  that  he  had  no  right  to  dii-ect  official  communica- 
tion with  the  governor,  and  that  the  remarkable  movements  of 
the  Chinese  and  the  state  of  uncertaint}'  in  respect  to  the  whole 
foreign  trade  rendered  it  desii-able  to  be  at  Canton.  The  suc- 
cessor of  Lu,  Tang  Ting-ching,  M'illingly  responded  to  this 
proposition  by  sendiug  a  deputation  of  three  officers  to  Macao 
with  the  hong  merchants  to  make  some  inquiries  before  memo- 
rializing the  Emperor.  In  his  report  the  governor  avoided  all 
reference  to  Lord  Napier,  and  requested  his  Majesty's  sanction 
to  the  present  request  as  being  in  accordance  with  the  orders 
that  the  English  merchants  should  send  home  to  have  a  super- 
cargo come  out  to  manage  them.  It  \vas  of  course  granted; 
and  the  British  connnission,  having  received  a  "  red  permit  ■" 
from  the  collector  of  customs,  returned  to  Canton  April  12, 
1837,  after  an  absence  of  about  thirty  months.  In  his  note  to 
the  governor  upon  receiving  the  imperial  sanction,  Captain  El- 


482  THE    MIDDLK    KINGDOM. 

]iot  says:  "The  undersigned  respectfully  assures  his  excellencj' 
that  it  is  at  once  liis  duty  and  his  anxious  desire  to  conform  in 
all  things  to  the  imperial  pleasure  ;  and  he  will  therefore  heed- 
fully  attend  to  the  points  adverted  to  in  the  papers  now  before 
him."  This  language  was  decided,  and  his  excellency  after- 
Mard  called  upon  the  superintendent  to  do  as  he  had  promised. 

The  remarkable  movements  of  tlie  supi'eme  government  here 
referred  to  grew  out  of  a  memorial  from  IIu  Xai-tsi,  formerly 
salt  commissioner  and  judge  at  Canton,  proposing  the  legaliza- 
tion of  the  opium  trade.  In  this  paper  he  acknowledges  tliat 
it  is  impossible  to  stop  the  traffic  or  use  of  the  drug ;  if  the 
foreign  vessels  be  driven  from  the  coast,  they  will  go  to  some 
island  near  by,  where  the  native  craft  will  go  off  to  them  ;  and 
if  the  laws  be  made  too  severe  upon  those  who  smoke  the  drug 
they  will  be  disregarded.  By  legalizing  it,  he  says,  the  drain  of 
specie  will  be  stopped,  the  regular  trade  rendered  more  profit- 
able and  manageable,  and  the  consumption  of  the  drug  regulated. 
He  proposes  instant  dismissal  from  office  as  the  penalty  for  all 
functionaries  convicted  of  smoking,  while  their  present  ineffec- 
tual attempts  to  suppress  the  trade,  which  i-esulted  in  general 
contempt  for  all  law,  would  cease,  and  consequently  the  dignity 
of  government  be  better  maintained.  The  ti-ade  on  the  coast 
would  be  concenti'ated  at  Canton,  and  the  fleet  at  Lintin  broken 
up,  thereby  bringing  all  foreigners  more  completely  under 
control. 

This  unexpected  movement  at  the  capital  caused  no  little  stir 
at  Canton,  and  the  hong  merchants  presently  advertised  the  for- 
eigners that  soon  there  would  no  longer  be  any  use  for  the  re- 
ceiving-ships at  Lintin.  Captain  Elliot  wrote  that  he  thought 
legalization  had  come  too  late  to  stop  the  trade  on  the  coast,  and, 
with  a  prescient  eye,  adds  that  the  "feeling  of  independence 
created  among  British  subjects  from  the  peculiar  mode  of  con- 
ducting this  bi'anch  of  the  trade,"  would  ere  long  lead  to  graver 
difficulties  and  acts  of  violence  requiring  the  armed  interference 
of  his  govennncnt.  The  impression  Avas  general  at  Canton 
that  the  trade  would  be  legalized,  and  increased  preparations 
were  accordingly  made  in  India  to  extend  the  cultivation.  The 
governor  and  his  colleagues  reconnnended  its  legalization  on  the 


PROPOSAL    TO    LEGALIZE    TFIE    OPIUM    TRADE.  483 

grounds  that  "  the  tens  (»f  millions  of  precious  money  which 
now  annually  ooze  out  of  the  Empire  will  be  saved,"  the  duties 
be  inei'eased,  the  evil  practices  of  transporting  contraband  goods 
by  deceit  and  violence  suppi-essed,  numberless  quarrels  and  liti- 
gations arising  therefrom  and  the  crimes  of  wortliless  vagrants 
diminished.  They  also  deluded  themselves  with  the  idea  that  if 
the  officers  were  dismissed  as  soon  as  convicted,  the  intellif^ent 
part  of  society  would  not  indulge  their  depraved  appetites,  but 
let  the  "  victims  of  their  own  self-sacrificing  folly,''  the  poor 
opium-smokers,  be  found  only  among  the  lower  classes.  In  con- 
nection with  this  report,  the  hong  merchants  replied  to  various 
inquiries  respecting  the  best  mode  of  carrying  on  the  opium 
trade  in  case  it  should  be  legalized,  and  their  mode  of  conducting 
commerce  generally  ;  adding  that  it  was  bej-ond  their  power  to 
control  thesnniggling  traffic  or  restrain  the  exportation  of  sycee, 
and  showed  that  the  balance  of  trade  would  naturally  leave  the 
country  in  bullion.  These  papers  are  fairly  drawn  up,  and  their 
perusal  cannot  fail  to  elevate  the  character  of  the  Chinese  for 
consideration,  carefulness,  and  business-like  procedure.' 

There  were  other  statesmen,  however,  who  regarded  Ilii  Xai- 
tsi's  memoi'ial  as  a  dangerous  step  in  the  downward  path,  and 
sounded  the  alarm.  Among  these  the  foremost  was  Chu  Tsun, 
a  cabinet  minister,  who  sent  in  a  counter-memorial  couched 
in  the  strongest  terms.  He  advised  that  the  laws  be  more 
strictly  maintained,  and  cited  instances  to  show  that  when  the 
provincial  authorities  earnestly  set  about  it  they  could  put  the 
trade  down  ;  that  the  people  would  soon  learn  to  despise  all  laws 
if  those  against  opium-smoking  were  suspended ;  and  that  re- 
creant officers  should  be  superseded  and  punished.  His  indig- 
nation warms  as  he  goes  on  :  "  It  has  been  represented  that 
advantage  is  taken  of  the  laws  against  opium  by  extortionate 
underlings  and  worthless  vagrants,  to  benefit  themselves.  Is  it 
not  known,  then,  that  when  government  enacts  a  law,  there  is 
necessarily  an  infi-action  of  that  law  ?  And  though  tlie  law 
should  sometimes  be  i-elaxed  and  become  ineffectual,  yet  surely 
it  should  not  on  that  account  be  abolished  ;  any  more  than  we 

'  Chinese  Eepositoi-y,  Vol.  V.,  pp.  139,  259,  385  fiE. 


484  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

eliould  altogether  cease  to  eat  because  of  stoppage  of  the  throat 
The  laws  which  forbid  the  people  to  do  wrong  may  be  likened 
to  the  dikes  which  prevent  the  overflowing  of  water.  If  any 
one  urging,  then,  that  the  dikes  are  veiy  old  and  therefore  use- 
less, we  should  have  them  thrown  down,  w  hat  words  could  ex- 
]u-ess  the  consequences  of  the  impetuous  lush  and  all-destroying 
overflow!  Yet  the  provincials,  when  discussing  the  subject  of 
opium,  being  perplexed  and  bewildered  by  it,  think  that  a  pro- 
hibition which  does  not  iiUerhj  prohibit  is  better  than  one  which 
does  not  effectually  prevent  the  importation  of  the  drug.  .  .  . 
If  we  can  l)ut  prevent  the  importation  of  o])ium,  the  exportation 
of  dollars  will  then  cease  of  itself,  and  the  two  offences  will  both 
at  once  be  stopped.  Moreover,  is  it  not  better,  by  continuing  the 
old  enactments,  to  find  even  a  partial  remedy  for  the  evil,  than  by 
a  change  of  the  laws  to  increase  the  importation  still  further?  " 
lie  then  proceeds  to  show  that  the  native  article  could  not 
compete  with  the  foreign,  for  it  would  not  bo  as  well  luainifac- 
tured,  and  moreover  "  all  men  prize  what  is  strange  and  under- 
value whatever  is  in  ordinary  use."  Its  cultivation  would  occupy 
rich  and  fertile  land  now  used  for  nutritive  grains  :  "  To  draw 
off  in  this  way  the  waters  of  the  great  fountain  requisite  for  the 
production  of  food  and  raiment,  and  to  lavish  them  upon  the 
root  whence  calamity  and  disaster  spring  forth,  is  an  eri-or  like 
that  of  the  physician  who,  when  treating  a  mere  external  disease, 
drives  it  inward  to  the  heart  and  centre  of  the  body.  Shall 
the  fine  fields  of  Kwangtnng,  ^vhich  produce  their  three  crops 
every  year,  be  given  up  for  the  cultivation  of  this  noxious  Meed  'i  " 
He  says  the  question  does  not  concern  property  and  duties,  but 
the  welfare  and  vigor  of  the  people ;  and  quotes  from  the  7//,v- 
tory  of  Formosa  a  passage  showing  the  way  in  which  the  natives 
there  wei'e  enervated  by  using  it,  and  adds  that  the  purpose  of 
the  English  in  introducing  opium  into  the  country  has  been  to 
weaken  and  enfeeble  it.  Kanghi  long  ago  (1717)  remarked,  he 
observes,  "  There  is  cause  for  apprehension,  lest  in  the  centuries 
or  millenniums  to  come  China  may  be  endangered  by  collisions 
with  the  various  nations  of  the  AYest  who  come  hither  from 
beyond  the  seas."  And  now,  in  less  than  two  centuries,  "weseo 
the  commencement  of  that  danger  which  he  ap})rehended." 


CIIU   T8UN   OPPOSES   THE   PROPOSITION.  485 

The  suggestion  of  II  ii  Nai-tsi,  to  allow  it  to  the  people  ami 
interdict  the  officers,  is  called  bad  casuistry,  "  like  shutting  a 
woman's  ears  before  you  steal  her  earrings/'  He  shows  that 
thi&  distinction  will  be  vain,  for  it  will  be  impossible  to  say  who 
is  of  the  people  and  who  are  officers,  for  all  the  latter  are  taken 
fi'om  the  body  of  the  former.  The  permission  will  induce  peo- 
ple to  use  it  who  now  refi'ain  fiom  fear  of  the  laws ;  for  even 
the  proposal  has  caused  "  thieves  and  villains  on  all  hands  to 
raise  their  heads  and  open  their  eyes,  gazing  about  and  pointing 
the  finger  under  the  notion  that  wheu'once  these  prohibitions 
are  repealed,  thenceforth  and  forever  they  may  regard  them- 
selves far  from  every  restraint  and  cause  of  fear."  He  asserts 
that  nothing  l)ut  strong  laws  rigidly  carried  into  effect  will  re- 
strain them  from  their  evil  ways,  and  concludes  by  recommend- 
ing increased  stringency  in  their  execution  as  the  only  hope  of 
reformation. 

This  spirited  paper  was  supported  by  another  fvom  a  sub-cen- 
sor, Hii  Kiu,  on  the  necessity  of  checking  the  exportation  of 
silver,  and  reconnnending  that  a  determined  officer  be  sent  to 
punish  severely  the  native  traitors,  which  would  add  dignity  to 
the  laws ;  and  then  the  barbarians  would  be  awed  and  conse- 
quently reform  and  be  entirely  defeated  in  their  designs  of  con- 
quering the  country.  He  cites  several  instances  of  their  out- 
rageous A'iolation  of  the  laws,  such  as  levelling  graves  in  Macao 
for  the  purpose  of  making  a  road  over  them,  landing  goods 
there  for  entering  them  at  Canton  in  order  to  evade  the  duties 
and  port  charges,  and  even  riding  in  sedans  with  four  bearers, 
like  Chinese  officers.  Force  needed  only  to  be  put  foi'th  a  little 
and  they  would  again  be  humbled  to  subjection ;  but  if  they 
still  brought  the  pernicious  drug,  then  inflict  capital  punishment 
upon  them  as  well  as  upon  natives.  The  sub-censor  agrees  M'ith 
Chu  Tsun  regarding  the  designs  of  foreigners  in  doing  so,  that 
they  wished  first  to  debilitate  and  impoverish  the  land  as  a  pi-c- 
paratory  measure,  for  they  never  smoked  the  di'ug  in  their  own 
country,  but  brought  it  all  to  China.  This  prevailing  impres- 
sion was  derived  mainly  from  the  abstinence  of  foreign  mer- 
chants and  seamen. 

Both  these  papers  were  transmitted  to  Canton  for  deliberation, 


486  THK   CUDDLE    KINGDOM. 

although  the  local  ofiTcers  liad  already  sent  a  memorial  to  the 
cabinet  approving  the  suggestions  of  Hii  Nai-tsi.  At  this  time, 
however,  it  was  properly  remarked  that  "  there  had  been  a  di- 
versity of  opinion  in  regard  to  it,  some  requesting  a  change  in 
the  policy  hitherto  adopted,  and  others  recommending  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  sevei-e  prohibitions.  It  is  highly  important  to 
consider  the  subject  carefully  in  all  its  bearings,  surveying  at 
once  the  whole  field  of  action  so  that  such  measures  may  be 
adopted  as  shall  continue  forever  in  force,  free  from  all  failure." 
This  subject,  the  most  important,  it  cannot  be  doubted,  Avhich 
had  ever  been  deliberated  upon  by  the  Emperor  of  China  and 
his  council,  was  now  fairly  brought  before  the  whole  nation  ; 
and  if  all  the  circumstances  l)e  taken  into  consideration,  it  was 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  consultations  of  any  age  or  country. 
A  long  experience  of  the  baneful  effects  of  opium-smoking  upon 
the  health,  minds,  and  property  of  those  who  used  it,  had  pro- 
duced a  deep .  conviction  in  the  minds  of  well-wdshers  of  their 
country  of  the  necessity  of  some  legal  restraint  over  the  people ; 
Avhile  the  annual  drainage  of  specie  at  the  rate  of  three  or  four 
million  sterling  for  what  brought  misery  and  poverty  in  its 
train,  alarmed  those  who  cared  only  for  the  stability  and  pros- 
perity of  the  country.  The  settlement  or  management  of  the 
question  was  one  of  equal  difficulty  and  importance,  and  the 
result  proved  that  it  was  quite  beyond  the  reach  of  both  their 
power  and  wisdom.  Fully  conscious  of  the  weak  moral  prin- 
ciple in  themselves  and  in  their  countrymen,  they  considered  it 
right  to  restrain  and  deter  the  people  by  legislative  enactments 
and  severe  penalties.  Ignorant  of  the  nature  of  commercial 
<lealings,  they  thought  it  both  practicable  and  necessary  to  limit 
the  exportation  of  specie;  for  not  having  any  substitute  for 
coin  or  any  system  of  national  credit,  there  was  serious  hazard, 
otherwise,  that  the  government  would  ultimately  be  bankrupted. 
It  is  unjust  to  the  Chinese  to  say,  as  was  argued  b}'  those  who 
had  never  felt  these  sufferings,  that  all  parties  were  insincere  in 
their  efforts  to  put  down  this  trade,  that  it  was  a  mere  affectation 
of  morality,  and  that  no  one  would  be  more  chagrined  to  see  it 
stop  than  those  apparently  so  strenuous  against  it.  This  asser- 
tion was  made  bv  Lord  Palmerston  in  Parliament  and  re-echoed 


THE  MATTER  REFERRED  TO  CANTON".        487 

by  the  Indian  officials ;  but  those  who  have  candidly  examined 
the  proceedings  of  the  Chinese,  or  have  lived  among  the  people 
in  a  way  to  learn  their  real  feelings,  need  not  be  told  how  incor- 
rect is  the  remark.  The  highest  statesman  and  the  debilitated, 
victimized  smoker  alike  agreed  in  their  opinion  of  its  bad  effects, 
and  both  were  pretty  nnich  in  the  position  of  a  miserable  lamb 
in  the  coil  of  a  hungry  anaconda. 

The  debate  among  the  Chinese  excited  a  discussion  among 
foreigners,  most  of  whom  were  engaged  in  the  traffic.  Here 
the  gist  of  the  question  turned  upon  the  points  whether  opium 
was  really  a  noxious  stinnilant  2^^^  ^^1  ^.nd  whether  the  Chinese 
government  was  sincere  in  its  prohibitions  in  the  face  of  the 
notorious  connivance  of  the  officers  along  the  coast  from  Hainan 
to  Tientsin.  One  writer  conclusively  proved  its  baneful  effects 
upon  the  system  when  taken  constantly,  and  that  its  habitual 
use  in  the  smallest  degree  almost  certainly  led  to  intemperate  or 
uncontrollable  use ;  he  then  charges  the  crime  of  nuirder  upon 
those  who  traffic  in  it,  and  asserts  that  "  the  perpetuating  and 
encouraging  and  engaging  in  a  trade  which  promotes  disease, 
?nisery,  crime,  madness,  despair,  and  death,  is  to  be  an  accom- 
plice with  the  guilty  principals  in  that  tremendous  pursuit."  He 
exposes  the  fallacy,  liypocrisy,  and  guilt  of  the  question  whether 
it  be  less  criminal  for  a  man  to  engage  in  a  pursuit  which  he 
knows  to  be  injurious  to  his  fellow-men,  because  if  he  does  not 
do  so  some  one  else  will.  The  Court  of  Directors,  even,  whom 
all  the  world  knows  to  be  chief  managers  of  the  cultivation, 
manufacture,  and  sale  of  the  drug,  says  in  one  of  its  despatches 
that  "  so  repugnant  are  their  feelings  to  the  opium  trade,  they 
would  gladly,  in  compassion  to  mankind,  put  a  total  end  to  the 
consumption  of  opium  if  they  could.  But  tlie\'  cannot  do  this, 
and  as  opium  will  be  grown  somewhere  or  other,  and  will  l)e 
largely  consumed  in  spite  of  all  their  benevolent  wishes,  they 
can  only  do  as  they  do  "  ! 

Another  Englishman  engaged  in  the  traffic  defended  it  on 
the  ground  that  what  is  bad  now  was  alwaj'S  bad ;  and  the  Em- 
peror and  his  ministers  had  doubtless  other  grounds  for  their 
sudden  opposition.  He  asserts  tliat  opium  is  "  a  useful  soother, 
a  harmless  luxury,  and  a  precious  medicine,  except  to  those  wli" 


488  TIIIO    -MIDDLK    KINGDOM. 

abuse  it,"  and  tliat  while  a  few  destroy  themselves,  tlie  prudent 
many  enjoy  a  pleasing  solace,  to  get  which  tends  to  produce  the 
persevering  economy  and  the  never-ceasing  industry  of  the 
Chinese.  Jle  estimates  that  at  a  dailj'  allowance  of  one  and  one- 
third  ounce  not  more  than  one  person  in  three  hundred  and 
twenty-six  touches  the  pipe,  and  that  there  were  not  inore  than 
nine  hundred  and  twelve  thousand  victimized  smokers  in  the 
l']mpire.  He  also  remarked  that  the  present  mode  of  conduct- 
ing the  trade  by  large  capitalists  kept  it  respectable,  and  that  if 
their  characters  were  held  up  to  odium  and  infamy  it  would  get 
into  the  hands  of  desperadoes,  pirates,  and  marauders.  lie 
looked  upon  the  efforts  to  put  it  down  as  utterly  futile  as  the 
proclamations  of  Elizabeth  were  to  put  down  hops,  or  the  Coun- 
terl)laste  of  James  to  stop  tobacco. 

This  rejoinder  was  responded  to  by  two  M'riters,  who  clearh- 
cxhil)ited  its  nnsoundness  and  ridiculed  the  plea  that  the  trade 
should  be  kept  in  the  hands  of  gentlemen  and  under  the  direc- 
tion of  a  monopol}'.  The  smuggler  brought  his  vessel  on  the 
coast,  and  there  waited  till  the  people  came  oif  for  his  merchan- 
dise, disposing  of  it  without  the  least  risk  to  himself,  "  coolly 
commenting  on  the  injustice  of  the  Chinese  government  in  re- 
fusing the  practice  of  international  law  and  reciprocity  to  coun- 
tries whose  subjects  it  only  knows  as  engaged  in  constant  and 
gross  infraction  of  laws,  the  breaking  of  M'hich  affects  the  basis 
of  all  good  government,  the  morals  of  the  country."  The  true 
character  of  the  smu"-";lini»;  trade  is  well  set  forth  : 

Reverse  the  picture.  Suppose,  by  any  cliaucc,  that  Cliinese  junks  were  to 
import  into  England,  as  a  foreign  and  fashionable  luxury,  so  harmless  a  thing 
as  arsenic  or  corrosive  sublimate  ;  that  after  a  few  years  it  became  a  rage  ;  that 
thousands,  yea,  hundreds  of  thousands  used  it,  and  that  its  use  was,  in  conse- 
quence of  its  bad  effects,  prohibited.  Suppose  that,  in  opposition  to  the  pro- 
hibition, junks  were  stationed  in  St.  George's  Channel  with  a  constant  supply, 
taking  occasional  trips  to  the  Isle  of  Wight  and  the  mouth  of  the  Thames  when 
the  officers  were  sufficiently  attentive  to  their  duty  at  the  former  station  to  pre- 
vent its  introduction  there.  Suppose  the  consumption  to  increase  annually, 
and  to  arouse  the  attention  of  the  government  and  of  those  sound-thinking 
men  who  foresaw  misery  and  destruction  from  the  rapid  spread  of  an  insidious, 
unprofitable,  and  dangerous  habit.  Suppose,  in  fact,  that,  muUiUy  vomive,  all 
which  has  been  achieved  here  had  been  practised  there.  Suppose  some  con- 
Beivators  of  the  public  morals  to  be  aroused  at  last,  and  to  remonstrate  againsJ 


DISCUSSION   AMONG   THE   FOREIGNERS.  489 

its  use  and  increase  ;  and  t]iat  among  the  nation  sending  forth  this  destroyer 
to  prey  on  ])rivate  happiness  and  pnhlic  virtue,  one  or  two  pious  and  well- 
meaning  bonzes  were  to  r'jiuonstrato  witli  tlieir  countrymen  on  the  enormity  of 
their  conduct  :  — how  wonderfully  consolatory  to  one  party,  and  unanswerable 
to  the  other,  must  be  the  remark  of  Ihe  well-dressed  and  well-educated  Chinese 
merchant:  "  Hai  ya  !  my  friend,  do  not  you  see  my  silk  dress  and  the  crystal 
knob  on  my  cap;  don't  you  know  that  I  have  read  and  can  quote  Confucius, 
Mencius,  and  all  the  Five  Books  ;  do  you  not  see  that  the  barbarians  are  pas- 
sionately fond  of  arsenic,  that  they  will  have  it,  and  even  go  so  far  as  to  pay  for 
it ;  and  can  you,  for  one  moment,  doubt  that  it  would  not  be  much  worse  for 
tliem  if,  instead  of  my  bringing  it,  it  were  left  to  the  cliance,  needy,  and  un- 
certain supply  which  low  men  of  no  capital  could  afford  to  bring  V  "  ' 

Tlie  writer  sliows  that  instead  of  only  one  person  in  every 
three  hiindi-ed  and  twenty-six  using  the  pipe,  it  was  far  more 
probable  that  at  least  one  out  of  every  one  hundred  and  fifty 
(or  about  two  million  five  hundred  thousand  in  all)  of  the  popu- 
lation was  a  victimized  smoker.  The  assertion  of  its  being  a 
harmless  luxury  to  the  many,  like  wine  or  beer,  is  disputed,  and 
the  sophisticated  argument  of  its  use  as  a  means  of  hospitality 
exploded.  "  What  would  a  benevolent  and  sober-minded 
Chinese  think,"  he  asks,  "  were  the  sophistry  of  the  defendei's 
of  this  trade  translated  for  him  ?  Where  would  he  find  the 
high-principled  and  high-minded  inhabitants  of  the  far-off 
coimtry  ?  How  could  he  be  made  to  comprehend  that  the  be- 
lievers in  and  practisers  of  Christian  morality  advocated  a  trade 
so  ruinous  to  his  country  ?  That  the  government  of  India  com- 
pelled the  growth  of  it  by  unwilling  ryots;  and  that,  instead  of 
its  being  brought  to  China  by  '  desperadoes,  pirates,  and  marau- 
ders,' it  was  purveyed  by  a  body  of  capitalists,  not  participating 
certainly  in  what  they  carry,  but  supplying  the  Indian  revenue 
safely  and  peaceably ;  that  the  British  government  and  others 
encouraged  it ;  and  that  the  agents  in  the  traffic  M-ere  constant- 
ly residing  at  Canton,  protected  by  the  government  whose 
laws  they  outraged,  but  monstrously  indignant,  and  appealing  to 
their  governments,  if  No.  2  longcloths  are  classed  as  Xo.  1 
through  the  desperate  villany  of  some  paltry  custom-house 
servant  ? " 

The  other  writer  exposes  the  sinful  fallacy  of  the  argument 

'  Chinese  Repository,  Vol  V.,  p.  409. 


490  THE    .MIDDLE    KIXGDOM. 

of  expediency,  and  then  proceeds  to  show  how  great  an  ob- 
stacle it  is  in  the  way  of  diffusing  the  gospel  among  the 
Chinese.  We  nnist  refer  to  their  own  remarks'  for  the  fuller 
development  of  the  arguments,  but  this  one  showed  the  earn- 
estness of  his  convictions  by  offering  a  premium  of  £100  for 
the  best  essay  "  showing  the  effects  of  the  opium  trade  on  the 
commercial,  political,  and  moral  interests  of  the  nations  and 
individuals  connected  therewith,  and  pointing  out  the  course 
they  ought  to  pursue  in  regard  to  it."  There  was,  however,  so 
little  interest  in  the  subject  that  this  premium  was  never- 
awarded,  though  the  proposal  was  extensively  advertised  both 
in  China  and  England. 

The  governor  of  Canton  and  his  colleagues  soon  learned  that 
the  feeling  at  court  was  rather  against  legalizing  the  drug, 
though  they  were  directed  to  report  concerning  the  amount  of 
duty  proper  to  be  levied  on  it ;  and  to  show  their  zeal,  arrested 
several  brokers  and  dealers.  A-ming,  one  of  the  linguists,  M'as 
severely  tortured  and  exposed  in  the  cangue  for  exporting 
sycee ;  others  escaped  similar  treatment  by  absconding.  The 
chief  superintendent  naively  expressed  his  opinion  that  "  the 
legalization  of  the  trade  in  0})ium  would  afford  his  ]\[ajesty's 
government  great  satisfaction,"  but  suggested  that  the  gradual 
diversion  of  British  capital  into  other  channels  would  be  at- 
tended with  advantageous  conse(piences.  To  one  situated  be- 
tween his  own  government,  which  promoted  the  preparation 
and  importation  of  opium,  and  the  Chinese  government,  which 
was  now  making  extraordinary  efforts  to  regulate  it,  and 
deeply  sensible  of  the  injury  resulting  from  its  use  to  the 
people  around  him,  and  to  the  reputation  of  his  own  and  all 
foreign  nations  from  the  constant  infraction  of  the  laws,  the  pro- 
posed step  of  legalization  offei-cd  a  timely  relief.  Xo  one  was 
more  desirous  of  putting  a  stop  to  this  destructive  traffic  than 
Captain  Elliot,  but  knowing  the  impossibility  of  cheeking  it  by 
laws,  he  naturally  wished  to  see  the  nniltitude  of  political  and 
commercial  evils  growing  out  of  snuiggling  done  away  with. 
There   were,   indeed,  many   things  to   urge   in  favor  of  this 

'  Chinese  liepository,  Vol.  V.,  pp.  407,  41o,  uud  passim. 


TUE   PKOHIBITOKY    LAWS   ENFORCED.  491 

course ;  but  the  fact  ought  never  to  be  lost  sight  of,  and  be 
mentioned  to  the  lasting  credit  of  the  Emperor  Taukwang  and 
his  advisers,  in  the  midst  of  their  perplexity  and  weakness,  that 
he  would  not  admit  opium  because  it  was  detrimental  to  his 
[)eople. 

The  conflict  was  now  fairly  begun ;  its  issue  between  the 
parties,  so  unequally  matched — one  having  almost  nothing  but 
the  right  on  its  side,  the  other  assisted  by  every  material  and 
physical  advantage — could  easily  be  foreseen.  Captain  Elliot, 
as  the  recognized  head  of  the  British  trade,  received  an  order 
through  the  Iiong  merchants  from  the  provincial  authorities  to 
drive  away  the  i-eceiving-ships  from  Lintin,  and  send  the  Em- 
peror's commands  to  his  king,  that  lieneeforth  they  be  prohib- 
ited coming.  He  replied  that  he  could  not  transmit  any  orders 
to  his  own  sovereign  which  did  not  come  to  him  direct  from 
the  government,  and  quoted  the  recent  instance  of  the  gover- 
nor-general of  Fuhkien  communicating  directly  M'ith  the  cap- 
tain of  a  British  ship  of  w^ar.  The  governor  was  therefore 
forced  to  send  his  orders  to  the  prefect  and  colonel  of  the 
department  to  be  enjoined  on  Captain  Elliot.  He  replied  by 
promising  to  send  it  to  his  country,  and  adds,  in  true  diploma- 
tic style,  unworthy  of  himself  and  his  nation  :  "  He  has  already 
signified  to  your  excellency,  with  truth  and  plainness,  that  his 
commission  extends  only  to  the  regular  trade  with  this  Empire  ; 
and  further,  that  the  existence  of  any  other  than  this  trade  has 
nev'eryet  been  suljmitted  to  the  knowledge  of  his  own  gracious 
sovereign."  Captain  Elliot  transmitted  with  these  "orders"  a 
minute  account  of  the  condition  of  the  opium  trade,  and  a 
memorandum  respecting  the  desirableness  of  opening  comnnmi- 
cation  with  the  court.  Lord  Palmerston,  in  reply,  intimates 
that  "her  Majesty's  government  do  not  see  their  way  in  such  a 
measure  with  sufficient  clearness  to  justify  them  in  adopting  it 
at  the  present  moment."  He  adds  that  no  protection  can  be 
afforded  to  "  enable  British  subjects  to  violate  the  laws  of  the 
country  to  which  they  trade.  Any  loss,  therefore,  which  such 
persons  may  suffer  in  consequence  of  the  more  effectual  execu- 
tion of  the  Chinese  laws  on  this  subject,  must  be  borne  by 
the   parties  who   have    brought  that  loss    on  themselves   by 


492  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

their  own  acts."  A  most  paradoxical  but  funvonient  position 
for  this  '•  honorable  "  officer  of  the  Englisli  goveriiuieiit  to  as- 
siiiiie,  and  worthy  to  be  recorded  in  contrast  to  the  utterances 
from  J-'eking. 

^'ear  the  close  of  1837  the  British  flag  was  again  hauled 
down  at  Canton,  and  the  superintendent  returned  to  Macao  be- 
cause he  refused  to  superscribe  tlie  word  p/'/iyOr  'petition,'  upon 
his  communications,  according  to  his  instructions,  and  the  gov- 
ernor declined  to  receive  them  without  it.  In  July,  1838,  Sir 
Frederick  Maitland  arrived  in  the  Wellesley  (T-l),  and  was 
brought  into  correspondence  with  the  Chinese  Admiral  Kwan, 
in  consequence  of  the  forts  firing  upon  an  English  schooner 
passing  the  Bogue  and  stopping  her  to  inquire  Nvhether  he  or 
any  of  his  crew  or  women  were  on  board.  The  Wellesley  and 
her  two  consorts  were  anchored  near  the  forts,  and  the  Chinese 
admiral  made  a  full  apology  for  the  mistake  ;  his  conduct  in 
the  affair  was  very  creditable  both  to  liis  judgment  and  tem- 
per. As  soon  as  Sir  Fj-ederick  arrived,  Captain  Elliot  vainly 
endeavored  to  reopen  correspondence  with  the  governor  by 
sending  an  open  letter  to  the  city  gates,  which  was  received 
and  taken  to  him,  but  returned  in  the  evening  because  it  had 
not  the  requii'cd  superscription. 

Having  now  fully  taken  the  sense  of  the  Empire  in  the  re- 
plies received  from  all  its  highest  officials,  the  Emperor  Tau- 
kwang  increased  his  efforts  to  suppress  the  trade.  In  April, 
1838,  a  native  named  Kwoh  Si-ping  was  publicly  strangled  at 
Macao  by  express  command  of  the  Emperor,  as  a  warning  to 
others  not  to  engage  in  exporting  sycee  or  introducing  opium. 
The  execution  was  conducted  by  the  district  magistrate  and  sub- 
prefect  with  dignity  and  order  in  the  presence  of  a  crowd  of 
natives  and  foreigners.  More  than  fifty  small  craft  under  the 
English  or  American  flag  were  constantly  plying  off  the  port  of 
Canton,  most  of  them  engaged  in  smuggling.  Sometimes  the 
government  exerted  its  power ;  boats  were  destroyed,  smugglers 
seized  and  tortured,  and  the  sales  checked  ;  then  it  M-enton  again 
as  briskly  as  ever.  These  boats  were  easily  caught,  for  the 
government  could  exercise  entire  control  over  its  own  subjects; 
but  when  the  foreign  schooners,  heavily  urmcd  and   manned, 


INCREASE   OF   SMl'GGLIXG   AND   AFFRAYS.  493 

sailed  up  and  down  the  river  delivering  the  drug,  the  revenue 
cruisers  vvei'e  afraid  to  attack  them.  The  hong  merchants  ad- 
dressed a  note  to  all  foreign  residents  concerning  them,  the  close 
of  which  vividly  exhibits  their  unlucky  position  as  the  "  respon- 
sible advisers'"  of  the  barbarians  :  "Lately  we  have  repeatedly 
received  edicts  from  the  governor  and  lioppo  severely  reprimand- 
ing us ;  and  we  have  also  written  to  you,  gentlemen  of  the  dif- 
ferent nations,  several  times,  giving  you  full  information  of  the 
orders  and  regulations,  that  you  might  perfectly  obey  them  and 
manage  accordingly ;  but  you,  gentlemen,  continue  wholly  re- 
gardless." 

Collisions  became  more  and  more  frequent  between  the  Chinese 
and  their  rulers,  in  consequence  of  the  increased  stringency  of 
the  orders  from  court.  In  September,  in  an  affray  near  Wham- 
poa  between  the  militarj'  and  villagers,  several  persons  were 
killed  and  scores  arrested.  The  retailers  at  Canton  were  im- 
prisoned, and  those  found  in  other  places  brought  there  in 
chains.  In  Ilupeh  it  was  reported  that  the  officers  had  pun- 
ished arrested  smokers  by  cutting  out  a  portion  of  the  upper  lip 
to  incapacitate  them  from  using  the  pipe.  Still,  such  was  the 
venality  of  the  officers  that  even  at  this  time  the  son  of  Gov- 
ernor Tang  himself  was  engaged  in  the  traffic,  and  many  of  the 
underlings  only  seized  the  drug  from  the  smuggling-boats  to  re- 
tail it  themselves.  The  memorial  of  Hwang  Tsioh-tsz",  advising 
the  penalty  of  death,  was  promulgated  in  Canton ;  and  the 
Empd'or's  rescript  urged  to  stronger  measures.  In  a  rapid  sur- 
vey of  the  ill  effects  from  the  use  of  the  drug,  Hwang  aeknoMd- 
edges  that  it  had  extended  to  Manchuria,  and  pervaded  all  ranks 
of  official  and  humble  life.  The  efflux  of  silver  "into  the  in- 
satiate depths  of  transmarine  regions  "  had  caused  the  rate  of 
exchange  for  cash  to  rise  until  it  was  difficult  to  carry  on  the 
business  of  government.  lie  then  reviews  the  different  plans 
proposed  for  checking  the  cause  of  all  this  evil,  such  as  guarding 
the  ports,  stopping  the  entire  foreign  trade,  arresting  the  smug- 
glers, shutting  up  the  shops,  and,  lastly,  encouraging  the  home 
growth.  lie  confesses  that  the  bribes  paid  the  coast-guard  ser- 
vice and  the  maritime  officei-s  are  so  great  as  entirely  to  prevent 
their  vigilance;  and  that  the  home-prepared  drug  does  not  yield 


494  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

tlie  same  stimulus  as  tlie  foreign  article.  As  a  last  resort,  he 
proposes  to  increase  the  penalties  upon  the  consumers,  laying  all 
the  blame  upon  them,  and  advises  death  to  be  awarded  all  who 
smoke  opium  after  a  year''s  warning  has  been  given  them.  The 
well-known  subdivision  of  responsibility  was  to  be  made  doubly 
strong  by  requiring  bonds  of  every  tithing  and  hundred  that  there 
were  no  smokers  within  their  limits.  Officei's  found  guilty  were 
not  only  to  be  executed,  but  their  children  deprived  of  the  privi- 
lege of  competing  at  the  public  examination.  One  cannot  with- 
hold a  degree  of  sympathy  for  the  helpless  condition  of  the 
officers  and  statesmen  of  a  great  Empire  sincerely  desirous  of 
doing  their  country  service,  and  yet  so  sadly  ignorant  of  their 
false  position  by  their  assumption  of  supremacy  over  the  very 
nation  whom  they  could  not  restrain,  and  whose  officials  they 
rejected  for  a  formality.  They  might  as  well  have  tried  to 
concert  a  measure  to  stop  the  Yangtsz'  lliver  in  its  impetuous 
flow,  as  to  check  the  opium  trade  by  laws  and  penalties. 

On  December  3,  1SB8,  about  two  peculs  of  opium  were 
seized  while  landing  at  the  factories,  and  the  coolies  carried 
into  the  city.  They  declared  that  they  had  been  sent  to 
Whampoa  by  Mr.  Lines,  a  British  merchant,  to  obtain  the 
opium  from  an  American  ship  consigned  to  Mr.  Talbot.  The 
governor  ordered  the  hong  merchants  to  expel  these  two  gentle- 
men and  the  ship  within  thi-ee  days,  on  the  garbled  testimony 
of  the  two  coolies.  Mr.  Talbot  sent  in  a  communication,  stat- 
ing that  neither  the  ship  nor  himself  had  anything  to  do  with 
the  oj)ium,  and  obtained  a  reversal  of  the  order  to  leave.  The 
hong  merchants  were  justly  irritated,  and  informed  the  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce  that  they  would  not  rent  their  houses  to  any 
who  would  not  give  a  bond  to  abstain  from  such  proceedings, 
and  refusing  to  open  the  trade  until  such  bonds  were  given  ; 
tliey  furthermore  declared  their  intention  to  pull  Mr.  Innes' 
house  down  if  he  I'efused  to  depai't.  The  Chamber  protested 
that  "  the  inviolability  of  their  personal  dwellings  was  a  point 
imperatively  necessary  "  for  their  security  ;  the  hong  merchants 
then  )-esorted  to  entreaty,  stating  their  difficult  position  be- 
tween their  own  rulei\s  on  one  side,  who  held  them  responsible 
for  executing  their  ordei's,  and  the  foreigners  on  the  other,  over 


TRADE   STOPPED   AT   CANTON".  495 

whom  tliey  had  little  or  no  power.  The  Chamber  could  only 
express  its  regret  at  the  unjust  pnnisliment  inflicted  on  a  hong 
merchant,  Punhoyqua,  for  this,  and  reassert  its  inability  to  con- 
trol the  acts  of  any  fol-eigner. 

The  governor  had  put  himself  in  this  helpless  condition  by 
refusing  Captain  Elliot's  letters ;  and  it  is  remarkable  that  he 
hesitated  to  arrest  Mr.  Innes,  when  one  word  would  have  set 
the  populace  on  the  factories  and  their  tenants,  and  destroyed 
them  all.  As  an  alternative,  he  now  resolved  to  show  foreign- 
ers what  consequences  befel  natives  who  dealt  in  opium  ;  and 
while  Mv.  Innes  still  remained  in  Canton,  he  sent  an  otRcer 
with  fifteen  soldiers  to  execute  Ilo  Lau-kin,  a  convicted  dealer, 
in  front  of  the  factories.  The  officer  was  proceeding  to  carry 
his  orders  into  effect  near  the  American  flag-stafP,  when  the 
foreigners  sallied  out,  pushed  down  the  tent  he  was  raising,  and 
told  him  in  loud  tones  not  to  execute  the  man  there.  Quite 
unprepared  for  this  opposition,  he  hastily  gathered  up  his  im- 
plements and  went  into  a  neighboring  street,  where  the  man 
was  strangled.  Meanwhile  a  crowd  collected  to  see  these  ex- 
traordinary proceedings,  whom  the  foreigners  endeavored  to 
drive  away,  supposing  that  a  little  determination  would  soon 
scatter  them.  Blows,  however,  were  returned,  the  foreigners 
driven  into  their  factories,  and  the  gates  shut ;  the  crowd  had 
now  become  a  mob,  and  under  the  impression  that  two  natives 
had  been  seized,  they  began  to  batter  the  fronts  and  break  the 
windows  with  stones  and  brickbats.  They  had  had  possession 
of  the  square  about  three  hours,  and  the  danger  was  becoming 
imminent,  when  the  Pwanyu  hien,  or  '  district  magistrate,'  came 
up,  with  three  or  four  other  officers,  attended  by  a  small  body 
of  police.  Stepping  out  of  his  sedan  he  waved  his  hand  over 
the  crowd,  the  lictors  pouncing  upon  three  or  four  of  the  most 
active,  whom  they  began  to  chastise  upon  the  spot,  and  the 
storm  was  quelled.  About  twenty  soldiers,  armed  with  swords 
and  spears,  took  their  stand  in  a  conspicuous  quarter  ;  the  mag- 
istrate and  his  retinue  seated  themselves,  leaving  the  hong 
merchants  and  the  police  to  disperse  the  crowd.  The  foreign- 
ers were  also  assured  that  all  should  be  kept  quiet  during  the 
niglit,  but  not  a  word  was  said  to  them  regarding  their  conduct 


406  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

in  interfering  with  the  execution  or  their  lolly  in  bringing  this 
danger  upon  themselves.  This  occurrence  tended  to  impress 
both  the  government  and  people  with  contempt  and  hatred  for 
foreigners  and  their  characters,  fear  of  their  designs,  and  the 
necessity  of  restraining  them.  The  majority  of  them  Avere 
engaged  in  the  opium  trade,  and  all  stood  before  the  Empire  as 
violators  of  tlie  laws,  while  the  people  themselves  suffered  the 
dreadful  penalty. 

Tliere  is  no  room  for  the  details  and  correspondence  connected 
with  this  remarkable  incident.'  Captain  Elliot  now  reappeared 
in  Canton,  and  at  a  general  meeting  expressed  his  conviction  of 
the  cause  of  these  untoward  events  in  the  snniggling  traffic  on  the 
river,  declaring  his  intention  of  ordering  all  the  British-owned 
vessels  to  leave  it  within  three  days ;  he  moreover  expressed  tlie 
hope  that  the  further  step  of  opening  connnunication  with  the 
provincial  authorities  to  obtain  their  co-operation  to  drive  them 
out  would  be  prevented  by  their  speedy  departure.  Injunctions 
and  entreaties  to  his  countrymen  were,  however,  alike  unavailing, 
and  he  accordingly  addressed  the  governor,  stating  liis  wish  to 
co-operate  in  driving  them  out.  In  a  public  notice  he  remarked 
that  "  this  course  of  traffic  was  rapidly  staining  the  British 
character  with  deep  disgrace  "  and  exposing  the  regular  com- 
merce to  innninent  jeopardy,  and  that  he  meant  to  shrink  from 
no  responsibility  in  drawing  it  to  a  conclusion.  The  governor, 
as  was  expected,  praised  the  superintendent  for  his  offer,  but 
left  him  to  do  the  whole  work;  lenuirking,  in  that  peculiar 
strain  of  Chinese  conceit  which  so  effectually  forestalls  our 
sympathy  for  their  difficulties,  that  "  it  may  well  be  conceived 
that  these  boats  trouble  me  not  one  iota  :" — as  if  all  he  had  to 
do  was  to  arise  in  his  majesty,  and  they  were  gone.  The  boats, 
hoM'ever,  gradually  left  the  river.  Mr.  Innes  retired,  and  the 
regular  trade  was  j-esumed  in  January. 

No  British  consular  officer  has  been  placed  in  a  more  difficult 
and  humiliating  dilennna,  and  Captain  Elliot  did  himself  honor 
in  his  efforts.  The  English  newspapers  ridiculed  him  as  a  tide- 
waiter  of  the    Chinese   custom-house,   a  man   who  aided    the 


Chinese  Jtepositai'y,  Vol.  VII. ,  pp.  437-456. 


ArPOINTMENT   OF   COMMISSIONER   LIN.  497 

cowardlv  authorities  to  carry  tlieir  orders  into  effect,  thereby 
staining  the  honor  of  her  Majesty's  commission.  Althongli  ho 
did  not  intend  to  draw  a  line  betvyeen  tlie  heinousness  of 
the  opium  trade  inside  of  the  I'ogue  and  its  harmlessness  be- 
yond that  limit,  still  there  were  good  reasons,  under  his  peculiar 
position,  for  some  action  to  show  the  Chinese  government  that 
British  power  would  not  protect  British  subjects  in  violating  the 
laws  of  China. 

At  this  period  the  Peking  govermnent  had  taken  its  course 
of  action.  Reports  had  been  received  from  the  provincial  au- 
thorities almost  unanimously  recommending  increased  strin- 
gency to  abolish  the  traffic.  History,  so  far  as  we  know,  does 
not  record  a  similar  example  of  an  arbitrary,  despotic,  pagan  gov- 
ernment taking  the  public  sentiment  of  its  own  people  before 
adopting  a  doubtful  line  of  conduct.  It  was  a  far  more  momen- 
tous and  difficult  question  than  eyen  the  cabinet  deemed  it  to 
be,  while  their  conceit  and  ignorance  incapacitated  them  from 
dealing  with  it  prudently  or  successfully.  There  can  be  no  rea- 
sonable doubt  that  the  best  part  of  his  people  and  the  moral 
power  of  the  nation  were  with  their  sovereign  in  this  attempt. 
Hii  Xai-tsi  was  dismissed  for  proposing  legalization,  and  three 
princes  of  the  blood  degraded  for  smoking  opium  ;  arrests,  fines, 
tortures,  imprisonments,  and  executions  were  frequent  in  the 
provinces  on  the  same  grounds,  all  showing  the  determination 
to  eradicate  it.  The  governor  of  llukwang,  Lin  Tseh-sii,  was 
ordered  to  proceed  to  Canton,  with  unlimited  powers  to  stop  the 
traffic.  The  trade  thei'e  was  at  this  time  almost  suspended,  the 
deliveries  being  small  and  at  losing  pi-ices.  Many  underlings 
were  convicted  and  summarily  punished,  and  on  February 
2Gth  Fung  A-ngan  was  strangled  in  front  of  the  factoi-ies 
for  his  connection  with  opium  and  participation  in  the  affray 
at  Whampoa.  The  foreign  flags,  English,  American,  Dutch, 
and  French,  were  all  hauled  down  in  consequence.  The  entire 
stoppage  of  all  ti-ade  ^yas  thi-eatened,  and  the  governor  urged 
foreigners  to  send  all  opium  ships  from  Chinese  waters. 

Commissioner  Lin  arriyed  in  Canton  March  lOth.  The  Em- 
peror sent  him  to  inquii-e  and  act  so  as  thoroughly  to  remove 
the  source  of  the  evil,  foi-,  says  he,  "  if  the  source  of  the  evil 


498  THE    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

lie  not  clearly  ascertained,  how  can  we  hope  that  the  stream  of 
pernicious  consequences  shall  be  stayed?  It  is  our  full  hope  that 
the  long-indulged  habit  will  be  forever  laid  aside,  and  every  root 
and  o-erni  of  it  entirely  eradicated  :  we  would  fain  think  that 
our  ministers  will  be  enabled  to  substantiate  our  wishes,  and  so 
remove  from  China  the  dire  calamity/'  It  was  reported  in  Can- 
ton that  the  monarch,  when  recounting  the  evils  which  had  long 
afflicted  his  people  by  means  of  opium,  paused  and  wept,  and 
turning  to  Lin,  said :  "  llow,  alas !  can  I  die  and  go  to  the  shades 
of  my  imperial  father  and  ancestors,  until  these  direful  evils  are 
removed  !  "  Such  was  the  chief  purpose  of  this  movement  on 
the  part  of  the  Chinese  government,  and  Lin  was  invested  with 
the  fullest  powers  ever  conferred  on  a  subject.  Although  long 
experience  of  tlie  ineffectiveness  of  Chinese  edicts  generally  lead 
those  residing  in  the  country  to  regard  them  as  mere  verbiage, 
still,  to  say  that  they  are  all  insincere  and  formal  because  they 
are  ineffectual,  is  to  misjudge  and  pervert  the  emotions  of  com- 
mon humanity.  Lin  appears  to  have  been  well  fitted  for  the 
mission  ,  and  if  he  had  been  half  as  enlightened  as  he  was  sin- 
cere, he  would  perhaps  have  averted  the  war  which  followed, 
and  been  convinced  that  legalization  was  the  most  judicious  step 
he  could  recommend. 

The  connnissioner  spent  a  week  making  inquiries,  during 
which  time  nothing  was  publicly  heard  from  him;  while  natives 
and  foreigners  alike  anxiously  speculated  as  to  his  plans.  It  was 
not  until  March  18th  that  his  first  proclanuitions  were  issued  to 
the  hong  merchants  and  foreigners  ;  that  to  the  latter  required 
them  to  deliver  up  all  the  opium  in  the  storeships,  and  to  give 
bonds  that  they  would  bring  no  more,  on  penalty  of  death. 
The  poor  hong  merchants  were,  as  usual,  instructed  regarding 
their  responsibility  to  admonish  the  foreigners,  and  strictly 
charged  to  procure  these  bonds,  or  they  would  be  made  examples 
of.  Three  days  were  allowed  for  compliance  with  these  de- 
mands. Thehoppo  had  already  issued  orders  detaining  all  for- 
eigners in  Canton — in  fact,  making  them  prisoners  in  their  own 
houses;  comnnmication  with  the  shipping  was  suspended,  troops 
were  assembled  about  the  factories,  and  armed  cruisers  stationed 
on  the  river.     The  Chamber  of  Commerce  wrote  to  the  hong 


LIN   DEMANDS   A   SURRENDER   OF   OPII'M.  499 

merchants  on  the  20th^  through  their  chamiian,W.  S,  Wetniore, 
an  American,  stating  that  they  would  send  a  definite  reply  in 
four  days,  and  adding  that  "  there  is  an  almost  unanimous  feel- 
ing in  the  community  of  the  absolute  necessity  of  the  foreign 
residents  of  Canton  having  no  connection  with  the  opium  traffic/' 

This  paper  was  taken  to  the  commissioner,  and  ahout  ten 
o'clock  P.M.  the  hong  merchants  again  met  the  Chaniber,  and 
told  them  that  if  some  opium  was  not  given  up  two  of  their 
number  would  be  beheaded  in  the  morning.  The  merchants 
present,  including  British,  Parsees,  Americans,  and  others,  act- 
ing as  individuals,  then  subscribed  one  thousand  and  thirty- 
seven  chests,  to  be  tendered  to  the  commissioner  ;  but  the  hong 
merchants  reported  next  morning  that  this  amount  was  insuffi- 
cient. In  the  afternoon  Lin  sent  an  invitation  to  Mr.  Dent,  a 
leading  English  merchant,  to  meet  him  at  the  city  gates,  who 
expressed  his  willingness  to  go  if  the  commissioner  would  give 
him  a  safe-warrant  guaranteeing  his  return  within  a  day.  The 
hong  merchants  returned  without  Inm  ;  and  the  next  morning 
two  of  them,  Howqua  and  Mowqua,  came  again  to  his  house 
with  chains  upon  their  necks,  having  been  sent  with  an  express 
order  for  him  to  appear.  They  repaired  to  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce  then  assembled,  but  all  soon  returned  to  Mr.  Dent's 
house,  where  an  animated  debate  took  place,  which  resulted  in 
the  unanimous  decision  on  the  part  of  the  foreign  residents 
that  he  should  not  go  into  the  city  without  the  safe-warrant. 
This  unexpected  demand  caused  much  discussion  among  for- 
eigners, as  it  was  doubtless  a  contrivance  to  secure  a  hostage ; 
and  the  refusal  of  the  former  to  give  a  written  safe-warrant 
would  probably  have  ended  in  seizing  Mr.  Dent  and  imprison- 
ing him,  if  Ilowqua,  the  senior  hong  merchant,  had  not  allowed 
everything  to  wait  over  one  day  till  Monday.  Mr.  Dent's 
partner  had  that  day  seen  i\\e a7i-chah sz\  or  'provincial  judge,' 
in  the  city  to  explain  why  he  hesitated  to  go  to  Lin. 

On  the  22d  Captain  Elliot  sent  a  note  to  the  governor  ex- 
pressing his  readiness  to  meet  the  Chinese  officers,  and  use  "  his 
sincere  efforts  to  fulfil  the  pleasure  of  the  great  Emperor  as 
soon  as  it  was  made  known  to  him."  The  Chinese  could  hardly 
draw  any  other  conclusion  from  this  admission  than  that  he 


500  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

had  the  power,  as  well  as  the  inclination  to  put  down  the  opium 
trade,  which  he  certainly  could  not  do  ;  it  tended  therefore  to 
deceive  them.  This  note  was  followed  by  a  letter  to  Captain 
Blake,  of  theLarne,  requesting  his  assistance  in  defending  Jji'it- 
ish  property  and  life,  and  by  a  circular  ordering  all  British  ships, 
opium  and  others,  to  proceed  to  Hongkong  and  pi-epare  them- 
selves to  resist  every  act  of  aggression.  A  second  circular  to 
British  subjects  detailed  the  reasons  which  compelled  him  to 
withdraw  all  conlidencc  in  the  "justice  and  moderation  of  the 
provincial  government,"'  and  demand  passports  for  all  his 
countrymen  who  wished  to  leave  Canton,  while  counselling  every 
one  to  make  preparations  to  remove  on  board  shij).  Elliot 
now  proceeded  to  Canton,  which  he  safely  reached  about  sunset 
Sunday  evening,  dressed  in  naval  uniform  and  closely  attended 
by  cruisers  watching  his  movements.  The  British  flag  was 
then  hoisted,  and  Captain  Elliot,  conducting  Mr.  Dent  to  the 
consulate  in  the  most  conspicuous  manner,  summoned  a  public 
meeting,  read  his  notice  of  the  previous  day,  and  told  the  hong 
merchants  to  inform  the  commissioner  that  he  was  willing  to 
let  Mr.  Dent  go  into  the  city  if  he  could  accompany  him. 

His  coming  up  the  river  had  excited  the  apprehensions  of 
the  Chinese  that  he  meant  to  force  his  way  out  again,  and 
oi'ders  were  issued  to  close  every  pass  around  the  factories.  By 
nine  o'clock  that  evening  the  foreigners,  about  two  hundred 
and  Feventy-fi\e  in  number,  Avere  the  only  inmates  of  their 
houses.  Patrols,  sentinels,  and  officers,  hastening  hither  and 
thither,  with  the  blowing  of  trumpets  and  beating  of  gongs, 
added  confusion  to  the  darkness  of  the  night. 

On  the  25th  most  of  the  foreign  merchants  of  all  nations 
signed  a  paper  pledging  themselves  "  not  to  deal  in  opium,  nor 
to  attempt  to  introduce  it  into  the  Chinese  Empire  : "  how 
many  of  the  individuals  subsecjuently  broke  this  j)ledge  on  the 
ground  that  it  Avas  forced  from  them  cannot  be  stated,  but  part 
of  the  firms  which  signed  it  afterward  actively  engaged  in  the 
trade.  Captain  Elliot  applied  for  passports  for  himself  and 
countrymen,  and  requested  the  return  of  the  servants,  avoiding 
all  reference  to  his  promise  of  three  days  before,  or  mention  of 
the  cause  of  these  stringent  proceedings.     His  requests  were 


THE    FOKEIGNEKS    IMPRISONED    IN    THE    FACTORIES.     501 

refused  ;  no  native  was  allowed  to  bring  food  or  water  to  the 
factories ;  letters  could  not  be  sent  to  AVlianipoa  or  Macao,  ex- 
cept at  ininiiucnt  risk  ;  the  continciiient  was  complete,  and  had 
been  effected  without  the  least  personal  harm.  The  heavy 
punishment  which  had  fallen  on  Kwoh  Si-ping,  Ho  Lau-kin, 
and  Fung  A-ngan  had  now  come  near  to  the  foreign  agents  of 
the  traihc ;  but  not  an  individual  had  been  touched. 

The  commissioner  next  issued  an  exhortation  to  all  foreigners, 
urging  them  to  deliver  the  drug  on  four  grounds,  viz.,  because 
they  were  men  and  had  reason  ;  becanse  the  laws  forbade  its 
use,  nnder  severe  penalties ;  because  they  should  have  feelings 
for  those  who  suffered  from  using  it ;  and  because  of  their 
present  duress,  from  which  they  would  then  be  released.  This 
paper,  as  were  all  those  issued  by  Lin,  was  characterized  by  an 
uimsual  vigor  of  expression  and  cogency  of  reasoning,  but  be- 
trayed the  same  arrogance  and  ignorance  which  had  misled  his 
predecessors.  One  extract  will  suffice.  Under  the  first  reason 
why  the  opium  should  bo  delivered  up,  lie  says  that  other- 
wise the  retribution  of  heaven  will  follow  them,  and  cites  some 
cases  to  prove  this: 

Now,  our  great  Emperor,  being  actuated  by  the  exatted  virtue  of  heaven 
itself,  wishes  to  cut  off  this  deluge  of  opium,  which  is  the  jilainest  proof  that 
such  is  the  intention  of  high  heaven  !  It  is  then  a  traffic  on  which  heaven 
looks  with  disgust,  and  who  is  he  that  may  oppose  its  will  ?  Thus  in  the  in- 
stance of  the  English  chief  Robarts,  who  violated  our  laws  ;  he  endeavored  to 
get  possession  of  Macao  by  force,  and  at  Macao  he  died!  Again,  in  1834,  Lord 
Napier  bolted  through  the  Bocca  Tigris,  but  being  overwhelmed  with  grief  and 
fear  he  almost  immediately  died :  and  Morrison,  who  had  been  darkly  deceiv- 
ing him,  died  that  very  year  also!  Besides  these,  every  one  of  those  who  have 
not  observed  our  laws  have  either  been  overtaken  with  the  jiidgments  of  hea- 
ven on  returning  to  their  country,  or  silently  cut  off  ere  they  could  return 
thither.  Thus  then  it  is  manifest  that  the  heavenly  dynasty  may  not  be  op- 
posed I 

Two  communications  to  Captain  Elliot,  from  Lin  through  the 
prefect  and  district  magistrates,  accompanied  this  exhortation, 
stating  his  view  of  the  superintendent's  conduct  in  contuma- 
ciously resisting  his  commands  and  requiring  him  to  give  np  the 
opium.  For  once  in  the  history  of  foreign  intercourse  with 
China,  these  commands  were  obeyed,  and  after  intimating  his 


502  THE    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

readiness  to  comply,  Captain  Elliot  issued  a  circular  on  Marcb 
27th,  which  from  its  important  results  is  quoted  entire  : 

I,  Charles  Elliot,  chief  superintendent  of  the  trade  of  British  subjects  in 
China,  presently  forcibly  detained  by  the  provincial  government,  together  with 
all  the  merchants  of  my  own  and  the  other  foreign  nations  settled  liere,  with- 
out supplies  of  food,  deprived  of  our  servants,  and  cut  off  from  all  iutercoui'se 
with  our  respective  countries  (notwithstanding  my  own  official  demand  to  be 
set  at  liberty  that  I  might  act  without  restraint),  have  now  received  the  com- 
mands of  the  high  commissioner,  issued  directly  to  me  under  the  seals  of  the 
honorable  officers,  to  deliver  into  his  hand  all  the  opium  held  by  the  people 
of  my  own  country.  Now  I,  the  said  chief  superintendent,  thus  constrained  by 
paramount  motives  affecting  the  safety  of  the  lives  and  liberty  of  all  the  for- 
eigiu'rs  here  present  in  Canton,  and  by  other  very  weighty  causes,  do  hereby, 
in  the  name  and  on  the  behalf  of  her  Britannic  Majesty's  government,  enjoin 
and  require  all  her  Majesty's  subjects  now  present  in  Canton,  forthwith  to 
make  a  surrender  to  me  for  the  service  of  lier  said  Majesty's  government,  to  be 
delivered  over  to  the  government  of  China,  of  all  the  opium  under  their  re- 
spective control :  and  to  hold  the  British  ships  and  vessels  engaged  in  the 
opium  trade  subject  to  my  immediate  direction :  and  to  forward  me  without 
delay  a  sealed  list  of  all  the  British-owned  o])ium  in  their  respective  possession. 
And  I,  the  said  chief  superintendent,  du  now,  in  the  most  full  and  unreserved 
manner,  liold  myself  resjjonsible  for,  and  on  the  behalf  of  her  Britannic 
Majesty's  government,  to  all  and  each  of  her  Majesty's  subjects  surrendering  the 
said  British-owned  opium  into  my  hands,  to  be  delivered  over  to  the  Chinese 
government.  And  I,  the  said  chief  superintendent,  do  further  especially  cau- 
tion all  her  Majesty's  subjects  here  present  in  Canton,  owners  of  or  charged 
with  the  management  of  opium  the  property  of  British  subjects,  that  failing  the 
surrender  of  the  said  opium  into  my  hands  at  or  before  six  o'clock  this  day,  I, 
the  said  superintendent,  hereby  declare  her  Majesty's  government  wholly  free 
of  all  manner  of  responsibility  in  respect  of  the  said  British-owned  opium. 
And  it  is  specially  to  be  understood  that  proof  of  British  property  and  value  of 
all  British-owned  opium  surrendered  to  mo  agreeable  to  this  iu)tic(>,  shall  be 
determined  upon  principles,  and  in  a  manner  liereafter  to  be  defined  by  her 
Majesty's  government. ' 

The  guarantee  offered  in  this  notice  was  deemed  sufficient  by 
the  merchants,  thoui2;h  Captain  Elliot  had  no  authority  to  take 
such  a  responsibility,  and  exceeded  his  powers  in  giving  it ;  be- 
ing the  authorized  agent  of  the  crown,  however,  his  government 
was  responsible  for  his  acts,  though  the  notice  did  not,  nor 
could  it,  set  any  price  npon  the  sui-rendercd  property. 

At  the  time  it  was  given  it  could  not  l)e  honestly  said  that 

'  Cliinese  Repository,  Vol.  VII.,  p.  633. 


CAPTAIN   ELLIOT  S   CIRCULAR.  503 

tlic  lives  of  foreigners  were  in  jeopardy,  and  Lin  liad  promised 
to  reopen  the  trade  as  soon  as  the  opium  was  delivered  and  the 
bonds  given.  What  the  other  "  very  weighty  causes ''  were 
nnist  be  guessed  ;  but  the  requisition  was  promptly  answered, 
and  before  night  twenty  thousand  two  hundred  and  eighty-three 
chests  of  opium  had  been  surrendered,  which  Captain  Elliot  the 
next  day  tendered  to  the  connnissioner.  Their  market  value  at 
tlie  time  was  not  far  from  nine  millions  of  dollars,  and  the  cost 
price  nearly  eleven  millions.  Directions  were  sent  to  twenty- 
two  vessels  to  anchor  near  the  Bogue,  to  await  orders  for  its 
delivery,  the  commissioner  and  the  governor  themselves  going 
down  forty  miles  to  superintend  the  transfer.  On  April  2d 
the  arrangements  for  delivering  the  opium  were  completed, 
and  on  May  21st  it  was  all  housed  near  the  Bogue. 

When  the  guard  M-as  placed  about  the  factories,  no  native 
came  near  them  for  three  days,  but  on  the  21>tli  a  supply  of 
sheep,  pigs,  poultry',  and  other  provisions  was  "graciously  be- 
stowed "  upon  their  inmates,  most  of  whom  refused  them  as 
gifts,  which  impressed  Lin  with  the  belief  that  they  were  not 
actually  suffering  for  food.  On  May  5th  the  guards  and  boats 
M-ere  removed,  and  communication  resumed  with  the  shipping. 
Sixteen  persons,  English,  Americans,  and  Parsees,  named  as 
principal  agents  in  the  opium  trade,  were  ordered  to  leave  the 
country  and  never  return.  On  the  24th  Captain  Elliot  left 
Canton,  accompanied  by  the  ten  British  subjects  mentioned 
among  the  sixteen  outlawed  persons.  In  order  still  further  to 
involve  her  Majesty's  ministers  in  his  acts,  he  forbade  British 
ships  entering  the  port,  or  any  British  subject  living  in  Can- 
ton, on  the  ground  that  both  life  and  property  were  insecure ; 
there  were,  however,  no  serious  apprehensions  felt  by  other 
foreigners  remaining  there ;  and  the  propriety  of  the  order  was 
questioned  by  those  who  were  serious  sufferers  from  its  action. 

This  success  in  getting  the  opium  encouraged  Lin  to  demand 
the  bond,  but  although  the  captains  of  most  of  the  ships  signed 
it  when  the  port  was  first  opened,  it  was  not  required  long  after. 
The  British  merchants  at  Canton  prepared  a  memorial  to  the 
foreign  secretary  of  their  government,  recapitulating  the  aggres- 
sive acts  of  the  Chinese  government  in  stopping  the  legal  trade, 


f;()l  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

detaining  all  foreigners  in  Canton  until  the  opium  was  surren 
dered,  and  requiring  them  to  sign  a  hund  not  to  bring  it  again, 
which  involved  their  I'esponsibility  over  those  whom  they  could 
not  control  ;  but  nothing  was  said  in  it  of  their  own  unlawful 
acts,  no  reference  to  their  promises  of  a  few  months  before,  no 
allusion  to  the  causes  of  these  acts  of  aggression.  Its  burden 
was,  howevei",  to  urge  the  government  to  issue  a  notice  of  its 
intentions  respecting  the  pledge  given  them  by  the  superintend- 
ent in  his  demand  for  the  opium. 

Lin  referred  to  Peking  for  orders  concerning  the  disposal  of 
the  opium,  and  his  Majesty  commanded  the  Mhole  to  be  des- 
troyed by  him  and  his  colleagues  in  the  presence  of  the  civil 
and  military  officers,  the  inhabitants  of  the  coast,  and  the  for- 
eigners, "  that  they  may  know  and  tremble  thereat."  Captain 
Elliot,  on  the  other  hand,  before  it  had  all  been  delivered,  wrote 
to  his  government,  April  22d,  his  belief  that  the  Chinese  in- 
tended to  sell  it  at  a  high  price,  remunerating  the  owners  and 
pocketing  the  difference,  ])reparatory  to  legalizing  the  traffic, 
and  making  some  arrangements  to  limit  the  annual  importation 
to  a  certain  number  of  chests ;  consequently  he  recommended 
an  "  innnediate  and  strong  declaration  to  exact  complete  indem- 
nity for  all  manner  of  loss  "  from  the  Chinese.  lie  calls  Lin 
"false  and  perfidious,"  though  it  is  difficult  to  see  why  he 
applies  these  epithets  to  one  who  seems  to  have  sincerely  en- 
deavored to  carry  out  instructions,  while  his  own  communicft- 
tions  certainly  tended  to  mislead  him.  The  sense  of  the 
responsi]>ility  he  had  assumed,  and  the  irritating  confinement 
under  which  it  was  written,  account,  in  a  measure,  for  this 
despatch,  so  different  in  its  tenor  from  his  previous  declara- 
tions. 

The  o])ium  was  destroyed  in  the  most  thorough  manner,  b}' 
Hiixiiig  it  in  parcels  of  two  hundred  chests,  in  trenches,  with 
lime  and  salt  water,  and  then  drawing  off  the  contents  into  the 
adjacent  creek  at  low  tide.  Overseers  were  stationed  to  prevent 
the  woi'kmeu  or  villagers  fi-om  ])urloining  the  opium,  and  one 
man  was  summarily  executed  for  attem])ting  to  carry  away  a 
small  quantity.  Xo  doubt  remained  in  the  minds  of  persons 
wh(j  visited  the  place  and  examined  the  operation,  that  the 


THE    OPIU.>r   YIELDED   AND   DESTROYED.  505 

entire  quantity  of  twenty  tliousand  two  hundred  and  ninety-one 
eliests  received  from  the  Enghsli  (eiglit  nioi-e  having  been  sent 
from  Macao)  was  completely  destroyed: — a  solitary  instance  in 
the  history  of  the  world  of  a  pagan  monarch  preferring  to 
destroy  what  would  injure  his  subjects,  rather  than  to  fill  his 
own  pockets  with  its  sale.  The  whole  transaction  M'ill  ever 
remain  one  of  the  most  remarkable  incidents  in  liuman  history 
for  its  contrasts,  and  the  great  changes  it  introduced  into 
China.' 

The  course  of  events  during  the  remainder  of  the  year  1839 
presents  a  stiange  mixture  of  traffic  and  hostility.  The  British 
merchants  were  obliged  to  send  their  goods  to  Canton  in  ships 
sailing  under  other  Hags,  which  led  the  connnissioner  to  issue 
placards  exhorting  British  captains  to  bring  their  ships  into 
])ort.  This  procedure  brought  out  a  rejoinder  from  Ca])tain 
Elliot,  giving  the  reasons  why  he  had  forbidden  them  to  do  so, 
and  complaining  of  his  own  unjust  imprisonment  as  unbecoming 
treatment  to  the  "officer  of  a  friendly  nation,  recognized  l)y  the 
Emperoi*,  who  had  always  performed  his  duty  peacefully  and 
irreproachably."  Captain  Elliot's  own  correspondence  shows, 
however,  that  this  is  an  unfair  statement  of  the  political  rela- 
tions between  them. 

While  this  matter  of  trade  was  pending,  a  drunken  affray  oc- 
curred at  Hongkong  with  some  English  sailors,  in  which  an  in- 
offensive native  named  Lin  Wei-lii  lost  his  life.  The  commis- 
sioner ordered  an  inquest  to  be  held,  and  demanded  the  nnn-- 
derer,  according  to  Chinese  law.  The  superintendent  empanelled 
a  regular  court  of  criminal  and  admiralty  jurisdiction  at  Ilong- 
icong,  to  try  the  seamen  who  had  been  arrested.    He  also  offered 

'  Sir  Robert  Peel  declared  tliat  this  property  was  obtained  by  lier  Majesty's 
agent  without  any  authority  ;  but  when  the  six  millions  of  dollars  were  re- 
ceived from  tlie  Chinese  as  indemnity,  the  British  government  made  its  sub- 
jects receive  their  money  in  London,  charged  them  with  all  expenses  insteal 
of  paying  it  in  China,  and  priced  the  opium  at  scarcely  half  what  tlie  East  In- 
dia Company  had  received  from  it,  by  taking  the  market  rates  when  the  trade 
at  Canton  was  nominal.  The  merchants  lost,  with  accruing  interest,  about  two 
millions  sterling,  and  "SirR.  Peel  transferred  a  million  sterling  from  their 
pockets  to  the  public  treasury." — Chinese  liepositori/,  Vol.  XIIL,  p.  54  (from 
London  paper). 


506  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

a  reward  of  i?200  for  such  evidence  as  would  lead  to  the  eonvic* 
tioii  of  the  offenders  ;  and  advanced  in  all  S2,00U  to  the  friends  of 
the  deceased  as  some  compensation  for  their  lieavy  loss,  and  to 
the  villagers  for  injuries  done  to  them  in  the  riot.  Having 
formed  the  court,  he  politely  invited  the  provincial  officers  to  at- 
tend the  trial ;  and  when  it  was  over,  informed  them  that  he  had 
been  unable  to  ascertain  the  perpetrator  of  the  deed.  Five  sailors 
were  convicted  and  punished  for  riotous  conduct  hy  fine  and  im- 
prisonment, and  sent  to  England  under  arrest,  but  to  everybody's 
surprise  were  all  liberated  on  their  arrival.  The  proceedings  in 
this  matter  were  perfectly  fair,  and  the  commissioner  should  have 
been  satisfied  ;  but  his  subsequent  violent  conduct  really  placed 
the  dispute  on  an  entirely  new  ground,  though  he  regarded  his 
action  as  simply  exercising  the  same  prerogative  of  control  over 
foreigners  in  both  cases.  Finding  his  demand  for  the  murderer 
disregarded,  he  took  measures  against  the  English  then  in  INfacao 
which  were  calculated  to  bring  serious  loss  upon  the  Portuguese 
population.  His  course  was  prompted  by  anger  at  losing  the 
trade,  and  only  injured  liis  own  cause.  In  order  to  relieve  the 
unoffending  and  helpless  people  in  Macao,  Captain  Elliot  and 
all  British  subjects  who  could  do  so  left  the  settlement  August 
26th,  and  M'ent  on  board  ship  for  a  time.  During  this  interval 
Lin  and  Governor  Tang  visited  Macao  under  an  escort  of  Portu- 
guese troops,  but  retired  the  same  day.  This  move  placed  the 
English  beyond  his  reach,  but  did  not  advance  his  efforts  to 
drive  the  opium  ships  from  the  coast,  or  induce  the  regular 
traders  to  enter  the  port.  The  sales  of  opium  had  begun  again 
even  before  the  destruction  of  the  drug,  and  ra])idly  increased 
when  it  M^as  knoM'n  that  that  immense  quantity  had  really  been 
destroyed.  Lin  now  began  to  see  that  his  plan  of  proceedings 
might  not  ultimately  prove  so  successful  as  he  had  anticipated^ 
for  he  was  bound  to  remain  at  Canton  until  he  could  report  the 
complete  suppression  of  the  contraband  and  safe  continuance  of 
the  legal  trade. 

Finding  that  the  British  fleet  at  Hongkong  was  too  strong  to 
drive  away,  he  forbade  the  iidial)itants  supplying  the  ships  with 
])rovisions.  This  led  to  a  collision  between  the  British  and  three 
junks  near  Ivowlung,  which  resulted,  however,  in  no  serious 


FURTIIEK  TROUBLES  BETWEEN  EiNCJLlSII  AND  CHINESE.    507 

damage.  On  Septcinber  lltli,  Captain  Elliot,  luiving  oixlered 
all  British  vessels  engaged  in  the  opium  trade  to  leave  the 
harbor  and  coast,  thej  mostly  proceeded  to  Tsamoh.  TJie 
Chinese  burned  the  next  day  a  Spanish  vessel,  the  IJilbaino,  in 
Macao  waters,  under  the  impression  that  she  was  English. 

In  unison  with  all  the  strange  features  of  this  struggle,  while 
hostilities  were  going  on,  negotiations  for  continuing  trade  M-ere 
entered  into  in  October,  when  the  connnissioner  signed  the  agree- 
ment, and  Captain  Elliot  furnished  security  for  its  being  con- 
ducted fairly.  But  the  unauthorized  entrance  of  the  English 
ship  Thomas  Coutts,  whose  captain  signed  the  bond,  led  to  a 
rupture  and  the  renewed  demand  for  the  murderer  of  Lin 
Wei-hi.  Captain  Elliot  ordered  all  British  ships  to  reassemble 
at  Tungku  under  the  protection  of  the  ships  of  w^ar  Yolage 
and  Hyacinth.  He  also  proceeded  to  the  Bogue  to  request  a 
withdrawal  of  the  threats  against  the  British  until  the  two 
governments  could  arrange  the  difficulties,  when  an  engage- 
ment ensued  between  Admiral  Kwan,  with  a  fleet  of  sixteen 
junhs,  and  the  two  ships  of  war ;  three  junks  w^ere  sunk,  one 
blown  up,  and  the  rest  scattered.  The  commissioner  had  been 
foiled  in  all  his  efforts  to  destroy  the  opium  trade  and  con- 
tinue the  legal  commerce.  As  a  last  effort  against  the  Bi-itish, 
he  declared  their  trade  at  an  end  after  December  G,  1839,  and 
issued  an  edict  like  that  of  Xapoleon  at  Berlin,  Kovember  19, 
1806,  forbidding  their  goods  to  be  imported  in  any  vessels.  An 
enormous  amount  of  property  now  lay  at  Canton  and  on  board 
ship  waiting  to  be  exchanged  in  the  course  of  regular  trade,  but 
only  the  opium  traffic  flourished. 

The  close  of  the  year  1839  saw  the  two  nations  involved 
in  serious  difficulties,  and  as  the  events  here  briefly  recounted 
were  the  cause  of  the  war,  it  will  be  proper  to  compare  the 
opinions  of  the  two  parties,  in  order  to  arrive  at  a  better  judg- 
ment upon  the  character  of  that  contest.  The  degree  of 
authority  to  be  exercised  over  persons  Mdio  visit  their  shores  is 
acknowledged  by  Christian  nations  among  themselves  to  be 
nearly  the  same  as  that  over  their  o\vn  subjects ;  but  none  of 
these  nations  have  conceded  this  authority  to  unchristian 
powers,  as  Turkey,  Persia,  or  China,  mainly  because  of  the 


608  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

little  security  and  justice  to  be  expected.  Tlie  Chinese  luive 
looked  upon  foi-eigners  resortino;  to  their  ports  as  dinng  so  by 
sufferance  ;  they  entered  into  no  treaty  to  settle  the  conditions 
of  authority  on  either  side,  for  the  latter  considered  them- 
selves as  sojourners  and  aliens,  and  the  natives  were  unaware  of 
their  rights  in  the  matter.  Their  right  to  prohibit  the  intro- 
duction of  an}'  particular  articles  was  acknowledged,  and  the 
propriety  of  making  regulations  as  to  duties  allowed.  But 
traders  from  western  nations  often  set  light  by  the  fiscal  regu- 
lations of  such  countries  as  China,  Siam,  etc.,  if  they  can  do  so 
without  personal  detriment  or  loss  of  character ;  and  M'here 
there  is  a  want  of  power  in  the  government,  joined  to  a  lack  of 
moral  sense  in  the  people,  all  laws  are  imperfectly  executed. 
Ko  one  acquainted  with  these  countries  is  surprised  at  frequent 
and  flagrant  violations  of  law,  order,  justice  or  courtesy,  both 
among  rulers  and  ruled ;  yet  the  obligation  of  foreigners  to 
obey  just  laws  made  known  to  them  surely  is  not  to  be  meas- 
ured solely  by  the  degree  of  obedience  paid  by  a  portion  of  the 
people  themselves. 

The  Chinese  government  discussed  the  measure  of  legalizing 
a  trade  it  could  not  suppress,  but  before  constructing  a  law  to 
that  effect,  it  determined  to  nudce  a  final  and  more  vigorous 
effort  to  stamp  it  out.  Might  nuikes  right,  or  at  least  enforces 
it ;  had  the  Chinese  possessed  the  power  to  destroy  every  ship 
found  violating  their  laws,  although  the  loss  of  life  M-ould  have 
been  dreadful,  no  voice  would  have  been  raised  against  the  pro- 
ceeding. "Her  Majesty's  government,"  said  Lord  Palmerston, 
"cannot  interfere  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  Bi'itisli  sul)jects 
to  violate  the  laws  of  the  country  to  which  they  trade."  But  in 
that  case  this  power  would  not  have  been  dared;  the  known 
weakness  of  the  government  end)oldened  both  sellers  and 
buyers,  until  Captain  Elliot  told  the  Foreign  Secretai-y  that  ''  it 
was  a  confusion  of  terms  to  call  the  opium  trade  a  snuiggling 
trade." 

Lin  probably  wished  to  get  Mr.  Dent  as  a  hostage  for  the 
delivery  of  the  opium  in  the  hands  of  his  countrymen,  not  to 
punish  him  for  disobedience  to  previous  oi'dei's ;  expecting  no 
opposition  to  this  denuiud,  he  seems  to  have  been  unwilling  to 


MOTIVE.S   AND   POSITION    OP   COMMISSIONEIl   LIN.       509 

seize  him  iuimediately,  preferring  tu  try  persuasion  and  com- 
mand longer,  and  detain  him  and  other  foreigners  niitil  he  was 
obeyed  ;  Captain  Elliot  he  viewed  as  a  mere  head  merchant. 
When,  therefore,  the  attempt  was  made,  as  he  supposed,  to  take 
Mr.  Dent  out  of  his  hands,  lie  was  ap[)rehensive  of  a  sti'uggle, 
and  instantly  took  the  strongest  precautionary  measui-es  to  pre- 
vent the  prey  escaping.  Considei-ate  allowance  should  he  granted 
for  the  serious  mistake  lie  made  of  imprisoning  the  innocent 
M'ith  the  guilty  ;  hut  when  Captain  Elliot  took  Mr.  Dent  thus 
under  his  protection,  the  connnissioner  felt  that  his  pui-pose 
would  be  defeated,  and  no  opium  ol>tained,  if  he  began  to  draw 
a  distinction.  I)esides,  conscious  that  lie  possessed  unlimited 
power  over  a  few  defenceless  foreigners,  nearly  all  oi  whom 
were  in  his  eyes  guilty,  he  cared  vfry  little  M'here  Ids  acts  felL 
There  is  no  s'ood  evidence  to  show  that  he  seriouslv  meditated 
anything  which  would  liazard  their  lives.  "When  lie  had  re- 
ceived this  vast  amount  of  property,  success  evidently  made  him 
careless  as  to  his  conduct,  and  judging  the  probity  and  good 
faith  of  foreigners  by  his  own  standard,  he  deemed  it  safest  to 
detain  them  until  the  opium  was  actually  in  his  possession. 
Concluding  that  Captain  Elliot  did  attempt  to  abscond  with  Mr, 
Dent,  it  is  less  surprising,  therefore,  that  lie  should  have  looked 
upon  his  offers  to  "  carry  out  the  will  of  the  great  Emperor," 
when  set  at  liberty,  as  a  hire  rather  than  a  sincere  proposition. 
In  imprisoning  him  he  had  no  more  idea  he  was  imprisoning, 
insulting,  threatening,  and  coercing  the  representative  of  a 
power  like  Great  Britain,  or  violating  rules  western  powers  call 
jus  gentium,  than  if  he  had  been  the  envoy  from  Siam  or  Lew- 
cliew.  Wliether  he  should  not  have  known  this  is  another 
question,  and  had  he  candidly  set  liimself,  on  his  arrival  at 
Canton,  to  ascertain  the  power,  position,  and  commerce  of  west 
em  countries,  he  would  have  found  Captain  Elliot  sincerely 
desirous  of  meeting  him  in  his  endeavors  to  fulfil  his  high  com- 
mission. Let  us  deal  fairly  by  the  Chinese  rulers  in  their  desire 
to  restrain  a  traffic  of  which  they  knew  and  felt  vastly  more  of 
its  evil  than  we  have  ever  done,  and  give  Lin  his  due,  though 
his  endeavors  failed  so  signally. 

The  opium  was  now  obtained  ;  no  lives  had  been  lost,  nor  any 


510  THE  MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

one  endangered  ;  but  the  Uritisli  government  felt  bound  to  paj 
its  own  subjects  for  their  cliests.  The  only  source  Captain 
Eiliut  suggested  was  to  make  the  Chinese  refund.  The  Em- 
peror ordered  it  to  be  destroyed,  and  the  conunissioner,  after 
executing  that  order,  next  endeavored  to  separate  the  legal  from 
the  contraband  trade  by  demanding  bonds ;  they  liad  been 
taken  in  vain  from  the  hong  merchants,  but  there  was  more 
hope  if  taken  directly  from  foreigners.  The  bonds  were  not 
made  a  pretext  for  war  by  the  English  ministry ;  that,  on  the 
part  of  England,  according  to  Lord  John  llussell,  was  "set 
afoot  to  obtain  reparation  for  insults  and  injuries  offered  her 
Majesty's  superintendent  and  subjects;  to  obtain  indenniitiea- 
tiou  for  the  losses  the  merchants  had  sustained  under  threats  of 
violence  ;  and,  lastly,  to  get  security  that  persons  and  property 
trading  with  China  should  in  future  be  protected  from  insult 
and  injury,  and  trade  maintained  upon  a  proper  footing." 
Looking  at  the  war,  therefore,  as  growing  out  of  this  trade,  and 
waged  to  recover  the  losses  sustained  by  the  surrendry  to  the 
British  superintendent,  it  was  an  unjust  one.  It  was,  moreover, 
an  imnioral  contest,  when  the  standing  of  the  two  nations  was 
examined,  and  the  fact  could  7iot  be  concealed  tluit  Great  Brit- 
ain, the  first  Cliristian  ])Ower,  I'eally  waged  this  war  against  the 
pagan  monarch  who  had  vainly  endeavored  to  put  down  a  vice 
hurtful  to  his  people.  The  war  was  looked  upon  in  this  light 
by  the  Chinese  ;  it  will  always  be  so  looked  upon  by  the  candid 
historian,  and  known  as  the  Opium  War. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  war  was  felt  by  every  well-wisher  to 
China  to  involve  far  higher  princi})lcs  than  the  mere  recovery  of 
the  opium  ;  and  had  it  been  really  held  to  be  so  by  the  English 
ministry,  they  would  have  done  well  to  have  alluded  to  them. 
Lin's  reiterated  denumds  for  the  murderer  of  Lin  AVei-hi, 
though  told  that  he  could  not  be  found,  was  only  one  form  of 
the  supremacy  the  Chinese  arrogantly  assumed  over  other  na- 
tions. Li  all  their  intercourse  with  their  fellow-men  the}'  main- 
tained  a  patronizing,  unfair,  and  contemptuous  position,  which 
left  no  alternative  but  withdrawal  from  their  shores  or  a  humil- 
iating submission  that  no  one  feeling  the  least  inde])endence 
could  endure.     'SoX.  unjustly  prt)ud  of  their  country  in  compari- 


CHAKACTER  OF  THE  DEBATE  UPON  THE  WAU.   511 

son  with  those  near  it,  her  Emperor,  her  nileivs,  and  her  people 
all  believed  her  to  be  inipregnably  strong,  portentously  awful, 
and  ininienselj  rich  in  learning,  power,  wealth,  and  territory, 
Konc  of  them  imagined  that  aught  could  be  learned  or  gained 
from  other  nations ;  for  the  "  outside  barbarians "  were  de- 
pendent for  their  health  and  food  upon  the  rhubarb,  tea,  and 
silks  of  the  Inner  Land.  They  had  seen,  indeed,  bad  specimens 
of  western  power  and  people,  but  there  were  equal  opportunities 
for  them  to  have  learned  the  truth  on  these  points.  The  i-e- 
ception  of  the  religion  of  the  Bible,  the  varied  useful  branches 
of  science,  and  the  many  mechanical  arts  known  in  western 
lands,  with  the  free  passage  of  their  own  people  abroad,  M'ere 
all  forbidden  to  the  millions  of  China  by  their  supercilious 
rulers ;  they  thereby  preferred  to  remain  the  slaves  of  debasing 
superstitions,  ignorant  of  common  science,  and  deprived  of 
everything  which  Christian  benevolence,  philanthropy,  and 
knowledge  could  and  wished  to  impart  to  them.  This  assump- 
tion of  supremacy,  and  a -real  impression  of  its  propriety,  was  a 
higher  wall  around  them  than  the  long  pile  of  stones  north  of 
Peking.  Force  seemed  to  be  the  only  effectual  destroyer  of 
such  a  barrier,  and  in  this  view  the  war  may  be  said  to  have 
been  necessary  to  compel  the  Chinese  government  to  receive 
western  powers  as  its  equals,  or  at  least  make  it  treat  their  sub- 
jects as  well  as  it  did  its  own  people.  There  was  little  hope  of 
an  adjustment  of  difficulties  until  the  Chinese  were  compelled 
to  abandon  this  erroneous  assumption  ;  the  conviction  that  it 
was  unjust,  unfounded,  and  foolish  in  itself  could  safely  be  left 
to  the  gradual  influences  of  true  religion,  profitable  commerce, 
and  sound  knowledge. 

The  report  of  the  debate  in  the  British  Parliament  on  this 
momentous  question  hardly  contains  a  single  reference  to  this 
feature  of  the  Chinese  government.  It  turned  almost  wholly 
upon  the  opium  trade,  and  w^hether  the  hostilities  had  not  pro- 
ceeded from  the  want  of  foresight  and  precaution  on  the  part 
of  her  Majesty's  ministers.  The  speeches  all  showed  ignorance 
of  both  principles  and  facts :  Sir  James  Graham  asserted  that 
the  governors  of  Canton  had  sanctioned  the  trade  ;  Sir  George 
Staunton  that  it  woidd  not  be  safe  for  British  power  in  India 


512  THE    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

if  these  iusults  were  not  cheeked,  and  that  the  Chinese  had  far 
exceeded  in  their  recent  efforts  the  previous  acknowledged  laws 
of  the  land  !  Dr.  Lushington  maintained  that  the  connivance 
of  the  local  rulers  accjuitted  the  smugglers  ;  Sir  John  lloh- 
house  truly  stated  that  the  reason  why  the  government  had 
done  nothing  to  stop  the  opium  trade  was  that  it  was  profit- 
able ;  and  Lord  Melbourne,  M'ith  still  more  fairness,  said  :  "  We 
possess  immense  territories  peculiarly  fitted  for  raising  opium, 
and  though  I  would  wisli  that  the  government  were  not  so 
directly  concerned  in  the  traffic,  I  am  not  prepared  to  pledge 
myself  to  relinquish  it."  The  Duke  of  AWllington  thought 
the  Chinese  government  was  insincere  in  its  efforts,  and  there- 
fore deserved  little  sympathy  ;  while  Lord  Ellenborough  spoke 
of  the  million  and  a  half  sterling  revenue  "  derived  from  for- 
eigners," wdiich,  if  the  opium  monopoly  w^as  given  up  and  its 
eultivatio7i  abandoned,  they  nmst  seek  elsewhere,  2\"o  one  ad- 
vocated war  on  the  groimd  that  the  opium  had  been  seized,  but 
the  majority  were  in  favor  of  letting  it  go  on  because  it  was 
begun.  This  debate  was,  in  fact,  a  remarkable  instance  of  the 
way  in  which  a  moral  question  is  blinked  even  by  conscientious 
persons  whenever  politics  or  interest  come  athwart  its  course. 
Xo  declaration  of  war  was  ever  published  by  Queen  Victoria, 
further  than  an  order  in  coimcil  to  the  admiralty,  in  which  it 
was  recited  that  "  satisfaction  and  reparation  for  the  late  in- 
jurious proceedings  of  certain  officers  of  the  Emperor  of  China 
against  certain  of  our  officers  and  subjects  shall  be  demanded 
from  the  Chinese  government ;  "  the  object  of  this  order  was, 
chiefly,  to  direct  concerning  the  disposal  of  such  ships,  vessels, 
and  cargoes  belonging  to  the  Chinese  as  might  be  seized.  Per- 
haps the  formality  of  a  declaration  of  war  against  a  nation 
which  knew  nothing  of  the  law  of  nations  was  not  necessary, 
but  if  a  minister  plenipotentiary  from  Peking  had  been  pres- 
ent at  the  debate  in  Parliament  in  April,  1S40,  he  would  have 
declared  the  motives  and  proceedings  of  his  government 
strangely  misrepresented.  It  was  time  that  better  ideas  of 
one  another  should  find  ]>lace  in  their  councils,  and  tliat  means 
enould  l)e  afforded  tlie  rulers  of  each  nation  to  learn  the  truth. 
The  Chinese  apparently  foresaw  the  coming  struggle,  and 


PREPA RATION    FOR   HOSTILITIES.  513 

began  to  collect  troops  and  repair  their  forts  ;  Lin,  now  gover- 
nor-general of  Kwangtnng,  purchased  the  Chesapeake,  a  large 
ship,  and  appointed  an  intendant  of  circuit  near  Macao,  to 
guard  the  coasts.  The  English  carried  on  their  trade  under 
neutral  flags,  and  Lin  made;  no  further  efforts  to  annoy  them. 
He,  however,  wrote  two  official  letters  to  Queen  Victoria,  de- 
siring her  assistance  in  putting  down  the  opium  trade,  in  which 
the  peculiar  ideas  of  his  countrymen  respecting  their  own  im- 
portance and  their  position  among  the  nations  of  the  earth 
were  singularly  exhibited.'  Ts  otwithstanding  the  causes  of  com- 
plaint he  had  against  the  English,  he  behaved  kindly  to  the 
surviving  crew  of  the  Sunda,  an  English  vessel  wrecked  on 
Hainan,  and  sent  them,  on  their  arrival  at  Canton,  to  their 
•countrymen, 

'  Chimse  Bejwsitory,  Vol.  VIII.,  pp.  9-12,  497-503  ;  Vol.  IX.,  pp.  S41-257. 


CHAPTEK  XXIII. 

PROGRESS   AND   RESULTS  OF  THE   FIRST   WAR   BETWEEN  ENGLAND 

AND  CHINA. 

On  June  22,  1840,  before  the  advance  part  of  the  British 
force  reached  China,  Sir  Goi'don  Bremer  published  a  notice  oi 
the  blockade  of  the  port  of  Canton.  The  Americans  living 
there  liad  requested  Lin  to  let  all  their  ships  arriving  before  it 
was  laid  on  come  directly  up  the  river,  lie  granted  the  appli- 
cation, but  declared  it  "  to  be  an  egregious  mistake,  analogous 
to  an  audacious  falsehood,  that  the  English  contemplated  putting 
)n  a  hlo'^kade.""  Captain  Elliot  also  issued  a  manifesto  to  the 
people,  which  was  widely  dispersed,  setting  forth  the  grievances 
which  had  been  suffered  b}^  the  English  at  the  hands  of  Lin, 
and  assuring  them  that  noliarm  would  come  while  they  pursued 
their  peaceful  occupations — for  the  quarrel  was  entirely  between 
the  two  governments,  and  the  Queen  liad  deputed  high  officers 
to  make  known  the  truth  to  the  Emperor. 

Sir  Gordon  Bremer's  force  of  live  ships  of  war,  three  steamers, 
and  twenty-one  transports  reached  Tingliai  harbor  July  ith.  In 
reply  to  a  summons  to  surrender,  the  CJhincse  officers  declared 
their  determination  to  resist  as  far  as  their  means  allowed  ;  but 
complained  of  the  hardship  of  being  made  answerable  for 
wrongs  done  at  Canton,  upon  which  place  the  blow  should  prop- 
erly fall.  The  attack  was  made  on  Sunday,  July  5th,  when  the 
Wellesley  (74)  opened  her  guns  on  the  town,  which  were 
answered  by  the  juidcs  and  batteries.  A  few  minutes  suf- 
ficed to  silence  the  latter,  and  three  thousand  men  landed  and 
menaced  Tinghai,  whose  walls  were  lined  with  soldiers.  The 
town  was.  evacuated  dm-ing  the  night,  most  of  the  respect- 
able inhabitants  going  to  Ningpo  ;  many  of  the  Chinese  high 


AERIVAL   OF   THE   J5KITISH — FALL   OF   TINGIIAI,        515 

officials  were  killed,  which,  with  the  experience  of  the  terribLe 
foreign  force  brought  against  them,  disheartened  their  troops 
beyond  measure. 

Two  days  after  this  attack  tiie  joint  plenipotentiaries,  Admiral 
G.  Elliot  and  Captain  Elliot,  arrived  in  the  Melville  (74)  at 
Cliusan.  To  the  authorities  at  Amoy  and  Ningpo  they  sent 
copies  of  Lord  Palmerston's  letter  to  the  Emperor,  with  a  request 
to  forward  them  to  Peking ;  the  officials  declined,  however,  un- 
dertaking any  such  responsibility. 

The  prefect  of  Xingpo  took  measures  to  prevent  the  people 
of  Chusan  from  "  aiding  and  coinforting"  their  conquerors  by 
sending  police-runners  to  mark  those  who  supplied  them  ;  a  pur- 
veyor from  Canton  was  seized  and  brought  l)ack.  An  idea  that 
the  Chinese  people  wished  to  throw  off  the  Manchu  yoke,  and  a 
desire  to  conciliate  the  islanders,  led  the  British  to  take  less 
decided  measures  for  supplying  themselves  with  provisions  than 
they  otherwise  would.  A  small  party  was  sent  to  recapture  the 
puwvyor,  but  its  unsuccessful  trip  over  the  island  showed  the 
unwillingness  of  the  people  to  have  anything  to  do  with  their 
invaders,  while  their  dread  was  increased  by  the  arrest  of  several 
village  elders.  Mr.  Gutzlaff  was  stationed  at  Chusan,  doing  his 
best  to  reassure  the  people ;  and  as  he  went  around  exhorting 
them  to  act  peaceably,  some  of  them  asked  him,  "  If  you  are  so 
desirous  of  peace,  why  did  you  come  here  at  all  ?  " 

After  arranging  the  government  of  the  island,  the  stations  of 
the  troops,  and  blockading  of  Amoy,  Ningpo,  and  the  mouths 
of  the  Min  and  Yangtsz'  Rivers,  the  two  plenipotentiaries  left 
Tinghai  and  anchored  off  the  Pei  ho  August  11th,  Captain  Elliot 
went  ashore,  and  finding  that  Kislien,  the  governor-general  of 
Chilli],  was  at  Taku,  delivered  the  letter  to  his  messenger,  who 
returned  with  a  request  for  ten  days'  delay  in  which  to  lay  it 
before  the  Emperor.  During  this  interval  the  ships  visited  the 
coast  of  Liautung  to  procure  provisions,  which  they  obtained 
with  some  difficulty.  Xo  message  coming  ofp,  a  strong  boat- 
force  was  sent  ashore  on  the  28th,  with  a  menacing  letter  to 
Kishen,  wdien  it  was  ascertained  that  the  reply  had  in  reality 
been  awaiting  the  return  of  the  ships  during  several  days.  Ar- 
rangements were  now  made  for  a  personal  interview  at  Taku 


516  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

between  Kisheu  and  Captain  Elliot,  on  Sunday,  August  30th, 
in  a  large  tent.  Kislien  argued  liis  side  of  the  question  with 
great  tact  and  ability,  sincerely  urging  the  argument  that  his 
master  had  the  most  unquestionable  right  to  treat  the  English 
as  he  had  done,  for  they  were  and  had  em-olled  themselves  his 
tributary  subjects.  He  could  not  treat  definitely  on  all  tlie 
points  in  dispute,  and  obtained  a  further  delay  of  six  days  in 
order  to  refer  again  to  Peking.  The  conclusion  was  the  rea- 
sonable arrangement  that  Kishen  should  meet  the  English 
plenipotentiaries  at  Canton,  where  the  truth  could  be  better 
ascertained ;  and  on  September  15th  the  squadron  returned  to 
Chusan. 

While  these  things  were  taking  place  at  Taku,  there  had  oc- 
curred a  few  skirmishes  elsewhere.  A  shipwrecked  crew  had 
fallen  into  Chinese  hands  and  been  carried  to  3s'ingpo,  and 
some  foraging  parties  were  roughly  handled.  Lin  tried  to  in- 
spirit his  troops  by  offering  large  rewards  for  British  ships  and 
subjects,  and  a  force  of  about  one  thousand  two  hundred  men 
was  stationed  in  and  around  the  Barrier  at  Macao.  Captain 
Smith,  however,  moved  two  sloops  and  a  steamer  near  their 
position,  and  soon  di-ove  the  soldiers  away,  destroying  their 
guns  and  barracks. 

Lin  was  busy  enlisting  volunteers  and  preparing  the  defences 
of  Canton,  but  in  the  sunnner  he  was  ordered  to  return  ''  with 
the  speed  of  flames  "  to  Peking.  His  Majesty  was  uimeccs- 
sarily  severe  upon  his  servant :  "  You  have  not  only  proved 
yourself  unable  to  cut  off  their  trade,"  he  says,  "  but  you  have 
also  proved  yourself  unable  to  seize  perverse  natives.  You 
have  but  dissembled  with  empty  words,  and  so  far  fi'om  having 
been  any  help  in  the  affair,  you  have  caused  the  waves  of  con- 
fusion to  arise,  and  a  thousand  interminable  disorders  are 
sprouting ;  in  fact,  you  have  been  as  if  your  arms  wei'c  tied, 
without  knowing  what  to  do :  it  appears,  then,  you  are  no  bet- 
tor than  a  wooden  image.  When  I  meditate  on  all  these  things, 
J  am  lilled  with  anger  and  melancholy."  Trade  was  carried  on 
notwithstanding  the  blockade,  by  sending  tea  and  g(Kxls  thi'ough 
Macao ;  and  many  ships  loaded  for  England  and  the  United 
States. 


INTERVIEW    BETWEEN    ELLIOT    AND    KISIIEN.         517 

Admiral  Elliot  entered  into  a  truce  with  Tlipu,  governor- 
general  of  ("lielikian*;,  by  wliicli  each  party  agreed  to  observe 
certain  boundaries.  ISickness  and  deatli  had  made  sad  inroads 
into  the  health  and  numbers  of  the  troops  at  Tinghai,  owing  to 
their  bad  location,  malaria,  and  iiii]>ro{)er  food  ;  more  than  four 
hundred  out  of  the  four  thousand  landed  in  July  having  died, 
and  three  times  that  number  being  in  the  hospitals.  The 
people  dared  not  reopen  their  shops  until  after  the  truce  ;  the 
visits  paid  to  various  parts  of  the  island  better  informed  the 
inhabitants  of  the  personal  character  of  their  temporary  rulers, 
and  a  profitable  trade  in  provisions  encouraged  them  to  farther 
acquaintance. 

The  two  plenipotentiaries  returned  November  20th,  and  im- 
mediately sent  a  steamer  bearing  a  despatch  from  Ilipu  to  Ki- 
shen  ;  the  vessel  was  fired  upon  by  an  officer  unacquainted  with 
the  meaning  of  a  white  flag — the  intent  and  privileges  of  which 
were  after  this  understood  ;  Kishen  made  an  ample  apology  for 
this  mishap.  Negotiations  were  resumed  during  the  month  of 
December,  but  the  determination  of  the  Chinese  to  resist  rather 
than  grant  full  indemnity  for  the  opium  was  more  and  more  ap- 
parent. Kishen  probably  found  more  zeal  among  the  people 
for  a  fight  than  he  had  supposed,  but  his  own  desires  were  to 
settle  the  matter  "  more  soon,  more  better.'"  What  demands 
were  made  as  a  last  alternative  are  not  known,  but  one  of  them, 
the  cession  of  the  island  of  Hongkong,  he  refused  to  grant,  and 
broke  off  the  discussion.  Commodore  Bremer  thereupon  at- 
tacked and  took  the  forts  at  Chuenpi  and  Taikok-tau  on  Janu- 
ary 7th,  when  the  furthei-  progress  of  his  forces  was  stayed  bv 
Kishen,  who  was  present  and  saw  enough  to  convince  him  of 
the  folly  of  resistance. 

On  January  20th  the  suspended  negotiations  had  proceeded 
so  far  that  Captain  Elliot  announced  the  conclusion  of  prelim- 
inary arrangements  upon  four  points,  viz.,  the  cession  of  the 
island  and  harbor  of  Hongkong  to  the  British  crown,  an  in- 
demnity of  six  millions  of  dollars  in  annual  instalments,  dii-ect 
official  intercourse  upon  an  equal  footing,  and  the  immediate 
resumption  of  English  trade  at  Canton.  By  these  arrange- 
ments Chusan  and  Chuenpi  were  to  be  immediately  restored  to 


518  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

tlie  Chinese,  the  prisoners  at  Xingpo  released,  and  the  English 
allowed  to  occupy  Hongkong.  One  evidence  of  Kishen's 
"  scrupulous  good  faith,"  mentioned  in  Captain  Elliot's  notice, 
is  the  edict  he  put  up  on  Hongkong,  telling  the  inhabitants 
they  were  now  under  English  authority.  Two  interviews  took 
place  after  this,  at  the  last  of  which  it  was  plain  that  two  of  the 
four  stipulations,  viz.,  the  first  instalment  of  a  million  of  dol- 
lars, and  opening  of  trade  by  February  1st,  would  not  be  ful- 
filled. The  intimations  of  the  designs  of  the  court  were  so 
evident  that  the  treaty  was  probably  never  even  presented  to 
the  Emperor  for  ratification. 

Kishen  carried  his  negotiations  thus  far,  with  the  hope  per- 
haps that  an  adjustment  of  the  ditficulties  on  such  terms  would 
be  accepted  by  his  imperial  master.  On  the  other  hand,  Lin 
and  his  colleagues  memorialized  him  as  soon  as  Kishen  came  to 
Canton  against  peaceful  measures,  and  their  reconnnendations 
as  to  the  necessity  of  resistance  were  strongly  backed  by  the 
mortifying  loss  of  Cliusan.  The  approach  of  a  large  force  to 
the  Pei  ho  alarmed  his  Majesty,  and  conciliatory  measures  were 
taken,  and  a  reference  to  Canton  proposed  before  settling  the 
dispute ;  when  the  men-of-war  left,  he  was  inclined  for  peace, 
and  issued  orders  not  to  attack  the  ships  while  the  discussions 
were  going  on.  But  the  memorials  had  already  changed  iiis 
mind,  and  war  was  determined  on  at  the  date  of  signing  the 
treaty.  It  is  probable  if,  instead  of  seizing  Chusan,  which  had 
given  no  cause  of  provocation,  the  English  had  gone  up  the 
Yangtsz'  kiang  and  Pei  ho,  and  stationed  themselves  there  until 
their  demands  were  granted,  peace  would  have  been  soon  made. 
But,  in  that  case,  would  the  vain  notion  of  their  supremacy  have 
left  the  Chinese  ? 

Looking  back  forty  years,  one  can  recognize  the  benefit  to 
both  parties  whicli  resulted  from  the  failure  of  this  treaty.  The 
great  desire  of  Chi'istian  people,  who  believed  that  China  was 
finally  to  receive  the  gospel,  was  that  it  might  be  opened  to 
their  benevolent  effoi'ts,  l)ut  this  treat)'  left  the  country  as  closed 
as  ever  to  all  good  influences,  commercial,  political,  social,  and 
religious,  while  the  evils  of  smuggling,  law-breaking,  and  opium- 
Bmoking  remained  unmolested.     The  crisis  which  had  brought 


FAILURE   OF   NEGOTIATIONS   AT   THE   BOGUE.  519 

out  this  expedition  was  not  likely  soon  to  recur,  and  if  this 
failed  to  break  down  its  seclusiveness,  no  other  nation  Mould 
attempt  the  task.  Every  well-wisher  of  China  cherished  the 
hope  that,  since  this  unfortunate  conflict  nnist  needs  be,  its  out- 
come would  leave  the  entire  land  fully  accessible  to  the  regenci-- 
ating,  as  well  as  shielded  from  the  evil  influences  of  Christian 
nations. 

Captain  Elliot  appreciated  the  dilemma  into  which  the  Em- 
peror had  been  brought  by  the  acts  of  Lin,  and  knew  that 
ignorance  was  much  more  the  misfortune  than  the  fault  of 
both  ;  he  acted  humanely,  therefore,  in  pui'suing  a  mild  course 
at  first,  until  the  points  at  issue  had  been  fairly  brought  before 
the  people  as  well  as  the  cabinet.  However  justly  some  parts 
of  his  conduct  may  have  merited  criticism,  this  praiseworthy 
feature  of  his  policy  by  no  means  earned  the  torrent  of  abuse 
he  received  for  consistently  pursuing  such  a  course.  His  coun- 
trymen would  have  had  him  burn,  kill,  and  destroy,  as  soon  as 
the  expedition  reached  the  coast,  before  even  stating  his 
demands  at  court ;  and  during  his  negotiations  with  Ivishen, 
and  when  Chusan  was  restored,  a  smile  of  contempt  at  his  sup- 
posed gullibility  was  everywhere  seen.  The  treaty  of  the 
Bogue,  though  foi'med  in  good  faith  by  both  commissioners, 
was  rejected  by  both  sovereigns,  though  for  opposite  reasons ; 
by  Victoria,  because  it  did  not  grant  enough,  by  Taukwang, 
because  it  granted  too  much. 

The  Emperor  issued  orders  to  resume  the  war,  collect  troops 
from  the  provinces  upon  Canton  and  Tinghai,  in  order  to  "  des- 
troy and  wipe  clean  away,  to  exterminate  and  root  out  the 
rebellious  barbarians,"  and  urged  the  people  to  regard  them 
with  the  same  bitterness  they  did  their  personal  enemies.  His 
mandate  is  couched  in  strong  terms,  saying  that  his  enemies 
have  been  rebellious  against  heaven,  opposing  reason,  one  in 
spirit  with  the  brute  beasts,  "  beings  that  the  overshadowing 
vault,  and  all-containing  earth  can  hardly  suffer  to  live,"  ob- 
noxious to  angels  and  men,  and  that  he  must  discharge  his 
heaven-conferred  trust  by  sweeping  them  from  the  face  of  the 
earth.  This  decree  exhibited  the  true  principles  of  action  of 
this  proud  government,  which  deliberately  rejected  the  offer  of 


'520  THK    MIDDLE     KINGDOM. 

peace,  and  determined  to  npliold  its  fancied  supremacy  to  the 
utmost.     China  nnist  now  win  or  hi'eak. 

Ilostih}  intentions  had  become  so  evident  that  Captain  Elliot 
announced  that  Commodoi'e  l>i-emer  would  return  to  the  Bogue 
with  tlie  force  ;  the  boats  of  the  Nemesis  were  fired  upon  while 
sounding,  and  the  battery  near  Anunghoy  was  attacked  the 
same  day  that  Clnisan  was  evacuated.  Rewards  of  $50,000 
were  ofPered  for  Elliot,  Bremei-,  Morrison,  and  other  ringlead- 
ers, and  all  the  defences  put  in  the  best  condition.  On  Febru- 
arv  20th  the  Bogue  foi'ts  were  all  taken.  Admiral  Kwan  falling 
at  his  post.  The  British  had  nine  ships,  assisted  by  less  than 
five  Inmdred  troops,  and  two  steamers.  The  Chinese  force  was 
prol)ably  over  three  thousand,  but  it  made  no  resistance  after 
tlie  batteries  were  taken  ;  the  total  loss  Avas  supposed  to  be  not 
far  from  a  thousand.  The  forts  were  built  so  solidly  that  few 
were  kihed  by  tlie  broadsides  of  tlie  ships,  and  their  magazines 
so  well  protected  that  no  explosions  took- place;  the  powdei- 
found  in  them  was  nsed  to  demolish  the  walls.  There  were  in 
all  eight  large  forts  on  the  sides  of  the  river  and  AVangtong 
Island,  forming  altogether  a  line  of  batteries  which  would  have 
been  impregnable  in  the  hands  of  European  troops,  and  was  not 
without  reason  deemed  to  be  so  by  the  Chinese  themselves. 

The  next  day  the  small  ships  moved  up  to  the  First  Bar,  where 
a  long  fortification  on  the  river  bank,  and  an  intrenched  camp 
of  two  thousand  troops,  defended  by  upward  of  a  hundred 
cannon,  with  a  strong  raft  thrown  across  the  river,  showed  a 
resolution  to  make  a  stand.  The  ships  and  steamers  opened  a 
hot  tire  upon  the  batteries  and  camp,  which  returned  it  as  well 
as  they  could,  but  the  loss  of  life  was  greatest  when  the  English 
landed.  Many  instances  of  personal  bravery  showed  that  the 
Chinese  were  not  all  destitute  of  courage,  but  without  disci- 
pline and  better  weapons  it  was  of  no  avail.  Nearly  one-fourth 
were  killed,  their  camp  burned,  the  Chesapeake  and  all  her 
stores  blown  up,  and  most  of  the  crew  killed.  The  raft  was 
easily  removed  b}^  the  steamers,  to  the  mortification  of  the 
Chinese,  who  had  trusted  that  this  might  prove  a  permanent 
barrier  to  the  approach  of  ships  to  the  city.  From  this  point 
the  way  was  open  to  within  five  miles  of  Canton,  and  when  the 


CAPTURE   OF   THfe   APPKOACIIES   TO   CANTON".  621 

forts  at  that  place  were  taken,  the  prefect  met  Captain  Elliot  on 
March  od  with  a  Hag  of  truce  proposing  a  suspension  of  hos- 
tilities for  three  dajs. 

Kishen  had  already  been  ordered  to  return  to  Peking  to 
await  his  trial;  his  nieniorial' on  hearing  of  his  degradation 
does  him  credit.  Iliang  was  left  in  command  of  the  province 
until  four  general  officers,  leading  large  bodies  of  troops,  should 
arrive.  The  highest  of  these  was  Yihshan,  a  nephew  of  the 
Emperor,  assisted  by  "i'ang  Fang,  Lungwan,  and  Tsishin.  On 
the  part  of  the  English,  Major-dreneral  Sir  Hugh  Gougli  arrived 
fi'om  India  to  take  command  of  the  land  forces,  and  Sir  Gordon 
Bremer  sailed  for  Calcutta  to  procure  recruits.  Bodies  of  troops 
were  gathering  in  and  around  Canton  to  the  amount  of  five 
or  six  thousand,  most  of  whom  had  come  from  the  Xortli- 
West  Provinces,  and  were  not  less  strange  and  formidable  to 
the  citizens  than  were  their  foreign"  enemies. 

After  the  truce,  had  expired  the  English  moved  toward  Can- 
ton by  both  the  channels  leading  to  the  city,  the  iron  steamer 
Nemesis  proceeding  up  the  Irmer  Passage,  subduing  all  obstacles 
in  her  way  until  every  fort,  raft,  battery,  camp,  and  stockade 
between  the  ocean  and  Canton  had  been  taken  or  destroyed, 
and  the  city  lay  at  their  mercy.  The  factories  had  been  kept 
safely,  and  were  occupied  by  British  troops  just  two  years 
after  Lin  had  imprisoned  the  foreigners  there.  A  second  truce 
was  agreed  upon  March  20th,  by  which  trade  was  allowed  to 
proceed  on  the  old  mode ;  merchant  ships  accordingly  advanced 
up  the  river,  and  for  about  six  weeks  trade  went  on  uninter- 
ruptedly— one  party  getting  their  tea  and  the  other  their  duties. 
The  new  governor,  Ki  Kung,  together  with  the  "rebel-quelling 
general  "  Yihshan,  then  arrived,  and  the  people,  thinking  that  a 
slight  cause  would  disturb  the  truce,  took  advantage  of  it  to  re- 
move their  effects,  well  aware  how  much  they  would  suffer  from 
their  own  army  in  case  of  trouble. 

Toward  the  middle  of  May  the  hostile  intentions  of  the  Chi- 
nese were  manifest,  though  cloaked  under  professions  of  amity  ; 
and  on  the  21st  Captain  Elliot  notilied  all  foreigners  to  go 


^Chinese  Repository,  Vol.  X.,  p.  335. 


522  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

aboard  ship.  The  secret  prepai-ations  for  attack  were  very  ex 
tensive.  Large  fire-boats  and  rafts  were  prepared,  masked  bat- 
teries erected  along  the  river,  troops  quartered  in  tlie  temples, 
and  large  camion  placed  in  the  streets.  The  day  before  the 
notice  of  Ca])tain  Elliot  was  issued,  the  prefect  had  the  impu- 
dence to  publish  a  proclamation  assuring  all  classes  of  the 
peaceful  intentions  of  the  commissioners.  Finding  their  prey 
gone,  a  night  attack  was  made  by  land  and  water  on  the  ships, 
but  none  were  seriously  injured.  As  daylight  advanced  the 
Xemesis  went  in  pursuit  of  the  fire-boats  and  junks,  and  burned 
upward  of  sixty,  while  three  men-of-war  silenced  the  batteries 
along  shore.  Meantime  the  Chinese  troops  searched  the  fac- 
tory buildings  for  arms  and  pillaged  three  of  the  hongs,  to  the 
consternation  of  the  prefect,  who  told  the  commissioner  that  he 
would  be  forced  to  pay  for  losses  thus  sustained.  On  the  24th 
the  land  and  naval  forces  under  Sir  Hugh  Gongh  and  Sir  Flem- 
ing Senhouse  arrived  from  Hongkong  and  prepared  to  invest 
the  city.  Most  of  the  troops  debarked  above  it,  at  Xeishing, 
under  the  personal  directions  of  Sir  Fleming,  M'ho  had  provided 
many  boats  in  which  the  force  of  two  thousand  six  hundred 
men,  besides  followers,  guns,  and  stores,  were  toM'ed  about 
twelve  miles.  A  detachment  landed  and  took  possession  of  the 
factories.  Sir  Hugh  Gough  remained  near  the  place  of  de- 
barkation till  the  next  morning,  when  the  whole  body  moved 
onward  to  attack  the  forts  and  camps  behind  the  city.  As  the 
English  advanced  the  Chinese  found  that  their  shot  did  not 
reach  them,  so  that  after  an  hour''s  firing  they  began  to  collect 
outside  of  the  forts,  preparatory  to  retiring.  The  advance 
puslied  on,  and  sent  them  scampering  down  the  hills  toward 
the  city  ;  the  intrenched  camp  was  cai'ried  with  considei'able 
loss  to  its  defenders,  who  everywhere  ran  as  soon  as  the  fight 
came  to  close  quarters ;  but  in  the  forts  there  were  many  furious 
struo;o;:les. 

On  the  20th  a  driving  rain  stopped  all  operations ;  and  a 
])arley  was  also  requested  from  the  now  deserted  city  walls  by 
two  officers,  who  agreed  to  send  a  deputation  to  make  arrange- 
inents  for  surrender.  Night  came  on  before  any  heralds  ap- 
peared, so  that  it  was  not  till  morning  that  the  troops  were  in 


THE   CITY    RANSOMED.  523 

position,  the  guns  loaded  and  primed,  port-fires  lighted,  and 
everything  in  readiness  to  open  lire,  when  a  messenger  ar- 
rived from  (^^aptain  Elliot,  desiring  fm-ther  operations  to  be 
delayed  until  he  had  concluded  his  negotiations.  The  terms 
were :  that  the  forces  should  remain  in  position  until  a  ransom 
of  $(),000,000  was  paid  ;  that  the  three  imperial  commissioners 
and  all  their  troops  should  march  sixty  miles  from  the  city ; 
that  compensation  for  the  loss  of  property  in  the  factories  and 
burning  the  Spanish  brig  Bilbaino  should  be  at  once  handed 
over  or  secured  ;  and  that  the  Chinese  troops,  nearly  fifty  thou- 
sand in  number,  should  evacuate  the  city.  Captain  Elliot  ought 
indeed  to  have  demanded  a  personal  apology  from  Yihshan  and 
his  colleagues  for  their  infamous  treachery  before  letting  them 
go.  His  acceptance  of  this  ransom  and  sparing  the  city  from 
capture  were  sharply  criticised  at  the  time,  and  the  contemp- 
tuous bearing  of  the  citizens  during  the  sixteen  ensuing  years 
of  their  possession  proved  that  it  was  an  ill-timed  mercy.  How 
nuich  influence  the  ordeis  from  home  to  be  careful  of  the  tea- 
trade  had  in  this  course  cannot  be  learned. 

While  the  English  forces  were  occupying  the  heights  the 
lawless  soldiers  from  Kweichau  and  Kwangsi  began  to  plunder 
the  citizens,  who  retaliated  till  blood  was  shed  and  more  than  a 
thousand  persons  were  killed  in  the  streets ;  a  patriot  mob  of 
v^illagers,  numbering  about  fifteen  thousand,  attacked  the  few 
British  troops  left  on  the  hills  north  of  the  city,  but  a  prompt 
advance  on  the  part  of  Sir  Hugh  drove  this  rabble  a  rout  of 
some  three  miles.  Upon  their  reappearance  next  day,  the  pre- 
fect was  told  that  if  they  were  not  instantly  dispersed  the  city 
would,  be  bombarded  ;  the  threats  and  persuasions  of  the  com- 
missioners, aided  by  a  British  officer,  finally  induced  the  mob  to 
retire.  The  superiority  of  discipline  over  mere  numbers  was 
probably  never  more  remarkably  exhibited  ;  though  the  Chinese 
outnumbered  the  English  more  than  forty  to  one,  not  a  single 
foreigner  was  killed. 

On  the  31st  the  prefect  furnished  five  hundred  coolies  to  as- 
sist in  transporting  the  guns  and  stores  to  the  river  side^  and 
ten  days  after  Captain  Elliot's  first  notice  everything  was  re- 
stored to  the  Chinese.     The  casualties  among  the  British  forces 


524  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

were  fourteen  killed  and  one  hundred  and  twelve  wounded,  but 
about  three  hundred  died  from  sickness.  The  losses  of  the 
Chinese  from  first  to  last  could  hardly  have  been  much  under 
five  thousand  men,  besides  thousands  of  cannon,  ginjals,  and 
matchlocks.  In  posting  their  forces,  placing  their  masked  bat- 
teries, and  equipping  their  troops  and  forts,  the  Chinese  showed 
considerable  strategy  and  skill,  ])ut  lack  of  discipline  and  confi- 
dence rendered  every  defence  unavailing.  Yihshan  and  his  as- 
sociates memorialized  the  Emperor,  detailing  their  reasons  for 
ransoming  the  city  and  requesting  an  inquiry  into  their  conduct.^ 

The  sickness  of  the  troops  compelled  the  British  force  to 
remain  at  Hongkong  to  recruit  and  wait  for  reinforcements. 
Commodore  13remer  returned  as  joint  plenipotentiary,  bringing 
additional  forces  from  Calcutta,  and  the  expedition  was  on  the 
point  of  sailing  northward  when  both  he  and  Captain  Elliot 
were  wrecked  in  a  tyfoon,  and  this  detained  the  ships  a  few 
days  longer.  Before  they  sailed  Sir  Henry  Pottinger  and  ^Vd- 
miral  Sir  William  Parker  arrived  direct  from  England  to  super- 
sede them  both.  Sir  Henry  announced  his  appointment  and 
duties,  and  also  sent  a  communication  to  the  governor  of  Can- 
ton, assuring  him  that  the  existing  truce  would  be  observed  as 
long  as  the  Chinese  did  not  arm  their  forts,  impede  the  regular 
trade,  which  had  been  lately  reopened  to  British  ships  by  im- 
perial command,  or  trouble  the  merchants  residing  in  the  fac- 
tories. The  trade  went  on  at  Canton,  after  this,  without  any 
serious  interruption  during  the  M-ar,  the  usual  duties  and 
charges  being  paid  as  if  no  hostilities  existed. 

The  expedition  moved  northward,  August  t^lst,  under  the 
joint  conniiand  of  Sii"  Hugh  Gough  and  Admiral  Parker,  con- 
sisting of  two  seventy  fours  and  seven  other  ships  of  war,  four 
steamers,  twenty-three  transports,  and  a  surveying  vessel,  carry- 
ing in.  all  about  three  thousand  five  hundred  troops.  Six  ships 
and  four  or  five  liundicd  Indian  troops  remained  off  ('anton 
and  at  Hongkong,  to  compel  the  observance  of  the  tmice.  The 
force  reached  Amoy,  and  after  a  hasty  reconnoissance  attacked 

'  Chinese  Repository,  Vol.  X.  (p.  402),  in  which,  and  in  Vols.  "VIII.,  IX., 
and  XI.,  most  of  the  official  papor.s  issued  from  tlio  Chinese  and  English  au 
thoiities  during  the  war  are  contained. 


FALI    OF   AMOY   AND   TINGHAI.  5*25 

all  its  defences,  which  were  carried  without  inuch  loss  of  life  on 
either  side.  The  city  was  taken  on  the  27t]i,  and  all  the  arms 
and  public  stores,  wall-pieces,  ginjals,  matchloc-ks,  shields,  uni- 
forms, bows,  arrows,  spears,  and  quantities  of  powder  were  des- 
troyed ;  five  hundred  cannon  were  found  in  the  forts.  AVlien 
II.  M.  S.  Blonde  came  into  this  harbor,  fourteen  months  pre- 
vious, to  deliver  the  letter  for  Peking,  the  fortifications  consisted 
only  of  two  or  three  forts  near  the  city,  but  every  island  and  pro 
tecting  headland  overlooking  the  harbor  had  since  been  occupied 
and  arn.ed,  while  a  line  of  stone  wall  more  than  a  mile  long,  with 
embrasures  roofed  by  large  slabs  covered  with  earth  to  protect 
the  guns,  had  been  built,  and  batteries  and  bastions  erected  al 
well-chosen  points.  The  broadsides  of  the  ships  had  little  effect 
liere,  and  it  was  not  until  the  troops  landed  and  drove  out  tha 
garrisons,  who  "stood  right  manfully  to  their  guns,'"  that  the 
fire  slackened,  and  the  Chinese  retreated.  The  city  was  com- 
pletely pillaged  by  native  robbers,  who  ran  riot  during  several 
weeks  until  the  craven  authorities  came  back  and  resumed  tliei.v 
functions.  The  island  of  Kulang  su  was  garrisoned  by  a  de- 
tachment of  five  hundred  and  fifty  troops,  and  three  ships  left 
to  protect  them.  The  British  found  one  two-decker  among  the 
war  junks,  built  on  a  foreign  model,  launched  and  i-eady  for 
sea,  canying  twenty  guns;  all  were  bui-ned. 

The  English  fieet  again  entered  the  harbor  of  Tinghai,  Septem- 
ber 29th,  and  found  the  beach  much  altered  since  February. 
Stone  walls  and  fortifications  extended  two  miles  in  front  of  the 
suburbs,  besides  sand-bags  and  redoubts  thrown  up  q}\  well-se- 
lected positions.  They  were  taken  after  a  defence  marked  with 
unusual  courage  ;  the  general  connnanding  the  battery  and  all  his 
suite  were  killed  at  their  posts,  and  many  hand-to-hand  confiicts 
took  place.  But  bravery  and  numbers  were  alike  unavailing, 
and  in  two  hours  their  defences  were  cleared,  the  walls  of  the 
town  escaladed,  the  whole  force  scattered,  and  the  island  sub- 
dued, with  the  estimated  loss  to  the  Chinese  of  a  thousand  men. 
Great  quantities  of  oitlnance,  among  which  were  forty  brass 
guns  made  in  imitation  of  foreign  howitzers,  with  military 
stores  and  provisions  in  abundance,  were  seized.  A  detachment 
was  sent  throughout  the  island  to  drive  oft'  the  enemy's  troops, 


526  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

and  announce  to  the  inliabitants  that  tliey  were  now  under  Eng- 
lish autliority.  They  evinced  none  of  the  alarm  they  had  done 
the  vear  before;  provisions  came  in,  shops  were  opened,  and 
confidence  in  these  proclamations  generally  exhibited.  A  mili- 
tary government  was  appointed,  and  a  garrison  of  four  hundred 
men  left  to  protect  the  island. 

The  military  operations  in  Chehkiang  were  conducted  by 
Yukien  and  Yu  Pu-yun ;  l)<)th  these  men  had  urged  war,  and 
had  done  all  they  could  to  fortify  Tinghai  and  Chinhai,  whose 
batteries  and  magazines  showed  the  vigor  of  their  operations. 
The  English  fleet  proceeded  to  Chinhai  October  9th,  and  a  force 
of  about  two  thousand  two  hundred  men,  with  twelve  field 
pieces  and  mortars,  landed  next  morning  to  attack  the  citadel 
and  intrenched  camp.  There  were  nearly  five  thousand  men  in 
this  position,  who  formed  in  good  order  as  the  English  advanced, 
opening  a  well-directed  fire  upon  the  front  column,  but  (piite 
neglecting  two  detachments  on  their  flanks ;  as  the  three  opened 
upon  them  nearly  simultaneously,  their  force  was  completely 
bewildered,  and  all  soon  broke  and  fled.  Knowing  nothing  of 
the  mode  of  asking  for  quarter,  while  some  fled  into  the  country, 
the  greater  part  retreated  toward  the  watei',  pursued  by  the 
three  colunms,  hundreds  being  shot  and  hundreds  drowned.  Sir 
Hugh  (lough  sent  out  a  flag  with  Chinese  written  upon  it,  to 
inform  them  that  their  lives  >vould  be  spared  if  they  yielded,  but 
not  more  than  five  hundred  either  could  or  would  throw  down 
their  arms.  The  water  was  soon  covered  with  bodies,  and  fully 
fifteen  hundred  soldiers  lost  their  lives.  The  town  and  its 
defences  Avere  bombarded,  and  the  troops  driven  out.  Yukien 
endeavored  to  drown  himself  on  seeing  the  day  was  lost, 
but  being  ])revented  he  retreated  to  Yiiyau,  whiere  he  com- 
nntted  suicide,  as  was  said,  by  swallowing  gold  leaf.  lie  was  a 
Manchu,  and  could  not  brook  his  master's  displeasure;  but  his 
atrocious  crueltv  to  two  Englishmen  who  fell  into  his  hands, 
one  of  whom  was  flayed  and  tlien  burnt  to  death,  had  aroused 
general  detestation  against  him.  About  one  hundred  and  flfty 
pieces  of  brass  ordnance,  with  great  quantities  of  gunpowder 
and  other  military  stores,  were  destroyed.  Tlie  guns  and  car- 
riages  in  the  fort  and  batteries  were  so  well  made  and  phiced 


CAPTURE   OF    CIIINIIAI   AND   NINGPO.  527 

that  ill  some  cases  the  victors  on  eutering  turned  tlieni  against 
the  flying  Chinese.  The  frame  of  a  wlieel  vessel,  intended  to 
he  moved  hy  human  power,  was  found  near  Chinhai,  sliowing, 
as  did  the  brass  guns,  traversing  carriages,  and  frigate  at  Amoy, 
that  the  Chinese  were  ah-eady  imitating  tlie  machinery  of  war 
from  their  foes. 

Niiigpo  was  taken  without  resistance  on  the  13th.  Many  of 
the  people  left  the  city,  and  those  who  remained  shut  them- 
selves in  their  houses,  writing  ,sA?^H  nihi,  'submissive  people,' 
on  the  doors.  Captain  Anstruther  took  possession  of  his  old 
prison — where  he  found  the  identical  cage  he  had  been  carried 
in — and  released  all  the  inmates  to  make  way  for  his  detachment 
of  artillery.  About  !5lOO,000  in  sycee  were  found  in  this  build- 
ing, upward  of  $70,000  in  the  treasury',  many  tons  of  copper 
cash  in  the  mint,  and  rice,  silk,  and  porcelain  in  the  public 
stores,  forming  altogether  the  most  valuable  prizes  yet  secured. 
Sir  Henry  Pottinger  intended  at  first  to  burn  the  city,  but,  hap- 
pily for  his  reputation,  he  decided  to  occupy  it  as  winter  quar- 
ters. Leaving  a  garrison  at  Chinhai,  he  returned  to  Hongkong 
in  February,  1842,  Sir  Hugh  and  the  admiral  remaining  at  the 
north. 

The  fall  of  Anioy,  Tinghai,  Chinhai,  and  Xingpo,  instead  of 
disheartening  the  Emperor,  served  rather  to  inspirit  him.  His 
commissioners,  generals,  and  high  officers  generally  did  the  best 
their  knowledge  and  means  enabled  them  to  do,  and  when  de- 
feated, endeavored  to  palliate  the  discomfiture  they  could  not 
entirely  conceal  by  misrepresenting  the  force  brought  against 
them,  and  laying  the  blame  upon  the  common  people,  the  ele- 
ments, the  native  traitors  who  aided  the  British,  or  the  ineffi- 
ciency of  the  naval  armaments.  The  troops  sent  home  Avith 
tokens  of  victory  from  Canton  stimulated  the  war  spirit  in  the 
western  provinces.  After  they  had  gone  Yihshan  concocted 
measures  of  defence,  one  of  wliich  was  to  enlist  two  or 
three  thousand  volunteers,  or  "village  braves,"  near  the  city. 
and  place  them  under  their  own  officers.  The  people  having 
been  taught  to  despise  foreigners  were  easily  incensed  against 
them,  and  several  cases  of  insult  and  wantonness  were  repeated 
and  magnified  in  order  to  stir  up  a  spirit  of  revenge.     These 


528  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

patriots  supposed,  nioi-eover,  tliat  it"  the  great  Einperoi  had 
failed  on  Mt-y/',  instead  of  entrusting  the  conduct  of  the  (piarrel 
to  truckling  traitorous  polti'oons  like  Kishen  and  the  prefect, 
they  could  li  ve  av     ^  -^  l»iin  of  his  enemies. 

Consequently  the  truce  was  soon  broken  in  an  underhand 
manner  by  sinking  hundreds  of  tons  of  stones  in  the  river. 
II.  M.  S.  lloyalist  levelled  ;;:he  fortifications  at  the  Bogue,  and 
Captain  Is  ias  destroyed  a  number  of  boats  at  Whampoa.  After 
the  destruction  of  these  forts  and  his  retirement  from  the  rivci\ 
Yihshan  directed  his  attention  to  erect  in  o-  forts  near  the  citv, 
casting  guns,  and  drilling  the  volunteers,  v.-ho  numbered  nearly 
thirty  thousand  at  the  new  year.  He  also  gave  a  public  dinner 
to  the  rich  men  of  the  city,  in  order  to  learn  their  willingness 
to  contribute  to  the  expenses  of  these  measures.  However, 
since  no  serious  obstacles  were  placed  in  the  way  of  shipping 
teas  by  the  provincial  officers,  from  the  duties  on  which  they 
chiefly  derived  the  funds  for  these  undertakings,  the  Britisli 
officers  deemed  it  advisable  to  let  them  alone. 

The  case  was  different  at  other  ))oints.  The  imperial  govern- 
ment had  supposed  that  Amoy  would  be  attacked,  because  the 
visit  of  the  Blonde  showed  that  the  barbarians,  "sneaking  in 
and  out  like  rats,"  knew  of  its  existence ;  but  the  people  of  that 
province,  except  near  Amoy,  took  no  particular  interest  in  the 
dispute,  and  probably  knew  far  less  of  it  than  was  known  in 
most  parts  of  England  and  the  United  States;  no  newspapei\s, 
with  "own  correspondents"  to  write  the  "latest  accounts  from 
the  seat  of  war,"  narrated  the  progress  of  this  struggle,  which  to 
them  was  like  the  silent  reflection  of  distant  lightning  in  their 
own  quiet  firmament.  The  sack  of  Amoy  was  a  heavy  blow  to 
its  citizens,  but  the  plunderers  were  mostly  their  countiymen ; 
and  when  Captain  Smith  of  the  Druid  had  been  thei-e  a  short 
time  in  command,  and  his  character  became  known,  they  re- 
turned to  their  houses  and  shops,  su})plied  the  garrison  with  pro- 
visions, and  even  brought  back  a  desei'ter,  and  assisted  in  chas- 
ing some  ])irates.  Rumors  of  attack  were  always  bi'ought  to 
him,  and  his  decthwations  allayed  their  fears,  so  that  after  the 
sulj  pi'efect  resumed  his  authority  no  distui'bance  occurred.  The 
p.xplanations  of  the   missionaries  on    Kulang  su,  in  diffusing  a 


DETERMINED   MEASURES   OF    DP:FKN(n:.  529 

better  understanding  of  the  object  in  occupying  that  island,  also 
contributed  to  this  result. 

The  loss  of  Chinhai  and  Xingpo  threw  the  eastern  parts  of 
Chehkiaug  open  to  the  invaders,  and  alarmed  the  couit  far  more 
tlian  the  destruction  of  Canton  would  have  done.  The  Emperor 
appointed  his  nephew,  Yihking,  to  be  "  majesty-bearing  genei-al- 
issimo,"  and  with  him  Tih-i-shun  and  Wunwei,  all  Manchus,  to 
command  the  grand  army  and  arouse  the  dwellers  on  the  sea- 
coast  to  arm  and  defend  themselves.  "  Ministers  and  people  ! 
Inhabitants  of  our  dominions !  Ye  are  all  the  children  of  our 
dynasty  !  For  two  centuries  ye  have  trod  our  earth  and  eaten 
our  food.  Whoever  among  you  has  heavenly  goodness  nnist 
needs  detest  these  rebellious  and  disordei-ly  barbarians  even  as 
ye  do  your  personal  foes.  On  no  account  allow  yourselves  to  be 
deceived  by  their  wiles,  and  act  or  live  abroad  with  them." 
Such  was  the  closing  exhortation  of  an  imperial  proclamation 
issued  to  encourage  them.  In  order  to  raise  funds  for  its  opera- 
tions, the  government  resorted  to  the  sale  of  office  and  titles 
of  nobility,  and  levied  benevolences  from  rich  individuals  and 
contributions  from  the  people  ;  which,  when  large  in  amount, 
were  noticed  and  rewarded.  Kishen,  who  had  been  tried  at 
Peking  and  sentenced  to  lose  his  life,  was  for  some  reason  re- 
prieved to  be  associated  with  Yihking  as  an  adviser,  but  never 
proceeded  beyond  Chihli.  Lin  was  also  recalled  from  Ili,  if 
indeed  he  ever  went  be^'ond  the  Great  "Wall,  and  Ih'pu,  whose 
treatment  and  release  of  the  prisoners  at  Xingpo  had  gained 
him  the  good-will  of  the  English,  was  also  sentenced  to  banish- 
ment, but  neither  did  he  go  beyond  the  Desert, 

Defences  were  thrown  up  at  Tientsin  and  Taku  to  guard  the 
passage  to  the  capital,  but  the  bar  at  the  mouth  of  the  Pei  ho 
was  its  sufficient  protection.  Fearing  tliat  the  English  would 
advance  upon  the  city  of  Ilangchau,  the  troops  of  the  province 
and  all  its  available  means  were  put  into  requisition.  Sir  Hugh 
Gough  could  only  approach  it  by  a  land  march  from  Kingpo, 
and  deemed  it  advisable  to  wait  for  reinforcements,  his  available 
force  being  reduced  to  six  hundred  men  on  entering  that  city. 
The  rewards  given  to  the  families  of  those  who  had  fallen  in 
battle,  and  the  posthumous  honors  conferred  by  the  Emperor, 


530  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

stimnfated  others  to  deeds  of  valor  and  a  determination  to 
accomplish  their  master's  vengeance.  Yukien,  ''■  who  gave  his 
life  for  his  country,  casting  himself  into  the  water,"  received 
high  titular  honors  in  the  hall  of  worthies,  and  his  brother  was 
permitted  to  bring  his  corpse  within  the  city  of  Peking.  The 
names  of  humbler  servants  were  not  forgotten  in  the  impei-ial 
rescripts,  and  a  place  was  granted  them  among  those  whom  the 
"king  delighteth  to  honor."  Thus  did  the  Chinese  endeavor 
to  reassert  their  supremacy,  though  their  counsels  and  efforts 
to  chastise  the  rebellious  barbarians  were  not  unlike  the  delib- 
erations of  the  rats  upon  "  how  to  bell  the  cat." 

The  occupation  of  Ningpo  was  an  eyesore  to  the  Chinese 
generals,  but  the  citizens  had  learned  their  best  interests  and 
generally  kept  quiet.  They  showed  their  genius  in  various  con- 
trivances to  carry  off  plunder,  such  as  putting  valuable  articles 
in  coffins  and  ash-baskets,  wrapping  them  around  corpses,  pack- 
ing them  under  vegetables  or  rubbish.  One  party  overtook  two 
persons  near  Ningpo  running  off  with  a  basket  between  them ; 
on  overtaking  and  recovering  it,  a  well-dressed  lady  was  found 
coiled  up,  who,  however,  did  not  scream  when  detected.  Another 
was  found  in  a  locker  on  board  a  junk,  and  as  the  captain  was 
desirous  of  examining  the  mode  of  bandaging  her  feet,  he  told 
his  men  to  lift  the  body  out  of  the  closet,  when  a  scream  ex- 
plained the  trick  ;  she  was  dismissed,  and  the  money  she  had 
endeavored  to  hide  put  into  her  hands.  Opium  M^as  found  in 
most  of  the  official  residences  ;  its  sale  received  no  serious  check 
from  the  war,  and  no  reference  was  made  to  it  by  either  party. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  year  1841,  information  was  received 
of  the  collection  of  a  large  force  at  Yiiyau.  Two  iron  steamei'S 
soon  landed  seven  hundred  men,  who  took  up  a  position  for  the 
night,  intending  to  escalade  the  walls  in  the  morning ;  but  their 
defenders  evacuated  the  ])lace.  The  marines  and  seamen  took 
the  circuit  of  the  walls,  and  found  the  troops,  about  a  thousand 
strong,  drawn  up  in  array  ;  and  the  two,  after  exchanging  their 
fire,  started  on  the  run.  The  ])ublic  stores  wore  destroyed,  and 
the  town  left  to  the  care  of  its  citizens,  without  inncli  loss  of  life 
on  either  side.  On  his  return  the  general  visited  Tsz'ki,  l)Ht 
the  troops  and  the  authorities  had  decani])eth    The  rice  found  in 


CHINESE   ATTEMPT  TO    RECAPTURE   NINGPO.  581 

Hie  granaries  was  distributed  to  the  townsmen,  and  the  detach- 
ment returned  to  Ningpo  December  31st.  On  u  simiUir  visit  to 
Fimghwa  it  was  found  that  the  authorities  and  troops  liad  fled, 
so  that  to  destroy  the  government  stores  and  distribute  the  rice 
to  the  people  was  all  that  remained  to  be  done.  These  two 
expeditions  so  terrified  tlie  "  majesty-bearing  genei-alissimo," 
Yihking,  and  his  colleagues,  that  they  fled  to  Suchau,  in 
Kiano-su.  With  such  leaders  it  is  not  strano;e  that  the  villagers 
near  Ningpo  wished  to  enrol  themselves  under  British  rule; 
and  the  effect  of  the  moderation  of  the  English  troops  was  seen 
in  the  people  giving  them  little  or  no  molestation  after  the  first 
alarm  was  over,  and  supplying  their  wants  as  far  as  possible. 

The  force  had  fairly  settled  in  its  quarters  at  Kingpo,  when 
the  Chinese  opened  the  campaign,  March  10th,  by  a  well-con- 
certed night  attack  on  the  city.  During  the  preceding  day, 
many  troops  entered  the  city  in  citizen's  clothes,  and  stationed 
themselves  near  the  gates  ;  and  about  three  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing the  western  and  southern  gates  were  attacked  and  driven 
in.  Colonel  Morris  ordered  a  party  to  retake  the  south  gate, 
which  was  done,  wnth  considerable  loss  to  the  enemy  ;  as  usually 
happened,  the  moment  the  Chinese  were  opposed  their  main 
object  was  forgotten,  and  every  man  sought  his  own  safety, 
thereby  exposing  himself  more  fully  to  destruction.  On  the 
approach  of  daylight  the  garrison  assembled  at  the  western 
gate,  and  dragging  two  or  three  howitzers  through  it,  came 
upon  the  main  force  of  the  enemy  drawn  up  in  compact  form, 
headed  by  an  officer  on  horseback.  The  volleys  poured  into 
this  dense  mass  mowed  them  down  so  that  the  street  was  choked 
with  dead  bodies,  and  the  horse  of  the  leader  actually  covered 
with  corpses,  from  which  he  was  seen  vainly  endeavoring  to 
release  himself.  Those  who  escaped  the  fire  in  front  were 
attacked  in  rear  ;  at  last  about  six  hundred  were  killed,  and  the 
whole  force  of  five  thousand  scattered  by  less  than  two  hundred 
Europeans,  with  the  loss  of  one  man  killed  and  six  wounded. 

The  British  then  prepared  to  attack  an  intrenched  camp  of 
eight  thousand  troops  near  Tsz'ki,  and  about  twelve  hundred 
w^ere  embarked  in  the  steamers.  The  Chinese  had  chosen  their 
ground  vs^ell,  on  the  acclivity  of  two  hills  behind  the  town,  and 


532  THE    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

ill  Older  to  confound  and  dispei'se  their  enenij  completely,  tlia 
attacking  force  was  divided  so  as  to  fall  upon  them  on  three 
sides  siniultane(»usly,  which  was  done  with  great  slaughter.  Tiie 
Chinese  did  not  I'un  until  they  began  to  close  in  with  their 
opponents,  when  they  soon  found  that  their  intimidating  ges- 
ticulations and  cheei's,  their  tiger-faced  shields  and  two-edged 
swords,  were  of  no  avail  in  terrifying  the  barlnirians  or  resist- 
ing their  pistols,  bayonets,  and  furious  onset.  In  these  cases, 
emulation  among  the  different  parties  of  English  troops  to 
distinguish  themselves  occasionally  degenerated  into  unmanly 
slaughter  of  their  flying  enemy,  who  were  looked  u})(>n  i-ather 
as  good  game  than  fellow-men,  and  pursued  in  some  instances 
several  miles.  INIost  of  the  Chinese  troops  in  this  engagement 
and  in  the  attack  on  Xingpo  were  from  the  western  proviriCes,  and 
superior  in  size  and  bodily  strength  to  those  hitherto  met.  They 
had  been  encouraged  to  attack  Ningpo  by  a  bounty  to  each  man 
of  four  or  five  dollars,  and  pieces  of  sycee  were  found  on  their 
bodies.  The  Chinese  lost  a  thousand  slain  on  the  field,  many  by 
their  own  act ;  the  English  casualties  were  six  killed  and  thirty- 
seven  wounded. 

The  conquerors  set  fire  to  the  Chinese  camp  in  the  morning, 
consuming  all  the  houses  used  as  arsenals,  with  arms  and  amnni- 
nition  of  ever}'  kind.  The  force  then  proceeded  to  the  Changki 
pass,  a  defile  in  the  mountains,  but  the  imperialists  had  aban- 
doned their  camp,  leaving  only  "  a  considerable  (juantity  of 
good  bread."  In  his  despatch  Sir  Hugh  speaks  of  the  forbear- 
ance shown  by  his  men  toward  the  inhabitants ;  and  efforts 
were  taken  by  the  English,  throughout  the  war,  to  spare  the 
people  and  respect  their  property.  The  English  thus  dispersed 
that  part  of  the  Grand  Army  which  had  been  called  out  by  the 
Emperor  and  his  "  majesty-beariiig  generalissimo"  to  annihilate 
tlie  rebels.  The  fugitives  spread  such  dismay  among  their 
comrades  near  Ilangchau  that  the  troops  began  to  desert  and 
exhibit  symptoms  of  disbanding  altogether;  the  spirit  of  dis- 
satisfaction was,  moreover,  increased  by  the  people,  who  very 
naturally  grumbled  at  being  obliged  to  support  their  unsuccess- 
ful defenders,  as  well  as  submit  to  their  tyrannous  exactions. 

The  Chinese  near  Isingpo  and  Chinhai  had  so  nmch  confi 


CAPTUKE   OF   TSZ'kI   AXD    CIIAPl',     ,  533 

deuce  in  the  Englitli,  luid  were  so  greatly  profited  by  tlieir 
presence,  that  no  disturbances  took  place.  The  rewards  offered 
by  the  Cliinese  generals  for  prisoners  induced  the  people  to  lay 
in  wait  for  stragglers.  One,  Sergeant  Campbell,  was  seized 
near  Tinghai,  put  into  a  bag  to  be  carried  to  the  coast,  where  he 
was  shipped  in  a  junk  and  landed  at  Chapu,  before  being  re- 
lieved of  his  hood.  One  of  his  ears  was  cut  off  with  a  pair  of 
scissors,  but  after  reaching  ilaugchau  he  was  well  treated. 
During  his  captivity  there  he  was  often  questioned  by  the  Chi- 
nese ofiicers  as  to  the  movements,  forces,  and  arms  of  his  coun- 
trymen, and  received  a  high  idea  of  their  intelligence  from  the 
character  of  their  inquiries. 

The  entire  strength  with  Sir  Hugh  Gough,  in  May,  consisted 
of  parts  of  four  English  regiments,  a  naval  brigade  of  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty,  and  a  few  Indian  troops,  in  all  about  two 
thousand  five  hundred  men  ;  the  fleet  comprised  seven  ships  of 
war  and  four  steamers.  On  the  ITth  the  whole  anchored  in 
the  harbor  of  Chapu,  about  forty  miles  above  Chinhai.  About 
six  thousand  three  hundred  Chinese  troops  and  one  thousand 
seven  hundred  Manchus  were  posted  herein  forts  and  intrenched 
camps.  The  English  landed  in  three  columns,  as  usual  without 
opposition,  and  promptly  turned  the  orderly  arranged  army  and 
garrisons  of  their  opponents  into  a  mass  of  fugitives,  each  man 
throwing  away  his  arms  and  uniform  and  flying  upas  de  geant. 
A  body  of  three  hundred  Manchus,  seeing  their  retreat  cut 
off,  retired  into  an  enclosed  temple,  whose  entrance  was  both 
narrow  and  dark.  Every  one  who  attempted  to  enter  it  was 
either  killed  or  wounded,  one  of  whom  was  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Tomlinson.  At  length  a  part  of  the  wall  was  blown  in,  which 
exposed  the  inmates  to  the  rifles  of  tlieir  foes,  and  a  rocket  or 
two  set  the  building  on  fire,  by  which  the  inmates  were  driven 
from  their  position  to  the  rooms  below ;  when  resistance  ceased 
only  fifty  were  taken  prisoners,  the  others  having  been  burned 
to  death  or  suffocated.  The  total  loss  of  the  invaders  was  thir- 
teen killed  and  fifty-two  wounded. 

The  defences  of  Chapu  being  carried,  with  a  loss  to  the 
enemy  of  about  one  thousand  five  hundred,  the  English  moved 
on  the  city.     This  was  the  first  time  the  Manchus  had  really 


534  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

come  in  contact  witli  tlie  Englisli ;  and  either  fearing  that  indis- 
criminate slaughter  would  ensue  on  defeat,  as  it  would  have 
done  had  they  been  the  victors,  or  else  unable  to  brook  their 
disgrace,  tliej  destroyed  themselves  in  great  numbers,  first  im- 
molating their  wives  and  children,  and  then  cutting  their  own 
throats.  Scores  of  bodies  were  found  in  their  quarters,  some 
not  entirely  dead ;  others  were  prevented  from  self-destruction, 
and  in  many  instances,  young  children  were  found  attending 
upon  their  aged  or  infirm  parents,  awaiting  in  dread  suspense 
the  visit  of  the  conquerors,  from  whom  they  expected  little  less 
than  instant  destruction.  The  English  sui-geons  endeavoi-ed  to 
bind  up  the  wounds  of  such  Chinese  as  fell  in  their  waj-,  and 
these  attentions  had  a  good  effect  upon  the  high  Chinese  offi- 
cers, Ilipu  himself  sending  a  letter  in  which  he  thanked  the 
general  and  admiral  for  their  kindness  in  giving  the  hungry 
rice  to  eat  and  caring  for  the  wounded.  The  old  man  endeav- 
ored to  requite  it  by  making  the  condition  of  his  prisoners  as 
easy  as  he  could,  and  paid  them  money  on  their  release.  When 
the  English  generals,  having  destroyed  all  the  government 
stores,  re-embarked,  the  prisoners  were  released  with  a  small 
present,  and  on  their  retui-n  to  Hangchau  loudly  proclaimed 
their  praises  of  the  foreigners. 

The  expedition  proceeded  northward  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Yangtsz'  kiang,  and  reached  the  embouchure  of  the  AVusung, 
where  the  ships  took  their  allotted  positions,  June  16th,  before 
the  well-built  stone  batteries,  extending  full  three  miles  along 
the  western  banks  of  the  river.  One  of  these  works  enclosed 
the  town  of  Paushan  and  mounted  one  hundred  and  thirty -four 
guns  ;  the  others  counted  altogether  one  hundred  and  sevent}'-- 
five  guns,  forty-two  of  which  were  brass.  These  defences  wei-e 
manned  by  a  Avell-selected  force,  under  the  command  of  Chin 
Hw^a-ching.  The  ships  had  scarcely  taken  their  stations  when 
the  battei-ies  opened,  and  both  sides  kept  up  a  caimonading  for 
about  two  hours,  the  Chinese  w^orking  their  guns  with  nnich 
skill  and  effect.  When  the  marines  landed  and  entered,  they 
bravely  nieasui-ed  weapons  with  them,  and  died  at  their  posts. 
Among  the  war  junks  were  several  new  wheel-boats,  having  two 
wooden  paddle-wheels  turned  by  a  capstan,  which  interlocked 


FALL   OF   THE   WUSUNG   BATTERIES.  535 

its  cogs  into  those  upon  the  shaft,  and  was  worked  by  men  on 
the  gun-deck.  These  were  paddling  out  of  danger,  when  the 
steamers  overtook  and  silenced  them.  The  number  of  Chinese 
killed  was  about  one  hundred,  out  of  not  less  than  live  thousand 
men  composing  the  garrison  and  army.  The  governor-general, 
Kiu  Kien.  who  was  present,  in  reporting  the  loss  of  the  forts 
and  dispersion  of  the  troops,  says  he  braved  the  hottest  of  the 
light,  "  where  cannon-balls  innumerable,  ilying  in  awful  con- 
fusion through  the  expanse  of  heaven,  fell  before,  behind,  and 
on  either  side  of  him  ;  while  in  the  distance  he  saw  the  ships 
of  the  rebels  standing  erect,  lofty  as  the  mountains.  The  fierce 
daring  of  the  rebels  was  inconceivable  ;  officers  and  men  fell  at 
their  posts.  Every  efPort  to  resist  and  check  the  onset  was  in 
vain,  and  a  retreat  became  inevitable." 

Among  the  killed  was  General  Chin,  who  had  taken  unwea- 
ried pains  to  drill  his  troops,  appoint  them  to  their  places,  and 
inspirit  them  with  his  own  courageous  self-devotion.  In  a 
memoir  of  him,  it  is  said  that  on  the  mcyningof  the  attack  "he 
arrayed  himself  in  his  robes  of  state,  and  having  prayed  to 
heaven  and  earth,  ordered  all  his  ofiicers  and  soldiers  to  get 
their  arms  and  ammunition  ready."  JS^iii  Kien^s  conduct  was 
not  such  as  to  cheer  them  on,  and  most  of  the  officers  "  came 
forward  and  begged  to  retire "  when  they  saw  the  dilapidated 
state  of  the  batteries.  Chin's  second  suggested  a  retreat  when 
the  marines  entered  the  battery,  but  he  drew  his  sword  upon 
him,  saying,  "  My  confidence  in  you  has  been  misplaced."  He 
again  inspirited  his  men,  himself  loading  and  firing  the  ginjals, 
and  fell  pierced  with  wounds  on  the  walls  of  the  fort,  bowing 
his  head  as  he  died  in  the  direction  of  the  Emperor's  palace. 
His  Majesty  paid  him  high  honors,  by  erecting  shrines  to  him 
in  his  native  village  and  at  the  place  where  he  fell ;  in  the 
Ching-hwang  miao  at  Shanghai  there  is  a  sitting  image  of  him 
in  his  robes  of  state,  before  which  incense  is  burned.  A  reward 
of  a  thousand  taels  was  given  his  family,  and  his  son  was  made 
a  k'd-jin  by  special  patent.  In  this  notice  it  is  stated  as  a  cur- 
rent rumor  in  Shanghai,  that  about  a  fortnight  after  his  death 
Chin  sent  down  the  news  through  the  divining  altar  at  Sung- 
kiang,  that  he  had  been  promoted  by  the  Supreme  Kuler  of 


536  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

Heaven  to  the  rank  of  second  general-in-eliief  of  the  Board  of 
Thunder,  so  tliat  although  he  coukl  not,  while  alive,  repay  the 
imperial  favor  by  exterminating  the  rebels,  he  could  still  afford 
some  aid  to  his  country. 

The  stores  of  every  kind  '.vere  destroyed,  except  the  brass 
pieces,  among  which  were  one  Spanish  gun  of  old  date,  and 
a  Chinese  piece  more  than  three  centuries  old,  both  of  them 
of  singular  shape,  the  latter  being  like  a  small-mouthed  jar. 
The  British  landed  on  the  19th,  two  thousand  in  all,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  Shanghai  by  land.  After  the  capture  of  "Wusung, 
Mr.  Gutzlaff,  who  accompanied  the  admiral  as  interpreter,  suc- 
ceeded in  reassuring  the  people  and  inducing  them  to  stay  in 
their  dwellings ;  he  was  also  employed  in  procuring  provisions. 
The  ships  silenced  two  small  batteries  near  the  city  with  a 
single  broadside,  and  the  troops  entered  it  without  resistance. 
The  good  effects  of  previous  kindness  shown  the  people  in 
respecting  their  property  were  here  seen.  Captain  Loch  says 
that  on  the  march  along  the  banks  he  passed  through  two  vil- 
lages where  the  shops  were  open,  with  their  owners  in  them, 
and  that  groups  of  people  Avere  assembled  on  the  right  and  left 
to  see  them  pass.  The  troops  occupied  the  arsenals,  the  pawn- 
brokers' shops,  and  the  temples,  destroying  all  the  government 
stores  and  distributin<;  the  rice  in  the  granaries  among  the 
people.  The  total  number  of  caimon  taken  was  three  lumdred 
and  eighty-eight,  of  which  seventy-six  M'ere  of  brass ;  some  of 
the  latter  were  named  "  tamer  and  subduer  of  the  barbarians ;" 
others,  "the  robbers'  judgment,"  and  one  piece  twelve  feet  long 
was  called  the  "  Barbarian."  The  citizens  voluntarily  came 
forward  to  supply  provisions,  and  stated  that  there  had  been  a 
serious  affray  in  the  city  a  few  days  befoi'c  between  them  and 
their  officers,  who  wished  to  levy  a  subsidy  for  the  defence  of 
the  city,  which  even  then  they  w'ere  on  the  point  of  abandoning. 
The  boats  before  the  walls  were  crowded  with  inhabitants  ffying 
with  their  property,  many  of  whom  returned  in  a  few  days. 

The  troops  retired  from  Shanghai  June  23d,  leaving  it  less 
injured  than  any  city  yet  taken,  owing  chiefly  to  tlie  efforts 
made  by  the  people  themselves  to  protect  their  property.  The 
eight  hundred  junks  and  upward  lying  off  the  town  were  un- 


SHANGHAI   TAKEN.  631 

lianiied,  but  their  owners  no  doubt  were  made  to  contribute 
toward  the  8300,000  exacted  as  a  ransom.  Sir  Henry  Pottiiiger 
now  rejoined  the  expedition,  accompanied  by  Lord  Saltoun, 
with  hii-ge  reinforcements  for  both  arras,  and  immediate  pre- 
parations were  made  for  proceeding  up  the  Yangtsz',  to  inter- 
rupt the  con^nnmication  by  the  Grand  Canal  across  tliat  river. 
Tiie  Chinese  officers,  unable  to  read  any  European  language, 
learned  the  designs  of  their  enemy  chiefly  by  rumors,  which 
natives  in  the  employ  of  the  English  brought  them,  and  conse- 
quently not  unfrequently  misled  his  Majesty— unwittingly,  in 
mentioning  the  wrong  places  likely  to  be  attacked,  but  wilfully 
as  to  their  numbers  and  conduct  in  the  hour  of  victory.  The 
fall  of  Shanghai  and  the  probable  march  upon  Sungkiang  and 
Suchau  greatly  alarmed  him,  and  he  now  began  to  think  that 
the  rebels  really  intended  to  proceed  up  to  Kanking  and  the 
Grand  Canal,  which  he  had  been  assured  was  not  their  purpose. 

He  accordingly  concentrated  his  troops  at  Chinkiang,  Nan- 
king, Suchau,  and  Tientsin,  four  places  which  he  feared  were 
in  danger,  and  associated  Kiying  and  llipu  as  commissioners 
M-ith  the  governor-general,  Xiu  Ivien,  to  superintend  civil  affairs; 
military  matters  were  still  left  under  the  management  of  the 
imbecile  Yihking.  Only  a  few  places  on  the  Yangtsz'  kiang 
offered  eligible  positions  for  forts,  and  Xiu  Kien  wisely  declined 
to  stake  the  Great  River  at  Chinkiang,  lest  it  should  alarm  the 
inhabitants.  Fire-rafts  and  boats  were,  however,  ordered  for 
the  defence  of  that  city,  and  reinforcements  of  troops  collected 
there  and  at  XaiAing,  some  of  whom  were  encamped  witli- 
uot  the  city,  and  part  incorporated  with  the  garrison.  The 
tone  of  the  documents  which  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  English 
showed  the  anxiety  felt  at  court  regarding  the  result  of  this 
movement  up  the  river. 

The  British  plenipotentiary  published  and  circulated  a  mani- 
festo at  this  date  for  "  the  information  of  the  people  of  the 
country."  In  this  paper  he  enumerated,  in  much  the  same 
manner  as  Captain  Elliot  had  done,  the  grievances  the  English 
l)ad  suffered  at  Canton  from  the  spoliations,  insults,  and  impris- 
onment inflicted  upon  them  by  Lin  in  order  to  extort  opium, 
which  was  given   up  by  the  English   superintendent  to  rescue 


538  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

himself  and  Ins  countiTnien  from  deatli.  .  The  tluplicity  of  the 
Chinese  government  in  sending  down  Kislien  as  a  commissioner 
to  Canton  to  arrange  matters,  and  then,  while  he  was  negotiat- 
ing, to  break  off  the  treaty  and  treacherously  resort  to  war,  was 
another  "gi-and  instance  of  oifence  against  England."  The  bad 
treatment  of  kidnapped  prisoners,  tlie  mendacious  reports  of 
victories  gained  over  the  English,  wliicli  misled  the  Emperor 
and  retarded  the  settlement  of  the  war,  was  another  cause  of 
offence.  The  restriction  of  the  trade  to  Canton,  establishment 
of  the  monopoly  of  tlie  hong  merchants,  the  oppressive  and  un- 
just exactions  imposed  upon  it  tlirongh  their  scheming,  and 
many  other  minor  grievances  which  need  not  be  enumerated, 
formed  the  last  count  in  this  indictment.  Three  things  must 
be  granted  before  peace  could  be  made,  viz.,  tlie  cession  of  an 
island  for  commerce  and  the  residence  of  merchants  ;  compen- 
sation for  losses  and  expenses ;  and  allowing  a  friendly  and 
becoming  intercourse  between  the  officers  of  the  two  countries 
on  terms  of  equality.  This  proclamation,  however,  nnide  no 
mention  of  the  real  cause  of  the  war,  the  opium  trade,  and  in 
that  respect  was  far  from  being  an  ingenuous,  fair  statement  of 
the  question.  It  was  much  more  like  one  of  Xapoleon's  bulle- 
tins in  the  Moniteur,  and  considering  the  moral  and  intellectual 
condition  of  Great  Britain  and  China,  failed  to  uphold  the  high 
standing  of  the  former. 

While  Sir  Henry  Pottinger  knew  that  the  use  of  this  drug 
was  one  of  the  greatest  evils  which  afflicted  the  people,  he 
should  have,  in  a  document  of  this  natui'e,  left  no  room  for  the 
supposition,  on  the  part  of  either  ruler  or  subject,  that  the  war 
was  undertaken  to  uphold  and  countenance  the  opium  trade. 
He  could  not  have  been  ignorant  that  the  Emperor  and  his 
ministers  supposed  the  unequal  contest  they  were  waging  was 
caused  b\'  their  unsuccessful  efforts  to  supjiress  the  traffic  ;  and 
that  if  they  were  defeated  the  opium  trade  must  goon  unchecked. 
The  question  of  supremacy  was  set  at  rest  in  this  proclamation  ; 
it  must  be  given  up ;  but  no  encouragement  was  held  out  to 
reassure  the  (vhinese  government  in  their  lawful  desire  to  restrain 
the  tremendous  scourge.  Wh}^  should  he  ?  If  he  encouraged 
any  action  against  the  trade,  he  could  expect  little  promotion  or 


PROCLAMATIONS   ISSUED   BY    BOTH   PARTIES.         539 

.•eward  from  liis  superiors  in  Indiii  or  England,  who  looked  to 
it  for  all  the  revenue  it  could  be  made  to  bring ;  or  considera- 
tion from  the  merchants,  who  would  not  thank  him  for  telling 
the  Chinese  they  might  attack  the  opium  clippers  wherever  the}' 
found  them,  and  seize  all  the  opium  they  could,  and  English 
•power  would  not  interfere. 

The  Emperor  issued  a  proclamation  about  the  same  time, 
recapitulating  his  conduct  and  efforts  to  put  a  stop  to  the  war, 
stating  what  he  had  done  to  ward  off  calamity  and  repress  the 
rebels.  The  opium  ti-ade,  and  his  efforts  for  a  long  time  to 
repress  it,  and  especially  the  measures  of  Lin,  are  in  this  papei 
regarded  as  the  causes  of  the  war,  which  concludes  by  expressing 
his  regrets  for  the  sufferings  and  losses  occasioned  his  subjectl 
by  the  attacks  of  the  English  at  Amoy,  Chusan,  Xingpo,  and 
elsewhere,  and  exhorting  them  to  renewed  efforts.  It  is  a  mat 
ter  of  lasting  regret  that  the  impression  has  been  left  upon  the 
minds  of  the  Chinese  people  that  the  war  was  an  opium  war, 
and  waged  chiefly  to  uphold  it.  But  nations,  like  individuals, 
must  usually  trust  to  might  more  than  right  to  maintain  their 
standing ;  and  when  conscious  weakness  leads  them  to  adopt 
underhand  measures  to  regain  their  rights,  the  temptation  which 
led  to  these  acts  is  rarely  thought  of  in  the  da}'  of  retribution. 
The  money  demands  of  England  were  not  deemed  at  the  tijiie 
to  be  exacting,  but  she  should,  and  could  at  this  time  in  an 
effectual  manner,  through  her  plenipotentiary,  have  cleared  her- 
self from  all  sanction  of  this  traffic.  If  Lord  jVIelbourne  could 
wish  it  were  a  less  objectionable  traffic.  Sir  Henry  Pottinger 
might  surely  have  intimated,  in  as  public  a  manner,  his  regret  at 
its  existence.  He  probably  did  not  deem  the  use  of  opium  very 
deleterious. 

The  number  of  ships,  steamers,  transports,  and  all  in  the 
expedition,  when  it  left  Wusung,  July  Otli,  was  seventy-two, 
most  of  them  large  vessels.  They  were  arranged  in  five  divisions, 
with  an  advance  squadron  of  five  small  steamers  and  tenders  to 
survey  the  river,  each  division  having  a  frigate  or  seventy-four 
at  its  head.  The  woild  has  seldom  seen  a  more  conspicuous 
instance  of  the  superiority  of  a  small  body  possessing  science, 
skill,  and  discipline,  over  immense  nmltitudes  of  undisciplined. 


540  THE    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

ignorant,  and  distrustful  soldiers,  than  was  exhibited  in  this  bold 
manoeuvre.  ]^ot  to  speak  alone  of  the  great  disparity  in  num- 
bers, the  distant  quarters  of  the  globe  whence  the  ships  were 
collected,  the  many  languages  and  tribes  found  in  the  invading 
force,  the  magnitude  of  their  ships,  abundance  of  their  supplies, 
and  superiority  of  their  weapons  of  war,  the  moral  energy  and 
confidence  of  power  in  this  small  troop  over  its  ineffective  adver- 
sary was  not  less  conspicuous.  The  sight  of  such  a  fleet  sailing 
up  their  Great  River  struck  the  inhabitants  with  mingled  aston- 
ishment and  dread. 

Chinkiang  lies  half  a  mile  from  the  southern  bank  of  tha 
Yangtsz',  surrounded  by  a  high  wall  four  miles  in  circuit,  and 
liaving  hills  of  considerable  elevation  in  its  rear.  The  canal 
conies  in  from  the  south,  close  to  the  walls  on  its  western  side, 
and  along  the  shores  of  both  river  and  canal  are  extensive  sub- 
urbs— at  this  time  completely  under  the  command  of  the  guns 
of  the  ships,  which  could  also  bombard  the  city  itself  from  some 
positions.  A  bluff  hill  on  the  north  partly  concealed  the  town 
from  the  ships,  and  it  was  not  till  this  hill- top  had  been  gained 
that  the  three  Chinese  encampments  behind  the  city  could  be 
seen.  The  general  divided  his  small  foi-co  of  seven  thousand 
men  into  three  brigades,  under  the  connnand  of  ]\rajor-Generals 
Lord  Saltoun,  Schoedde,  and  Bartlcy,  besides  an  artillery  brigade 
of  live  hundred  and  seventy  rank  and  file,  under  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Montgomerie.  The  Chinese  encampments  contaiiR'(l 
moi-e  than  three  thousand  men,  most  of  them  soldiers  from 
IJupeh  and  Chehkiang  provinces.  The  Manchu  garrison  within 
the  city  consisted  of  one  thousand  tw^o  hundred  regular  troops 
and  eight  hundred  Mongols  from  Ivoko-nor,  together/ with  eight 
hundred  and  thirty -five  Chinese  troops,  making  altogether  from 
two  thousand  six  hundred  to  two  thousand  eiglit  hundred  fight- 
ing men  ;  the  entire  force  was  under  the  command  of  Hailing, 
who  had  made  such  a  disposition  of  his  troops  and  strengthened 
his  means  of  defence  as  well  as  the  time  allowed.  lie  closes  his 
last  communication  to  the  Emperor  with  the  assurance  that  "he 
cannot  do  otherwise  than  exert  his  whole  heart  and  sti-ength  in 
endeavors  to  repay  a  small  fraction  of  the  favors  he  has  enjoyed 
from  his  ijcovernment." 


ATTACK    UPON   CHINKIANG.  541 

The  right  brigade,  under  Lord  Saltoun,  .sdou  drove  tlie  im- 
perialists out  of  their  camp,  who  did  not  Avait  for  his  near 
approach,  but  brolve  and  dispersed  after  firing  tliree  or  four  dis- 
tant volleys.  Captain  Loch  says  that  while  the  i)arty  of  volun- 
teers were  approaching  the  camp,  they  passed  through  a  small 
hamlet  on  the  liills;  "the  village  had  not  been  deserted;  some 
of  the  houses  were  closed,  while  the  iidiabitants  of  others  were 
standing  in  the  streets  staring  at  us  in  stu})id  wonder  ;  and 
although  they  were  viewing  a  contest  Ijetween  foreigners  and 
their  fellow-countrymen,  and  in  danger  themselves  of  being 
shot,  were  coolly  eating  their  meals."' 

The  centre  brigade,  under  ]\Lijor-General  Schoedde,  landed 
on  the  northern  corner  of  the  city,  to  escalade  the  walls  on  that 
side  and  prevent  the  troops  from  the  camp  entering  the  gates. 
He  was  received  by  a  w^ell-sustained  iii-e,  his  men  placing  their 
ladders  and  mounting  in  the  face  of  a  determined  resistance ;  as 
soon  as  they  gained  the  parapet  they  drove  the  Tartars  before 
them,  though  their  passage  was  bravely  disputed.  While  they 
were  mounting  the  walls  a  fire  was  kept  up  on  the  city  on  the 
northern  and  eastern  sides,  under  cover  of  which,  after  clearing 
the  ramparts,  they  proceeded  to  the  western  gate,  conquering 
fill  opposition  in  the  northern  part  (tf  the  city,  and  driving  the 
Tartars  to  the  southern  quarter. 

The  left  brigade,  under  Major-Genei-al  Bartley,  did  not  i-each 
the  western  side  as  soon  as  was  expected,  being  delayed  by  the 
canal,  here  between  seventy  and  eighty  feet  broad,  which  formed 
a  deep  ditch  on  this  side.  The  western  gate  was  blown  in,  the 
blast  carrying  before  it  a  high  pile  of  sand-l)ags  heaped  against 
the  inside  to  strengthen  the  bars.  While  this  work  was  going 
on,  seven  boats  carrying  artillerymen  entered  the  canal  to  proceed 
up  to  the  gate ;  but  when  nearly  opposite  they  were  repulsed 
by  a  severe  lire  from  the  walls,  and  the  men  compelled  to  aban- 
don the  three  leading  boats  and  take  refuge  in  the  houses  along 
the  banks  ;  the  others  halted  under  cover  of  some  houses  until 
their  comrades  rejoined  them,  when  all  j-eturned  to  the  ships. 
Two  hundred  marines  now  landed,  and  with  three  iiundred 
sepoys  soon  recovered  the  boats  and  carried  back  the  M^ounded 
men.     The  party  then  planted  their  ladders  in  the  face  of  a 


f)42  THK    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

spirited  fire  from  the  walls,  and  succeeded  in  carrying  them 
against  all  opj)Ositioii. 

All  resistance  at  the  three  gateways  having  been  overcome,  it 
was  supposed  that  the  city  was  nearly  subdued.  Sir  Hugh  con- 
sequently ordered  a  halt  for  his  men  on  account  of  the  heat,  and 
despatched  a  small  force  to  proceed  along  the  western  ramparts 
to  occupy  the  southern  gate.  This  squad  had  proceeded  about 
half  a  mile  when  it  met  a  body  of  eight  hundred  or  one  tliou- 
sand  Taitars  regularly  drawn  up  in  an  open  space.  They  fired 
with  steadiness  and  regularity,  but  their  bi-avery  was  of  no 
avail,  for  the  party,  giving  them  one  volley,  charged  down  the 
bank  and  scattered  them  immediately,  though  not  without  some 
resistance.  The  dispersed  Tartars,  however,  kept  up  a  scatter- 
ing fire  along  the  streets  and  from  the  houses,  wliicli  served 
chiefly  to  irritate  their  enemies  and  increase  their  own  loss. 

The  heat  of  the  day  having  passed,  the  commander-in-chief, 
guided  by  Mr.  Gutzlaff  and  some  Chinese,  marched  with  two 
regiments  into  the  southern  quarter  of  the  city.  The  scenes  of 
desolation  and  woe  which  he  met  seem  to  have  sickened  the 
gray-haired  warrior,  for  lie  says  in  his  despatches,  "finding  dead 
bodies  of  Tartars  in  every  house  we  entoi-ed,  principally  women 
and  children,  thrown  into  M'ells  or  otherwise  murdered  by  their 
own  peo]>le,  I  was  glud  to  withdraw  the  ti'oops  from  this  frightful 
scene  of  destruction,  and  place  them  in  the  northern  quarter.'' 
It  was  indeed  a  terrific  scene.  Captain  Loch,  who  accompanied 
Sir  Hugh,  says  they  went  to  a  large  building  thought  to  be  the 
prefect's  house,  which  was  forced  open  and  found  entirely 
deserted,  thougli  completely  furnished  and  of  great  extent ; 
"  we  set  fire  to  it  and  marched  on."  What  the  object  or  advan- 
tage of  this  barbarous  act  was  he  does  not  say.  Leaving  the 
general,  he  turned  down  a  street  and  burst  open  tlie  door  of  a 
large  mansion  ;  the  objects  which  met  his  view  were  shocking. 

After  we  had  forced  our  way  over  piles  of  furniture  placed  to  barricade 
the  door,  we  entered  an  open  court  strewed  with  rich  stuffs  and  covered  with 
clotted  blood;  and  upon  the  steps  leading  to  the  hall  of  ancestors  there  were 
two  bodies  of  youthful  Tartars,  cold  and  stiff,  who  seemed  to  be  brothers. 
Having  gained  the  threshold  of  their  abode,  they  had  died  where  they  had 
fallen  from  loss  of  blood.     Stepping  over  those  bodies  we  entered  the  hall,  and 


TRAGIC   SCENES   IN    THE    CITY.  5-J3 

met  face  to  face  three  women  seated,  a  motlier  and  two  daughters,  and  at  their 
feet  lay  two  hodies  of  elderly  men,  with  their  tliroats  cut  from  car  to  ear,  their 
senseless  heads  resting  upon  the  feet  of  their  relations.  To  the  right  were  two 
young  girls,  heautif  ul  and  delicate,  crouching  over  and  endeavoring  to  conceal 
a  living  soldier.  In  the  heat  of  action,  when  the  blood  is  up  and  the  struggle 
is  for  life  between  man  and  man,  the  anguish  of  the  wounded  and  the  .sight  of 
misery  and  pain  is  unheeded ;  humanity  is  partially  obscured  by  danger  ;  hut 
when  excitement  subsides  with  victory,  a  heart  would  be  hardly  human  that 
could  feel  unaffected  by  the  retrospection.  And  the  hardest  heart  of  the  old- 
est man  who  ever  lived  a  life  of  rapine  and  slaughter  could  not  have  gazed  on 
this  scene  of  woe  unmoved.  I  stopped,  horror-stricken  at  what  I  saw.  The 
expression  of  cold,  unutterable  despair  depicted  on  the  mother's  face  changed 
to  the  violent  workings  of  scorn  and  hate,  which  at  last  burst  forth  in  a  par- 
oxysm of  invective,  afterward  in  floods  of  tears,  which  apparently,  if  anything 
could,  relieved  her.  She  came  close  to  me  and  seized  me  by  the  arm,  and 
with  clenched  teeth  and  deadly  frown  pointed  to  the  bodies,  to  her  daughters, 
to  her  yet  splendid  house,  and  to  herself  ;  then  stepped  back  a  pace,  and  with 
firmly  closed  hands  and  in  a  husky  voice,  I  could  see  by  her  gestures,  spoke  of 
lier  misery,  her  hate,  and,  I  doubt  not,  her  revenge.  I  attempted  by  signs  to 
explain,  offered  her  my  services,  but  was  spurned.  I  endeavored  to  make  her 
comprehend  that,  however  great  her  present  misery,  it  might  be  in  her  unpro- 
tected state  a  hundredfold  increased ;  that  if  she  would  place  herself  under 
my  guidance,  I  would  pass  her  through  the  city  gates  in  safety  into  the  open 
country ;  but  the  poor  woman  would  not  listen  to  me,  and  the  whole  family 
was  by  this  time  in  loud  lamentation.  All  that  remained  for  me  to  do  was  to 
prevent  the  soldiers  bayoneting  the  man,  who,  since  our  entrance,  had  at- 
tempted to  escape.' 

The  destruction  of  life  was  appalling.  Some  of  tlie  Manchus 
slmt  the  doors  of  their  houses,  while  through  the  crevices  per- 
sons could  be  seen  deliberately  cutting  the  throats  of  their 
women,  and  destroying  their  children  by  throwing  them  into 
wells.  In  one  house  a  man  was  shot  while  sawing  his  wife's 
throat  as  he  held  her  over  a  well  into  which  he  had  already 
thrown  his  children  ;  her  wound  was  sewed  up  and  the  lives  of 
the  children  saved.  In  another  house  no  less  than  fourteen 
dead  bodies,  principally  women,  were  discovered  ;  while  such 
was  their  terror  and  hatred  of  the  invadei's,  that  every  JManchu 
preferred  resistance,  death,  suicide,  or  flight,  to  surrender.  Out 
of  a  Manchu  population  of  foui  thousand,  it  was  estimated  that 
not  more  than  five  hundred  survived,  the  greater  part  having 
perished  by  their  own  hands. 

'  Capt.  G.  G.  Loch,  Narrative  of  Events  in  China,  p.  109. 


544  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

The  public  offices  were  ransacked  and  all  anus  and  stores 
destroyed  ;  oulj  §60,000  iu  sjcee  were  fouud  iu  the  treasury 
The  populace  began  to  pillage,  and  in  one  instance,  fearing  a 
stop  might  be  put  to  their  rapacity,  tliey  set  fire  to  the  build- 
ings at  each  end  of  a  street  in  order  to  plunder  a  pawnbroker's 
shop  without  interference.  The  streets  and  lanes  were  strewed 
with  silken,  fur,  and  other  rich  dresses  Avhich  the  robbers  had 
thrown  awa}^  when  they  saw  something  more  valuable,  and  the 
sepoys  and  camp-followers  took  what  they  could  find.  Parties 
were  accordingly  stationed  at  the  gates  to  take  everything 
from  the  natives  as  they  went  out,  or  which  they  threw  over  the 
walls,  and  in  this  way  the  thieves  M'ere  in  tlieir  turn  stripped. 
Within  twenty-four  hours  after  the  troops  landed,  the  city  and 
suburbs  of  Chinkiang  were  a  mass  of  ruin  and  destruction; 
part  of  the  eastern  wall  was  subsequently  blown  iu  and  all  the 
gates  dismantled  to  prevent  any  treachery.  The  total  loss  of 
the  English  was  thirty-seven  killed  and  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
one  wounded. 

A  cui'ious  contrast  to  the  terrible  scenes  i-'oin*:;  on  at  Chin- 
kiang  was  seen  at  Iching  hien,  on  the  northei'u  side  of  the  river. 
Four  days  before,  the  approach  of  the  steamer  Nemesis  had 
caused  no  little  consternation,  and  iu  the  evening  a  Chinese 
gentleman  came  off  to  her  with  a  few  presents  to  learn  if  thei-e 
was  any  intention  of  attacking  the  town,  lie  was  told  that  if  he 
would  send  supplies  of  meat  and  provisions  no  huiin  would  be 
done,  and  all  he  brought  should  be  paid  for.  In  the  morning 
])rovisi(>ns  were  furnished,  and  he  remained  on  board  to  see  the 
steamer  chase  and  bring  junks  to;  being  nnich  amazed  at  these 
novel  operations,  which  gave  him  a  new  idea  of  the  energy  of 
the  invaders.  In  the  evening  connnands  were  given  him  to 
bi-ing  provisions  in  larger  quantities,  and  three  boats  went  up  to 
the  town  to  procure  them.  The  people  showed  no  hostility, 
and  through  his  assistance  the  English  opened  a  market  in  the 
courtyard  of  a  temple,  at  which  supplies  were  purchased,  put 
aboard  snudl  junks,  and  conveyed  to  the  fleet.  On  the  21st  the 
same  person  came,  according  to  agi'cement,  to  accompany  a  large 
])arty  of  English  from  the  ships  to  his  house,  where  he  had 
prepared  an  entertaimnent  for  them.     Through  the  medium  of 


RECEPTION    OF   THE   ENGLISH   AT   ICHING.  545 

a  Chinese  boj  commniiicatiou  was  easily  carried  on,  and  tlie 
alarms  of  the  townspeople  quieted ;  a  proclamation  was  also 
issued  stating  that  every  peaceable  person  would  be  unharmed. 
This  gentleman  had  invited  a  large  company  of  his  relatives  and 
friends,  and  served  up  a  collation  for  his  guests ;  all  this  time 
the  firing  was  heard  from  Chinkiang,  where  the  countrymen  of 
those  so  agreeably  occupied  were  engaged  in  hostile  encounter. 
On  returning  to  their  boats  an  additional  mark  of  I'espect  was 
shown  by  placing  a  M'ell-dressed  man  each  side  of  every  officer 
to  fan  him  as  he  walked.  At  the  market-temple  another  enter- 
tainment was  also  served  up.  Xo  injury  was  done  by  either 
side,  and  the  forbearance  of  the  English  was  not  without  good 
effect.  Such  queer  contrasts  as  this  have  frequently  character- 
ized the  contests  between  the  Chinese  and  British, 

Some  of  the  large  ships  were  towed  up  to  Nanking,  and  the 
whole  fleet  reached  it  August  9th,  at  which  time  preparation 
had  been  made  for  the  assault ;  but  desirous  of  avoiding  a  repe- 
tition of  the  sad  scenes  of  Chinkiang,  the  British  leaders  had 
also  sent  a  communication  to  Kiu  Kien,  oifering  to  ransom  the 
city  for  iB3,00(»,000. 

This  celebrated  city  lies  about  three  miles  south  of  the  river, 
but  the  north-east  corner  of  an  outer  wall  reaches  within  seven 
hundred  paces  of  the  water ;  the  western  face  runs  along  the 
base  of  w^ooded  hills  for  part  of  its  distance,  and  is  then  con- 
tinued through  flat  grounds  around  the  southern  side,  both  being 
defended  b}-  a  deep  ditch.  The  suburbs  are  on  this  low  ground, 
M-here  Sir  Hugh  Gough  intended  to  bombard  the  place  and 
make  an  entrance  on  the  eastern  side,  M'liile  diversions  at  other 
points  perplexed  the  garrison.  Ills  force  consisted  of  only  four 
thousand  five  hundred  effective  men  ;  there  were,  as  nearly  as 
could  be  learned,  six  thousand  Manchu  and  nine  thousand  Chi- 
nese troops  within  the  city.  On  the  11th  Lord  Saltoun's  brigade 
landed  at  a  village  from  whence  a  j)aved  road  led  to  one  of  the 
eastern  gates,  and  other  detachments  were  stationed  in  the 
neighborhood.  Everything  was  in  readiness  for  the  assault  by 
daylight  of  August  loth,  and  the  governor-general  was  told 
that  it  would  assuredly  be  made  unless  the  commissioners  pro- 
duced their  authority  for  treating. 


546  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

In  the  interval  between  the  downfall  of  Chinkian";  and  in^ 
vestment  of  Nanking,  several  eonnnnnications  were  received 
from  the  Chinese  officers,  and  one  from  Kiying,  couched  in 
conciliatory  language,  and  evincing  a  desire  for  peace.  Sir 
Henry  Pottinger  replied  in  the  same  strain,  deploi'ing  tlie  war 
and  calamities  caused  by  its  continuance,  but  stating  that  he 
could  have  no  interview  with  any  individual,  however  exalted, 
M'ho  was  not  properly  connnissioned  to  treat  for  peace.  It  is 
probable  that  the  Emperor  did  not  receive  any  suggestion  from 
his  ministers  in  regard  to  making  peace  until  after  the  fall  of 
Chinkiang,  and  it  was  a  matter  of  some  importance,  therefore, 
for  Ilipu  and  his  colleague  to  delay  the  attack  on  Nanking  until 
an  answer  could  be  received  from  the  capital.  The  usual  doubts 
in  the  minds  of  the  English  as  to  their  sincerity  led  them  to 
look  npon  the  whole  as  a  scheme  to  perfect  the  defences,  and 
gain  time  for  the  people  to  retire  ;  consequently  the  pi-epara- 
tions  for  taking  the  city  went  on,  in  order  to  deepen  the  con- 
viction that  if  one  party  was  practising  any  deception,  the  other 
certainly  was  in  earnest. 

On  the  night  of  the  l-4th,  scarcely  three  hours  before  the 
artillery  was  to  open,  Ilipu,  Kiying,  and  Niu  Ivien  addressed  a 
joint  letter  to  Sir  Henry  Pottinger  requesting  an  interview  in 
the  morning,  Mhen  they  M'ould  produce  their  credentials  and 
arrange  for  furtlier  proceedings.  This  request  was  granted  with 
some  reluctance,  for  the  day  before  the  jyuehing  .sz'  and  Tartar 
commandant  had  behaved  very  unsatisfactorih',  refusing  to  ex- 
hibit the  credentials  or  discuss  the  terms  of  peace  or  ransom. 
The  distress  ensuent  upon  the  blockade  was  becoming  greater 
and  greater  ;  more  than  seven  hundred  vessels  coming  from  the 
south  had  been  stopped  at  Chiidciang,  and  a  large  fleet  lay  in 
the  northern  branch  of  the  canal,  so  that  some  possibility 
existed  of  the  whole  province  falling  into  anarchy  if  the  pres- 
sure were  not  removed.  The  authorities  of  the  city  of  Yang- 
chau,  on  the  canal,  had  already  sent  half  a  million  dollars  as 
the  )-ansom  of  that  place,  while  Niu  Kien  would  only  offer  a 
third  of  a  million  to  ransom  the  capital. 

The  Eni])eror*'s  authority  to  treat  with  the  English  was,  how- 
ever, exhibited  at  this  meeting,  and  in  return  Sir  Henry's  was 


ARRANGEMENTS   EOIl   CESSATION   OF   HOSTILITIES.      547 

fully  explained  to  them.  The  delegates  on  the  part  of  the 
conmiistiioners  were  Hwang  ^S'gun-tiing,  secretary  to  Kiying, 
and  Chin,  the  Manchii  commandant,  while  Major  Malconi, 
secretary  of  legation,  and  Mr.  J.  11.  Morrison  acted  on  the  part 
of  the  plenipotentiary.  Captain  Loch,  who  was  present,  hu- 
morously describes  the  solemn  manner  in  which  the  Emperor's 
commission  was  brought  out  from  the  box  in  wdiich  it  was  de- 
posited, and  the  dismay  of  the  lower  attendants  at  seeing  the 
foreigners  irreverently  handle  it  and  examine  its  authenticity 
with  so  little  awe.  The  skeleton  of  the  treaty  was  immediately 
drafted  for  Hwang  to  take  to  his  superiors.  General  Chin 
laughingly  remarked  that  though  the  conditions  were  hard, 
they  were  no  more  so  than  the  Chinese  would  have  demanded 
if  they  had  been  the  victors.  The  bearing  of  these  officers 
was  courteous,  and  Hwang  especially  found  favor  with  all  who 
were  thrown  into  his  company. 

The  utmost  care  being  requisite  in  drawing  up  the  articles, 
most  of  the  work  falling  upon  Mr.  Morrison,  it  was  not  till  late 
at  night  on  the  17th  that  the  final  draft  was  sent  to  the 
Chinese.  The  plenipotentiary,  on  the  18th,  desired  the  general 
and  admiral  to  suspend  hostilities,  at  which  time  arrangements 
were  also  made  for  an  interview  the  next  day  between  the  rep- 
resentatives on  both  sides.  The  English  officers  meantime  ex- 
plored the  vicinity  of  the  city,  and  the  demand  for  provisions 
to  supply  the  force  caused  a  brisk  trade  highlj'  beneficial  to  the 
Chinese,  and  well  calculated  to  please  them. 

On  the  19th  Kiying,  tlipu,  and  jS^iu  Kien,  accompanied  by  a 
large  suite,  paid  their  first  visit  to  the  English.  The  steamer 
Medusa  brought  them  alongside  the  Cornwallis,  and  Sir  Henry 
Pottinger,  supported  by  the  admiral  and  general,  received  them 
on  the  quarter-deck.  The  ship  was  decked  with  flags,  and  the 
crowd  of  gayly  dressed  officers  in  blue  and  scarlet  contrasted 
well  with  the  bright  crapes  and  robes  of  the  Chinese.  This 
visit  was  one  of  ceremon\',  and  after  partaking  of  refreshments 
and  examining  the  ship  the  commissioners  retired,  expressing 
their  gratification  at  what  they  saw.  They  conducted  them- 
selves with  decorum  in  their  novel  position,  and  Kiying  and 
llipu,  though  both  brought  up  in  the  full  persuasion  of  the 


54:8  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

Bupremacj  of  their  sovereign  over  the  rulers  of  all  other  nations, 
and  particularly  over  the  English,  manifested  no  ill-concealed 
chagrin.  They  liad  previously  sent  up  a  report  of  the  prugj'uss 
of  the  expedition  after  the  capture  of  Chinkiang,  rec[uesting 
in  it  that  the  demands  of  the  invaders  might  be  conceded  ;  the 
inefficiency  of  their  troops  is  acknowledged,  and  a  candid  state- 
ment of  the  impossibility  of  effectual  resistance  laid  before  his 
Majesty,  with  cogent  reasons  for  acceding  to  the  demands  of  the 
Englisli  as  the  wisest  course  of  procedure.  The  further  dis- 
asters which  will  ensue  if  the  war  is  not  brought  to  a  close 
are  hinted  at,  and  the  concession  of  the  points  at  issue  consid- 
ered in  a  manner  least  humbling  to  imperial  vanity.  The  sum 
of  $21,000,000  to  be  paid  is  regarded  by  them  as  a  present 
to  the  soldiers  and  sailors  before  sending  them  home ; 
partly  as  the  liquidation  of  just  debts  due  from  the  hong  mer- 
chants, whose  insolvency  made  them  chargeable  to  the  govern- 
ment, and  partly  as  indemnification  for  the  opium.  Trade  at 
the  five  ports  was  to  be  allowed,  because  fonr  of  them  had  al- 
ready been  seized,  and  this  was  the  only  w'ay  to  induce  the 
invaders  to  withdraw,  while  Hongkong  could  be  ceded  inasnnich 
as  they  had  already  built  houses  there.  The  memorial  is  a 
curious  effort  to  render  the  bitter  pill  somewhat  palatable  to 
themselves  and  their  master. 

The  English  plenipotentiary,  accompanied  by  a  large  concourse 
of  officers,  returned  the  visit  on  shore  in  a  few  days,  and  were 
met  at  the  entrance  of  a  temple  by  the  commissioners,  who  led 
them  through  a  guard  of  newly  uniformed  and  unarmed  soldiers 
into  the  building,  the  bands  of  both  nations  striking  up  their 
music  at  the  same  time.  This  visit  continued  tlie  good  under- 
standing which  prevailed  ;  the  room  had  been  carpeted  and  or- 
namented with  lanterns  and  sci-olls  for  the  occasion,  while  the 
adjacent  grounds  accommodated  a  crowd  of  natives.  On  the  20tli 
Sir  Henry  Pottinger  and  his  suite,  consisting  of  his  secretary, 
]\[ajor  Malcom,  Messi-s.  Morrison,  Thorn,  and  Gutzlaff,  the  three 
interpreters,  and  three  other  gentlemen,  proceeded  about  four 
miles  to  the  landing-place  on  the  canal,  where  they  were  met  by 
a  brigadier  and  two  colonels;  the  banks  of  the  canal  wei'c  lined 
with  troops.     The  party  then  took  their  horses,  and,  preceded 


AKTICLES   OF   THE   TIJEATY    OF   NANKING.  549 

by  a  mounted  escort,  were  received  at  tlie  city  gate  by  the  sec- 
retaries of  llipu ;  the  procession  advanced  to  the  place  of  meet- 
ing, guarded  by  a  detachment  of  Manchu  cavahy,  whose  shaggy 
ponies  and  llowing  dresses  presented  a  singular  contiast  to  the 
envoy's  escort  and  their  beautiful  Arabs,  lie  himself  was  con- 
ducted through  the  outer  gate,  up  the  court  and  through  the 
second  gateway,  ascending  the  steps  into  the  third  entrance, 
where  he  dismounted  and  entered  the  building  with  the  com- 
missioners and  governor-general.  The  room  had  been  elegantly 
fitted  up,  and  a  crowd  of  official  attendants  dressed  in  their  cere- 
monial robes  stood  around.  Sir  Henry  occupied  the  chief  seat 
between  Kiying  and  Ili'pu,  their  respective  attendants  being 
seated  in  proper  oi'der,  with  small  tables  between  every  two 
persons,  while  dinner  was  served  up  in  usual  Chinese  style. 

These  formalities  being  over,  the  thirteen  articles  of  this  most 
important  treaty  were  discussed  : 

I. — Lasting  peace  between  the  two  nations. 

II. — The  ports  of  Canton,  Amoy,  Fuhchau,  Kingpo,  and 
Shanghai  to  be  opened  to  British  trade  and  residence,  and  trade 
conducted  according  to  a  well-understood  tariff. 

III. — "  It  being  obviously  necessary  and  desirable  that  British 
subjects  should  have  some  port  whereat  they  may  careen  and 
refit  their  ships  when  required,"  the  island  of  Hongkong  to  be 
ceded  to  her  Majesty. 

lY. — Six  millions  of  dollars  to  be  paid  as  the  value  of  the 
opium  which  was  delivered  up  "  as  a  ransom  for  the  lives  of 
II.  B.  M.  Superintendent  and  subjects,"  in  March,  1839. 

Y. — Three  millions  of  dollars  to  be  paid  for  the  debts  due  to 
British  merchants. 

YI. — Twelve  millions  to  be  paid  for  the  expenses  incurred  in 
the  expedition  sent  out  "  to  obtain  redress  for  the  violent  and 
unjust  proceedings  of  the  Chinese  high  authorities." 

YIL— The  entire  amount  of  $21,000,000  to  be  paid  before 
December  31,  1845. 

YIII. — All  prisoners  of  war  to  be  immediately  released  by 
the  Chinese. 

IX. — The  Emperor  to  grant  full  and  entire  amnesty  to  those 
of  his  subjects  who  had  aided  the  British. 


J^O  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM 

X.  — A  regular  and  fair  tariff  of  export  and  import  customs 
and  other  dues  to  be  established  at  the  open  ports,  and  a  transit 
duty  to  be  levied  in  addition  whicli  will  give  goods  a  free  con- 
veyance to  all  places  in  China. 

XI. — Official  correspondence  to  be  hereafter  conducted  on 
terms  of  equality  according  to  the  standing  of  the  parties. 

XIl. — Conditions  for  restoring  the  places  held  by  British 
troops  to  be  according  to  the  payments  of  money. 

XIII. — Time  of  exchanging  ratifications  and  carrying  the 
treaty  into  effect. 

The  official  English  and  Chinese  texts  of  this  compact  and  a 
literal  translation  of  the  Chinese  text  are  given  in  the  (JJunese 
Repodtoi'ij^  Vols.  XIII.  and  XIV.;  in  that  serial  is  also  to  be 
found  a  full  account  of  the  struggle  which  was  thus  brought  to 
a  close.  Looked  at  in  any  point  of  view,  political,  commercial, 
moral,  or  intellectual,  it  will  always  be  considered  as  one  of  the 
turning  points  in  the  history  of  mankind,  involving  the  welfare 
of  all  nations  in  its  wide-reaching  consequences. 

When  matters  connected  with  the  treaty  had  been  arranged, 
Sir  Henry  proposed  to  say  a  few  words  upon  "  the  great  cause 
that  produced  the  disturbances  which  led  to  the  war,  viz.,  the 
trade  in  opium."  But  upon  hearing  this  (Captain  Loch  says) 
they  unanimously  declined  entering  upon  the  subject,  until  they 
were  assured  that  he  had  introduced  it  merely  as  a  topic  for 
private  conversation. 

The}'  then  evinced  much  interest,  and  eagerly  requested  to  know  why  wB 
would  not  act  fairly  toward  them  by  prohi1)iting  the  growth  of  tlie  poppy  in 
our  dominions,  and  thus  effectually  stop  a  traffic  so  pernicious  to  the  human 
race.  This,  he  said,  in  consistency  with  our  constitutional  laws  could  not  he 
done  ;  and  he  added  that  even  if  England  chose  to  exercise  so  arbitrary  a 
power  over  her  tillers  of  the  soil,  it  would  not  check  the  evil,  so  far  as  the 
Chinese  were  concerned,  while  the  cancer  remained  uneradicated  among  them- 
selves, but  that  it  would  merely  throw  the  market  into  other  hands.  It,  in 
fact,  he  said,  rests  entirely  with  yourselves.  If  your  people  are  virtuous,  they 
will  desist  from  the  evil  practice  ;  and  if  your  officers  are  incorruptible  and 
obey  your  orders,  no  opium  can  enter  your  country.  The  discouragement  of 
the  growth  of  the  poppy  in  our  territories  rests  principally  with  you,  for  nearly 
the  entire  produce  cultivated  in  India  travels  east  to  China ;  if,  however,  the 
habit  has  become  a  confirmed  vice,  and  you  feel  that  your  power  is  at  present 
inadequate  to  stay  its  indulgence,  you  may  rest  assured  your  people  will  pro* 


DISCUSSION    OF   THE   OPIUM    t^UESTION.  551 

cure  the  drug  in  spite  of  every  enactment.  Would  it  not,  therefore,  he  better  at 
once  to  legalize  its  importation,  and  by  thus  securing  the  co-operation  of  the 
rich  and  of  your  authorities,  from  whom  it  would  thus  be  no  longer  debarred, 
thereby  greatly  limit  tlie  facilities  which  now  exist  for  smuggling  ?  They 
owned  the  plausibility  of  the  argument,  but  expressed  tliemselves  persuaded 
that  their  imperial  master  would  never  listen  to  a  word  upon  the  subject. 

To  convince  them  that  what  he  said  was  not  introduced  from  any  sinister 
wish  to  gain  an  end  more  advantageous  for  ourselves,  he  drew  a  rapid  sketch 
of  England's  rise  and  progress  from  a  barbarous  state  to  a  degree  of  wealth  and 
civilization  unpai'alleled  in  the  history  of  the  world ;  which  rajiid  rise  was 
principally  attributable  to  benign  and  liberal  laws,  aided  by  commerce,  which 
conferred  power  and  consequence.  He  then  casually  mentioned  instances  of 
governments  having  failed  to  attain  their  ends  by  endeavoring  to  exclude  any 
particular  objects  of  popular  desire  ;  tobacco  was  one  of  those  he  alluded  to, 
and  now  that  it  was  legalized,  not  only  did  it  produce  a  large  revenue  to  the 
crown,  but  it  was  more  moderately  indulged  in  in  Britain  than  elsewhere.' 

To  the  well-wisher  of  his  fellow-iueu  this  narrative  suggests 
many  melancholy  reflections.  On  the  one  hand  were  fonr  or 
five  high  Chinese  officers,  who,  although  pagans  and  unacquainted 
with  the  prhiciples  of  true  virtue,  had  evidently  sympathized  with 
and  upheld  their  sovereign  in  his  fruitless,  misdirected  endeavors 
to  save  his  people  from  a  vicious  habit.  "  Why  will  you  not 
act  fairly  toward  us  by  prohibiting  the  growth  of  the  poppy  ?  " 
is  their  anxious  inquiry  ;  for  they  knew  that  there  was  no  moi'al 
principle  among  themselves  strong  enough  to  resist  the  opium 
pipe.  "  Your  people  must  become  virtuous  and  your  officers 
incorruptible,  and  then  you  can  stop  the  opium  coming  into  your 
borders,"  is  the  reply ;  precisely  the  words  that  the  callous 
rumseller  gives  the  broken-hearted  wife  of  the  besotted  drunk- 
ard when  she  beseeches  him  not  to  sell  liquor  to  her  enslaved 
husband.  "  Other  people  will  bring  it  to  you  if  Ave  should  stop 
the  cultivation  of  the  poppy  ;  if  England  chose  to  exercise  so 
arbitrary  a  power  over  her  tillers  of  the  soil,  it  would  not  check 
the  evil,"  adds  the  envoy;  "you  cannot  do  better  than  legalize 
it."  Although  nations  are  somewhat  different  from  individuals 
in  respect  to  their  power  of  resisting  and  suppressing  a  vice, 

'  Loch's  Events  in  China,  p.  173,  London,  1843.  This  same  point  is  slightly 
referred  to  by  Lieutenant  Ouchterlony,  on  page  448  of  his  Chinese  War,  where 
he  states  that  Sir  Henry  had  prepared  a  paper  for  the  information  of  the  Chi- 
nese officials,  proposing  to  them  to  permit  the  traffic  in  opium  to  be  by  barter 


552  Tin-:    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

and  Sir  Henry  did  riglit  to  speak  of  the  legal  difficnlty  in  the 
way  of  restraining  labor,  yet  how  heartless  was  the  excnse,"  if  we 
do  not  bring  it  to  you  others  will.""  Xo  suggestion  was  made 
to  them  as  to  the  most  judicious  mode  of  restraining  what  they 
were  told  they  could  not  prohibit;  no  hint  of  the  farming 
system,  which  would  have  held  out  to  them  a  medinm  path  be- 
tween absolute  freedom  and  prohibition,  and  probably  been 
seriously  considered  by  the  court ;  no  frank  explanation  as  to 
the  real  position  the  English  government  itself  held  in  respect 
to  the  forced  growth  of  this  pernicious  article  in  its  Indian  ter- 
ritories. How  much  nobler  would  that  govermnent  have  stood 
in  the  eyes  of  mankind  if  its  head  and  ministers  had  instructed 
their  plenipotentiary,  that  when  their  other  demands  were  all 
paid  and  conceded  no  indemnity  should  have  been  asked  for 
smuggled  opium  entirely  destroyed  by  those  who  had  seized  it 
within  their  borders  under  threats  of  worse  consequences.  That 
government  and  ministry  which  had  paid  a  liundred  millions  for 
the  emancipation  of  slaves  could  surely  aiford  to  release  a  pagan 
nation  from  such  an  imposed  obligation,  instead  of  sending  their 
armies  to  exact  a  few  millions  which  the  revenue  of  one  year, 
derived  from  this  very  article  alone,  M'ould  amply  discliarge  to 
their  ONvn  subjects.  For  this  pitiful  sum  nnist  the  great  moral 
lesson  to  the  Emperor  of  China  and  his  subjects,  which  could 
have  been  taught  them  at  this  time,  be  lost. 

Sir  Henry  inquired  if  an  envoy  would  be  received  at  Peking, 
should  one  be  sent  from  England,  which  Kiying  assured  him 
Mould  no  doubt  be  a  gratification  to  his  master,  though  what 
ideas  the  latter  connected  with  such  a  suggestion  can  only  be 
inferred.  The  conference  lasted  thi-ee  or  four  hours,  and  when 
the  procession  returned  to  the  barges,  through  an  immense 
crowd  of  people,  nothing  was  heard  from  them  to  indicate  dis- 
like or  dread ;  all  other  tlioughts  were  merged  in  overpowering 
curiosity.  It  was  remarkable  that  this  was  the  anniversary  of 
the  day  when  English  subjects,  among  Avhom  were  the  three 
interpreters  here  present,  left  Macao  in  1831),  by  order  of  Lin; 
on  August  26,  1840,  the  plenipotentiaries  entered  the  Pei  ho  to 
seek  an  interview  with  Kishen  ;  that  day,  the  next  year,  Amoy 
and  its  extensive  batteries  fell ;  and  now  the  three  years'  game 


THE   TREATY    SIGNED   AND    RATIFIED.  653 

is  won  and  China  is  obliged  to  bend,  her  magnates  come  down 
from  tlieir  eminences,  and  her  wall  of  supremacy,  isolation,  and 
conceit  is  shattered  beyond  the  possibility  of  restoration.  Iler 
rulers  apparently  submitted  with  good  grace  to  the  hard  lesson, 
which  seemed  to  be  the  only  effectual  means  of  compelling 
them  to  abandon  their  ridiculous  pretensions ;  though  it  cannot 
be  too  often  repeated  that  the  effect  of  kindness,  honorable 
dealing,  and  peaceful  missions  had  not  been  fairly  tried.  ' 

Arrangements  were  made  on  the  29tli  to  sign  the  treaty  on 
board  the  Corn  wall  is.  After  it  was  signed  all  sat  down  to 
table,  and  the  admiral,  as  the  host  in  his  flagship,  gave  the 
healths  of  their  Majesties,  the  Queen  of  England  and  the  Em- 
peror of  China,  which  was  announced  to  the  fleet  and  army  by 
a  salute  of  twenty-one  guns  and  hoisting  the  Union  Jack  and  a 
yellow  flag  at  the  main  and  mizzen.  The  treaty  was  forwarded 
to  Peking  that  evening.  The  embargo  on  the  rivers  and  ports 
was  at  once  taken  off,  the  troops  re-embarked,  and  preparations 
made  to  return  to  Wusung.  The  six  millions  were  paid  with- 
out much  delay,  and  on  September  15th  the  Emperor's  ratifica- 
tion was  received.  The  secretary  of  legation,  Major  Malcom, 
immediately  left  to  obtain  the  Queen's  ratification,  going  by 
steam  the  entire  distance  (except  eighty  miles  in  Egypt)  from 
Kanking  to  London — an  extraordinary  feat  in  those  days. 

The  imperial  assent  was  also  published  in  a  rescript  addressed 
to  Kiying,  in  reply  to  his  account  of  the  settlement  of  affairs,  in 
which  he  gives  directions  for  disbanding  the  troops,  rebuilding 
such  forts  as  had  been  destroyed,  and  cultivating  peace  as  Avell 
as  providing  for  the  fulfilment  of  the  articles.  It  is,  on  the 
whole,  a  dignified  approval  of  the  treaty,  and  breathes  nothing 
of  a  spirit  of  revenge  or  intention  to  prepare  for  future  resist- 
ance. 

The  fleet  of  ships  and  transports  returned  down  the  river  and 
reassembled  at  Tinghai,  at  the  end  of  October,  not  a  vessel 
having  been  lost.  Even  before  leaving  Xanking,  and  in  the  pas- 
sage down  the  river,  the  troops  and  sailors,  especially  the  In- 
dian regiments,  were  reduced  by  cholera,  fever,  and  other  dis- 
eases, some  of  the  transports  being  nearly  disabled  ;  the  deaths 
amounted  to  more  than  a  thousand  before  reachini;  Ilono-kons. 


554  THE    .MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

On  arriving  at  Anioy  tlio  plenipotentiary  was  highly  ineented 
on  hearing  of  the  melancholy  fate  of  the  captive  crews  of  the 
Xerbudda  and  Ann,  wrecked  on  Formosa.  The  first,  a  transport, 
contained  two  hundred  and  seventy -four  souls,  and  when  she 
went  ashore  all  the  Europeans  abandoned  two  hundred  and 
forty  Hindus  to  their  fate,  most  of  whom  fell  into  the  liands  of 
the  Chinese.  The  Ann  was  an  opium  vessel,  and  lier  crew  of 
fifty-seven  souls  were  taken  prisoners  and  carried  to  Taiwan  fu. 
The  prisoners  were  divided  into  small  parties  and  had  little 
conmumieation  with  each  other  during  their  captivity,  M'hich 
was  aggravated  by  Mant  of  food  and  clothing,  filthy  lodgings, 
and  other  hardships  of  a  Chinese  jail,  so  that  many  of  the  In- 
dians died.  The  survivors,  on  August  loth,  with  the  exception 
of  ten  persons,  were  carried  out  to  a  plain  near  the  city,  one  of 
whom,  ]Mr.  Xewman,  a  seacunnie  on  board  the  Ann  and  the 
last  in  the  procession,  gave  the  following  account : 

On  being  taken  ont  of  his  sedcan,  to  have  his  hands  shackled  beliind  his  back, 
he  saw  two  of  the  prisoners  with  their  irons  otf  and  refusing  to  have  them 
put  on.  They  had  both  been  drinking  and  were  making  a  great  noise,  crying 
■out  to  him  that  tliey  were  all  to  have  their  heads  cut  off.  He  advised  them  to 
submit  quietly,  but  they  still  refusing,  he  first  wrenched  off  his  own  and  then 
j)ut  them  into  theirs,  to  the  great  pleasure  of  the  soldiers,  but  when  the  sol- 
diers wished  to  replace  liis  he  declined.  As  they  were  on  the  point  of  secur- 
ing him  he  accidentally  saw  the  chief  officer  seated  close  to  him.  Going  befoi'e 
him  he  threw  himself  on  his  head  and  commenced  singing  a  few  Chinese 
words  which  he  had  fretjiiently  hoard  repeated  in  a  temple.  The  officer  was 
HO  pleased  with  this  procedure  that  he  turned  round  to  the  soldiers  and  ordered 
them  to  carry  him  back  to  the  city.  All  the  rest,  one  hundred  and  ninety- 
seven  in  number,  were  i)laced  at  small  distances  from  each  other  on  their 
knees,  their  feet  in  irons  and  hands  manacled  behind  their  backs,  thus  wait- 
ing for  the  executioners,  who  went  round  and  with  a  kind  of  two-handed 
sword  cut  off  their  heads  without  being  laid  on  a  block.  .Afterward  their 
bodies  were  thrown  into  one  grave  and  their  heads  stuck  up  in  cages  on  the 
seashore.' 

A  journal  was  kept  by  Mr.  Gully  to  within  tliree  days  of  his 
death,  and  another  by  Captain  Denham  of  the  Ann,  one  of  the 
prisoners  saved  to  send  to  Peking.*     Both  contain  full  accounts 

■  Chinese  Reponit^yry,  Vol.  XII.,  p.  248. 

"  Journah  of  Mr.  GvUi/  and  CapUiin  Denlutni  during  a  Cajdivity  in  China  in 
1842.     London  :  Chapman  &  Hall,  1844. 


MASSACRE    OF    SIIIIMV  P.ECKIJD    CREWS    ON    FORMOSA.     555 

of  the  treatment  of  the  luihuppy  captives,  and  diminish  the 
synipathy  felt  for  tlie  defeat  of  the  government  whicli  allowed 
such  shuighter.  It  was  said  to  have  been  done  by  orders  from 
court,  grounded  on  a  lying  report  sent  up  by  the  Mancliu  com- 
mandant, Tahuiigah.  When  their  sad  fate  was  learned  Sir 
Henry  l*ottinger  published  two  proclamations  in  Chinese,  in 
which  the  principal  facts  were  detailed,  so  that  all  might  know 
the  truth  of  the  matter;  a  demand  nuide  fur  the  degradation  and 
punishment  of  the  lying  officers  who  had  superintended  it,  and 
the  confiscation  of  their  property  for  the  use  of  the  families  of  the 
sufferers,  lliang,  the  governor- general,  expressed  his  sincere  re- 
gret to  the  English  envoy  at  what  had  taken  place,  and  exam- 
ined into  the  facts  himself,  which  led  to  the  degradation  and 
banishment  of  the  conmuuidant  and  intendant.  While  the  pris- 
oners were  still  at  Taiwan  fu,  II.  M.  S.  Serpent  was  sent  over 
from  Anioy  to  reclaim  them,  by  which  expedition  the  truth  of 
the  barbarous  execution  was  first  learned  ;  this  vessel  afterward 
went  tiiere  to  receive  the  shipwrecked  crew  of  the  Ilerculaneum 
transport. 

The  citizens  of  Amoy,  jSiingpo,  and  Shanghai  hailed  the  ces- 
sation of  the  war  and  the  opening  of  their  ports  to  foreign 
trade  ;  but  not  so  at  Canton.  The  discharged  volunteers  still 
remained  about  the  city,  notwithstanding  orders  to  return  home 
and  resume  their  usual  employments,  most  of  whom  probably 
had  neither.  Scheming  demagogues  took  advantage  of  a  rumor 
that  the  English  army  intended  to  form  a  settlement  opposite 
the  city,  and  issued  a  paper  in  the  name  of  the  gentry,  calling 
upon  all  to  combine  and  resist  the  aggression.  The  enthusiasm 
it  caused  was  worked  up  to  a  higher  pitch  b}^  an  inflannnatory 
manifesto,  in  which  desperate  measures  were  plainly  intinuited  ; 
but  the  district  magistrates  took  no  steps  against  them.  An 
invitation  was  circulated  for  the  citizens  and  gentlemen  from 
other  provinces  to  meet  at  the  public  assembly  hall  to  consult 
upon  public  affairs.  A  counter  but  less  spirited  manifesto  was 
pasted  up  in  the  hall,  which  had  the  effect  of  inducing  about 
half  the  people  to  disperse.  The  writers  of  this  paper  dissuaded 
their  countrymen  from  hasty  measures,  by  telling  them'  that  no 


556  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

land  could  be  taken  or  dwellings  occupied  without  periuission 
from  the  provincial  authorities,  and  urged  upon  them  to  live  at 
peace  with  tlie  English,  in  accordance  Avith  the  injunctions  of 
their  wise  sovereign. 

A  brawl  occurred  in  Hog  Lane  on  December  Gth,  between 
some  hucksters  and  lascars,  who  -were  pursued  into  the  Square, 
where  the  mob  rapidly  increased,  and  about  two  o'clock  began 
pulling  down  a  brick  wall  around  the  Company's  garden  and 
forcing  open  one  of  the  factories,  which  was  speedily  pillaged, 
the  inmates  escaping  through  the  back  doors.  The  British  flag- 
staff was  fired  by  a  party  which  kept  guard  around  it,  and  the 
flames  connnunicating  to  the  verandah,  other  parts  soon  caught, 
and  by  midnight  the  three  hongs  east  of  Ilog  Lane  were  burn- 
ing furiously.  The  ringleaders,  satisfied  with  firing  the  British 
consulate,  endeavored  to  prevent  thieves  carrying  away  the 
plunder  ;  but  they  were  forced  to  escape  about  midnight.  These 
wretches  soon  began  to  quan-el  among  themsch'es  for  the  dol- 
lars found  in  the  ruins,  and  it  was  not  till  noon  that  the  police 
and  soldiers  ventured  to  attack  the  knotted  groups  of  struggling 
despei'adoes  and  arrest  the  most  conspicuous,  and  with  the  aid 
of  boats'  crews  from  the  shipping  recapture  some  of  the  specie. 
Full  compensation  was  subsequently  made  to  the  foreigners  for 
the  losses  sustained,  amounting  to  $67,397,  and  some  of  the 
ringleaders  were  executed. 

A.  large  part  of  the  officers  in  the  army  and  navy  engaged  in 
the  war  received  promotion  or  honorary  titles.  Sir  Hugh  was 
made  a  baronet,  and,  after  more  service  in  India,  elevated  to 
the  peerage,  with  the  title  of  Lord  Gough,  Baron  of  Chinkiang 
f  u  ;  the  plenipotentiary  and  the  admiral  obtained  Grand  Crosses 
of  the  liath.  The  three  interpreters,  Messrs.  Morrison,  Thorn, 
and  Gutzlaff,  whose  services  had  been  arduous  and  important, 
received  no  distinctive  reward  from  their  government.  The 
amount  of  prize  money  distributed  among  the  soldiers  and 
sailors  was  small.  The  losses  of  the  English  from  shipwreck, 
sickness,  and  casualties  dm-ing  tlie  war  amounted  to  more  than 
three  thousand  ;  the  mortality  was  greatest  among  the  Indian 
regiments  and  the  European  recruits,  especially  after  the  opei" 
ations  behind  Canton  and  the  capture  of  Chinkiang. 


SETTLEMENT   OF   COMMERCIAL   REGULATIONS.         557 

While  the  English  goveniiiieiit  lewarded  its  officers,  the  Em- 
peror expressed  his  displeasure  at  the  conduct  of  the  major 
part  of  his  surviving  generals,  but  distributed  posthumous 
honors  to  those  who  had  died  at  their  posts.  Hailing,  with  liis 
wife  and  grandson,  were  honored  with  a  fane,  and  his  sons  pro- 
moted. Kiying  was  appointed  governor-general  at  ]^anking. 
Tliougli  many  civil  and  military  officers  were  condemned  to 
death,  none  actually  lost  their  lives,  except  Yu  Pu-yun,  the 
governor  of  Chehkiang,  who  fled  from  JS^ingpo  in  October, 
1841. 

The  settlement  of  the  duties  and  regulations  for  carrying 
on  foreign  commerce  immediately  engaged  the  attention  of  the 
plenipotentiary.  He  called  on  the  British  mei'chants  for  infor- 
mation, but  so  utterly  desultory  was  the  manner  in  which  the 
duties  had  been  formerly  levied,  that  they  could  give  him  little 
or  no  reliable  information  as  to  what  was  really  done  with  the 
money.  The  whole  matter  was  placed  by  both  parties  in  the 
hands  of  Mr.  Tliom,  who  had  been  engaged  in  business  at  Can- 
ton, and  Hwang  Ngan-tung,  secretary  to  Kiying.  To  settle  these 
multifarious  affairs  and  restore  quiet,  Ilipu  was  sent  to  Canton 
as  commissioner.  On  his  arrival,  he  set  about  allaying  the  pop- 
ular discontent  at  the  treaty,  and  his  edict '  is  a  good  instance  of 
the  mixture  of  flattery  and  instruction,  coaxing  and  connnand- 
ing,  which  Chinese  officers  frequently  adopt  when  they  are  not 
sure  of  gaining  their  end  by  power  alone,  and  do  not  wish  to  irri- 
tate. In  this  instance  it  did  much  to  remove  misapprehension 
and  allay  excitement,  but  its  author  had  not  long  been  en- 
gaged in  these  arduous  duties  before  he  "  made  a  vacancy," 
aged  seventy-two,  having  been  more  than  half  his  life  engaged 
in  high  employments  in  his  country's  service ;  his  conduct  and 
foresight  in  the  last  two  years  did  credit  to  himself  and  elevated 
his  nation.  Ilis  associate,  Kiying,  took  his  place  and  exchanged 
the  ratifications  of  the  treaty  of  Nanking  at  Hongkong  with  Sir 
Henry  Pottinger,  ten  months  after  it  had  been  signed  by  the 
same  persons.  The  island  was  then  taken  possession  of  on  be- 
half of  the  Queen  by  proclamation,  and   the  warrant  read  ap- 

•  Chinese  Repository,  Vol.  XXL,  p.  lOG. 


558  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

pointing  Sir  Henry  governor  of  the  colony.  Its  influence  on 
+he  well-being  of  China  since  tliat  period  has  been  less  than 
was  anticipated  by  those  who  looked  to  the  higher  welfare  and 
progress  of  a  British  colony  so  near  to  it  as  likely  to  be  an  ex- 
ample for  good.  A  free  port  has  encouraged  smuggling  to  a 
degree  that  constantly  irritates  and  baffles  the  native  authorities 
on  the  mainland,  and  leads  to  armed  resistance  to  their  efforts 
toward  collecting  lawful  revenue,  especially  on  opium  ;  while  the 
influx  of  Chinese  traders,  attracted  by  its  greater  security,  is  grad- 
ually converting  the  island  into  a  Chinese  settlement  protected 
by  British  rule.  The  peninsula  of  Kowhmg,  on  the  north  side 
of  the  harbor,  was  added  in  1860,  to  furnish  ground  for  the 
commissary  departments  of  the  forces.  The  influence  of  a  well- 
ordered  Christian  government  exercising  a  beneficent  rule  over 
a  less  civilized  race  under  its  sway,  is  soon  neutralized  by  licensing 
the  opium  farms  and  gambling  saloons  and  lending  its  moral 
sanction  to  smuggling. 

The  tariff  and  commercial  regulations  were  published  July  22d. 
In  this  tariff,  all  emoluments  and  illegal  exactions  superimposed 
upon  the  imperial  duties  were  prohibited,  and  a  fixed  duty 
put  on  each  article,  which  seldom  exceeded  five  per  cent,  on 
the  cost ;  all  kinds  of  breadstuffs  were  free.  ( 'ommercial  deal- 
ings were  placed  on  a  well -understood  basis,  instead  of  the 
former  loose  way  of  conducting  business ;  the  monopoly  of  the 
hong  merchants  was  ended,  the  fees  exacted  on  ships  were  abol- 
ished, and  a  tonnage  duty  of  five  mace  per  ton  substituted  ;  the 
charge  for  pilotage  was  reduced  so  much  that  the  pilots  were 
nearly  stripped  of  all  they  received  after  paying  the  usual  fees 
to  the  tidewaiters  along  the  river.  Disputes  between  English 
and  Chinese  were  to  be  settled  by  the  consuls,  and  in  serious 
cases  by  a  mixed  court,  when,  upon  conviction,  each  party  was 
to  punish  its  own  criminals. 

The  proclamation  giving  effect  to  these  i-egulations  was  one 
of  the  most  important  documents  ever  issued  by  the  Chinese 
government ;  as  an  initiation  of  the  new  order  of  things,  it 
was  creditable  to  the  people  whose  rulers  were  of  themselves 
and  could  utter  such  words  to  them.  After  referring  to  the  war 
and  treaty  of  peace,  Kiying  goes  on  to  say,  respecting  the  tariff, 


THE   NEW   TARIFF   PROCLAIMED.  559 

that  as  soon  as  replies  shall  be  received  from  tlie  Buai-d  of  Tlev^ 
enue,  "it  will  then  take  effect  witli  refei-ence  to  the  commerce 
with  China  of  all  countries,  as  well  as  of  England.  Hence- 
forth, then,  the  weapons  of  war  shall  forever  be  laid  aside, 
and  joy  and  profit  shall  be  the  perpetual  lot  of  all ;  neither  sli<i;ht 
nor  few  will  be  the  advantages  reaped  by  the  merchants  alike 
of  China  and  of  foreign  countries.  From  this  time  foi-ward, 
all  must  free  themselves  frou]  prejudice  and  suspicions,  pursuing 
each  his  proper  avocation,  and  careful  always  to  retain  no  in- 
imical feelings  from  the  recollection  of  the  hostilities  that  have 
before  taken  place.  For  such  feelings  and  i-ecollections  can  luive 
no  other  effect  than  to  hinder  the  growth  of  a  good  understand- 
ing between  the  two  peoples."  It  should  be  moreover  added,  as 
due  praise  to  the  imperial  government,  that  none  of  the  many 
liundreds  who  served  the  English  on  ship  and  shore  against 
their  country  were  afterward  molested  in  any  way  for  so  doing. 
Many  were  apprehended,  but  the  commissioner  says  he  "  has 
obtained  from  the  good  favor  of  his  august  sovereign,  vast  and 
boundless  as  that  of  heaven  itself,  the  remission  of  their  punish- 
ment for  all  past  deeds ;  »  .  .  they  need  entertain  no  ap- 
pi-ehension  of  being  hereafter  dragged  forward,  nor  yield  in 
consequence  to  any  fears  or  suspicions." ' 

These  new  arrangements  pleased  the  leading  Chinese  mer- 
chants better  than  they  did  the  hoppo  and  others  who  had  lined 
their  pockets  and  fed  their  friends  with  illegal  exactions.  The 
never-failing  sponge  of  the  co  hong  could  no  longer  be  sucked, 
but  for  a  last  squeeze  the  authorities  called  upon  the  merchants 
for  five  millions  of  dollars,  which  they  refused  to  pay,  and 
withdrew  from  business  with  so  much  determination  and  union 
that  the  hoppo  and  his  friends  were  foiled  ;  they  finally  con- 
tributed among  themselves  about  one  million  seven  hundred 
thousand  dollars,  which  was  nearly  or  quite  their  last  benevolence 
to  their  rulers.  Ilowqua,  the  leading  member  of  the  body  during 
thirty  years,  died  about  this  time,  aged  seventy -five ;  he  was, 
altogether,  the  most  remarkable  native  known  to  foreigners,  and 
while  he  filled  the  difficult  station  of  senior  merchant,  exhibited 

'  Chinese  Repository,  Vol.  XII.,  p.  443. 


560  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

great  shrewdness  and  ability  in  jiumaging  the  deHcate  and  dif- 
ficult affairs  constantly  thrown  upon  him.  lie  came  fi-oni  Amoy 
when  a  voung  man,  and  his  property,  probably  over  estimated 
at  four  millions  sterling,  passed  quietly  into  the  hands  of  his 
children.' 

Tlie  foreign  community  also  suffered  a  great  loss  at  this  time 
in  the  death  of  John  Ilobert  Morrison,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
nine,  lie  was  born  in  China,  and  had  identified  himself  with 
the  best  interests  of  her  people  and  their  advancement  in 
knowledjre  and  Christianity.  At  the  age  of  twenty,  on  his 
father's  decease,  he  was  appointed  Chinese  secretary  to  the 
British  superintendents,  and  filled  that  responsible  situation 
with  credit  and  efficiency  during  all  the  disputes  with  the  pro- 
yincial  authorities  and  commissioner  Lin,  and  of  the  war,  until 
peace  was  declared.  His  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  policy 
of  the  Chinese  government  and  the  habits  of  thought  of  its  offi- 
cers eminently  fitted  him  for  successfully  treating  with  them, 
and  enlightening  them  upon  the  intentions  and  wishes  of  foreign 
powers  ;  while  his  unaffected  kindness  to  all  natives  assured 
them  of  the  sincerity  of  his  professions.  The  successful  conduct 
of  the  negotiations  at  Xanking  depended  very  much  upon  him, 
and  the  manner  in  which  he  performed  the  many  translations 
to  and  from  Chinese,  connected  with  that  event,  was  such  as  to 
secure  the  confidence  of  the  imperial  connnissioners,  in  their 
ignorance  of  all  foreign  languages,  that  they  were  fairly  dealt 
with. 

He  was  eminently  a  Christian  man,  and  whenever  opportunity 
allowed,  failed  not  to  speak  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible  to  his 
native  friends.  The  projected  revision  of  the  Chinese  version 
of  the  Scriptures  by  the  Protestant  missionaries  engaged  his 
attention,  and  it  was  expected  would  receive  his  assistance. 
With  his  influence,  his  pen,  his  property,  and  his  prayers,  he 
contributed  to  the  welfare  of  the  people,  and  the  confidence  felt 
in  him  by  natives  who  knew  him  was  often  strikingly  exhibited 

'  Compare  The  Fan  Kwae  at  Canton  before  Treaty  Days,  by  an  Old  Residejit 
(Mr.  W.  C.  Hunter),  London,  1882;  a  little  volume  which,  besides  many  per- 
sonal reminiscences  of  the  characters  mentioned  in  this  narrative,  furnishes  an 
interesting  picture  of  life  in  Canton  a  half  century  ago. 


DEATH    OF   JOHN    K.   MOKKISON.        ■  561 

at  Canton  durin*^  tlio  coniinotions  of  1841  and  the  negotiations 
of  1843.  lie  died  at  Macao  August  29th,  a  jear  after  the  treaty 
of  i^anking  was  signed,  and  was  l)nried  by  the  side  of  liis 
parents  in  the  Pi'otestant  burying-gronnd.  Sir  lleiny  Pot- 
tinger  announced  liis  death  as  a  "  positive  national  calamity," 
and  it  was  so  received 'b}^  the  government  at  home,  lie  also 
justly  added  that  "  Mr.  Morrison  was  so  well  known  to  every 
one,  and  so  beloved,  respected,  and  esteemed  by  all  wdio  had  the 
pleasure  and  happiness  of  his  acquaintance  or  friendship,  that 
to  attempt  to  pass  any  panegyric  upon  his  private  character 
would  be  a  mere  waste  of  words  ;"  while  his  own  sorrow  was 
but  a  type  of  the  universal  feeling  in  wliich  his  memory  and 
merit  are  embalmed.  As  a  testimony  of  their  sense  of  his 
worth,  the  foreign  community,  learning  that  he  had  died  poor, 
leaving  a  maiden  sister  who  had  been  dependent  upon  him,  and 
that  his  official  accounts  were  in  some  confusion,  immediately 
came  forward  and  contributed  nearlj'  fourteen  thousand  dollars 
to  relieve  his  estate  and  relatives  from  all  embarrassment. 

The  negotiations  were  concluded  by  the  English  and  Chinese 
plenipotentiaries  signing  a  supplementary  treaty  on  October  8th 
(the  day  was  a  lucky  one  in  the  Chinese  calendar),  at  the  Bogue. 
This  treaty  provided,  among  other  things,  for  the  admission  of 
all  foreigners  to  the  iive  open  ports  on  the  same  terms  as  Eng- 
lish subjects  ;  it  was  inserted  at  the  request  of  Kiying,  that  all 
might  appreciate  the  intentions  of  his  government ;  for  neither 
he  nor  his  master  knew  anything  of  that  favorite  phrase,  "  the 
most  favored  nation,"  and  expected  and  wished  to  avoid  all  con- 
troversy by  putting  every  ship  and  flag  on  the  same  footing. 

It  might  have  been  expected  that  the  Chinese  government 
would  have  now  taken  some  action  upon  the  opium  trade,  which 
was  still  going  on  unchecked  and  unlicensed.  Opium  schooners 
were  passing  in  and  out  of  Hongkong  liarbor,  though  the  drug 
sold  by  the  Indian  government  at  Calcutta  was  not  allowed  by 
the  colonial  British  government  at  Hongkong  to  be  stored  on 
shore.  Yet  no  edicts  wei-e  issued,  few  or  no  seizui-es  made,  no 
notice  taken  of  it ;  no  proposition  to  repress,  legalize,  or  inanage 
it  came  from  the  imperial  commissioner.  The  old  laws  de- 
nouncing its  use,  purchase,  or  sale  under  the  penalty  of  deati* 


563  THE  MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

still  remained  on  the  statute  book,  but  no  one  feared  or  cared 
for  tlieni.  This  conduct  is  fully  explained  by  the  supposition 
that,  having  undergone  so  much,  the  Emperor  and  his  ministers 
thought  safety  from  future  trouble  with  the  British  lay  in  en- 
during what  was  past  curing ;  they  had  already  suffered  greatly 
in  attempting  to  suppress  it,  and  another  war  might  be  caused 
by  meddling  with  the  dangerous  subject,  since  too  it  M^as  now 
guarded  by  well-armed  British  vessels.  Public  opinion  was  still 
too  strong  against  it,  or  else  consistency  obliged  the  monarch  to 
forbid  legalization.' 

Sir  Henry  Pottingcr,  hearing  that  persons  were  about  send- 
ing opium  to  Canton  under  the  pretense  that  unenumerated  ar- 
ticles were  admissible  by  the  new  tariff  at  a  duty  of  five  per 
cent.,  issued  a  proclamation  in  English  and  Chinese,  to  the  in- 
tent that  such  proceedings  were  illegal.  lie  also  forbade  British 
vessels  going  bej-ond  lat.  32°  X.,  and  intimated  to  the  Chinese 
that  they  might  seize  all  persons  and  confiscate  all  vessels  found 
above  that  line,  or  anywhei*e  else  on  the  coast  besides  the  five 
ports ;  and,  moreover,  published  an  order  in  council  wdiich 
restricted,  under  penalty  of  $500  for  each  offence,  all  British 
vessels  violating  the  stipulations  of  the  treaty  in  this  respect. 
All  this  was  done  chiefly  to  throw  dust  in  their  eyes,  and  put 
the  onus  of  the  contraband  traffic  on  the  Chinese  government 
and  the  violation  of  law  on  those  who  came  off  to  the  smuggling 
vessels,  and  these  proclamations  and  orders,  like  their  edicts, 
were  to  be  put  "  on  record."  This  was  shoAvn  when  Captain 
Hope,  of  II. M.S.  Thalia,  for  stopping  two  or  three  of  the  opium 
vessels  proceeding  above  Shanghai,  was  recalled  from  his  station 
and  ordered  to  India,  where  he  could  not  "interfere  in  such  a  man- 
ner with  the  undertakings  of  British  subjects  " — to  quote  Lord 
Palmerston's  despatch  to  Captain  Elliot.  This  effectually  de- 
terred other  British  officers  from  meddling  with  it. 

Yet  the  commercial  bearings  of  this  trade  were  clearly  seen 
in  England,  and  a  memorial  to  Sir  Bobert  Peel,  signed  by  two 
hundred  and  thirty-five  merchants  and  manufacturers,  was  drawn 

'  Montgomery  Martin,  China  ;  Political,  Commercial,  and  Social,  Vol.  II., 
Chap.  IV.  (London,  1847) — a  chapter  containing  some  most  suggestive  reflec- 
tions on  this  subject  by  a  member  of  her  Majesty's  government  at  Hongkong. 


RENEWAL   OF   THE  OPIUM   DISCUSSION.  563 

np,  in  which  they  proved  that  tlie  "  commerce  with  China  cannot ^r 
be  conducted  on  a  permanently  safe  and  satisfactory  basis  so  long 
as  the  contraband  trade  in  opium  is  permitted.  Even  if  legalized, 
the  trade  would  inevitably  undermine  the  commerce  of  Great 
Britain  with  China,  and  prevent  its  being,  as  it  otherwise  might 
be,  an  advantageous  market  for  our  manufactures.  It  would  op- 
erate for  evil  in  a  double  way:  first,  by  enervating  and  impoverish- 
ing the  consumers  of  the  drug,  it  would  disable  them  from  be- 
coming purchasers  of  our  productions  ;  and  second,  as  the  Chinese 
would  then  be  paid  for  their  produce  chiefly  as  now  in  opium,  the 
quantity  of  that  article  imported  by  them  having  of  late  years 
exceeded  in  value  the  tea  and  silk  we  receive  from  them,  our 
own  manufactures  would  consequently  be  to  a  great  extent  pre- 
cluded.'' The  memorial  shows  that  between  1803-08  the  an- 
nual demand  for  M'oollens  alone  was  nearly  $750,000  more  than 
it  was  for  «Z^  products  of  British  industry  between  1834—39 ;  while 
in  that  interval  the  opium  trade  had  risen  from  three  thousand  to 
thirty  thousand  chests  annually.  Nothing  in  the  annals  of  com- 
merce ever  showed  more  conclusively  how  heartless  a  thing  trade 
is  when  it  comes  in  contact  with  morality  or  humanity,  than 
the  discussions  respecting  the  opium  traffic.  These  memorial- 
ists plead  for  their  manufactures,  but  the  East  India  Company 
would  have  been  soi-ry  to  have  had  their  market  spoiled  :  what 
could  Sir  Robert  Peel,  or  even  Wilberforce,  if  he  had  been 
premier,  do  against  them  in  this  matter  ?  The  question  was 
which  party  of  manufacturers  should  be  patronized.  But  none 
of  these  "merchants  and  manufacturers  of  the  highest  standing 
and  respectability  "  refer  to  the  destruction  of  life,  distress  of 
families,  waste  of  mind,  body,  and  property,  and  the  many  other 
evils  connected  with  the  growth  and  use  of  opium,  except  as  con- 
nected with  the  sale  of  their  goods.  One  paper,  in  order 
to  compound  the  matter,  recommended  the  manufacture  of 
morphine  to  tempt  the  Chinese,  in  order  that,  if  they  would 
smoke  it,  they  might  have  a  delicate  preparation  for  fashion- 
able smokers. 

The  conduct  of  the  ministry  in  remunerating  the  merchants 
who  had  surrendered  their  property  to  Captain  Elliot  was  appro- 
priate to  the  character  of  the  trade.     The  $6,000,000,  instead 


564  THE    MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

of  being  divided  in  Cliina  aiijOiig  those  m'Iio  were  to  receive  it 
— as  could  have  been  done  without  expense — was  cariied  to 
England  to  be  coined,  which,  with  the  freight,  reduced  it  con- 
sidei-ably.  Then  by  the  manner  of  ascertaining  the  market 
value  at  the  time  it  was  given  up,  and  the  holders  of  the  opium 
script  got  their  pay,  they  received  scarcely  one-half  of  what  was 
originally  paid  to  the  East  India  Company,  either  directly  or 
indirectly,  thereby  reducing  it  nearly  a  million  sterling.  Fur- 
thermore, by  the  form  of  payment  they  lost  nearly  one-fiftli 
even  of  the  promised  sum,  or  about  one  million  two  hundred 
thousand  dollars.  Then  they  lost  four  years''  interest  on  their 
whole  capital,  or  about  four  million  dollars  more.  What  the 
merchants  lost,  the  government  profited.  The  Company  gained 
during  these  four  years  at  least  a  million  sterling  by  the  in- 
creased price  of  the  drug,  while  Sir  Eobert  Peel  also  transferred 
that  amonnt  from  the  pockets  of  the  merchants  to  the  public 
treasury.  It  was  an  imdignified  and  pitiful  haggling  with  the 
merchants  and  owners  of  the  opium,  whom  that  ministr}'  had 
encouraged  for  many  years  in  their  trade  along  the  Chinese 
coast,  and  then  forced  to  take  wdiat  was  doled  out. 

Public  opinion  will  ever  characterize  the  contest  thus  brought 
to  an  end  as  an  oj/ium  war,  entered  into  and  cai'ried  on  to 
obtain  indemnity  for  opium  seized,  and — setting  aside  the  nice- 
ties of  western  international  law,  M'liich  the  Chinese  government 
knew  nothing  of — most  justly  seized.  The  British  and  Amer- 
ican merchants  who  voluntarily  subscribed  one  thousand  and 
thirty-seven  chests  to  Commissioner  Lin,  acknowledged  them- 
selves to  be  transgressors  by  tliis  very  act.  Yet  war  seemed  to 
be  the  only  way  to  break  down  the  intolerable  assumptions  of 
the  court  of  Peking  ;  that  a  Avar  M'ould  do  it  was  quite  plain 
to  every  one  acquainted  with  the  character  of  that  court  and  the 
genius  of  the  j^eople,  and  the  result  has  shown  the  expectation 
to  have  been  M'cU  based.  Members  of  Parliament  expi'cssed 
their  gratification  at  being  at  last  out  of  a  bad  busines^s  ;  their 
desire,  frequently  nttered,  that  the  light  of  the  gos])('l  and  the 
blessings  of  C'hristian  civilization  might  now  be  introduced 
among  the  millions  of  China,  was  a  cheap  peace-offering  of  good 
wishes,  some^\llat  in  tin-  manner  t)f  the  old  Hebrews  sacrificing 


treatip:.s  mith  otiieu  powers.  565 

a  kid  when  tbej  liad  eoniniitted  a  trespass.  Tlie  short  but  pithy 
digest  of  the  whole  war  by  Justin  McCarthy,  in  Chapter  X.  of 
the  Ilisturij  of  Our  Ocn  Times,  brings  out  its  leading  features 
in  a  fairly  candid  manner. 

The  announcement  of  the  treaty  of  Xanking  caused  consider- 
able sensation  in  Europe  and  America,  cliictly  in  commercial 
circles.  M.  Augusto  Moxhet,  the  Belgian  consul  at  kSingapore, 
was  sent  on  to  China  to  make  such  inquiries  for  transmission  to 
his  government  as  would  direct  it  in  its  efforts  to  open  a  trade. 
The  Xetherlands  government  sent  orders  to  the  authorities  at 
Batavia,  who  despatched  M.  Tonco  Modderman  for  the  same 
purpose.  The  king  of  Prussia  appointed  ]\I.  Grube  to  proceed 
to  China  to  prosecute  researches  as  to  the  prospect  of  finding 
a  market  for  German  mamifactnres.  The  Spanish  ministry, 
through  the  authorities  at  Manila,  designated  Don  Sinibaldo  de 
Mas  in  this  new  sphere.  The  governor  of  Macao,  M.  Pinto, 
before  returning  home,  was  appointed  commissioner  on  behalf 
of  II.  M.  F.  Majesty,  to  treat  respecting  the  rights  and  privi- 
leges of  Macao  under  the  new  order  of  things,  and  succeeded  in 
obtaining  some  stipulations  favorable  to  the  trade  of  the  place, 
but  could  not  get  the  Chinese  to  cede  it  to  Portugal.  These 
gentlemen  arrived  in  China  during  the  latter  part  of  1S43,  and 
most  of  them  had  interviews  or  communication  with  Kiying  be- 
fore he  returned  to  court  in  December. 

The  governments  of  the  United  States  and  France  early  ap- 
pointed ministers  extraordinary  to  the  court  of  Peking.  Caleb 
Cushing,  commissioner  on  behalf  of  the  United  States,  brought 
a  letter  from  the  President  to  the  Emperor,  which  is  inserted 
in  full  as  an  instance  of  the  singular  mixture  of  patronizing  and 
deprecatory  address  then  deemed  snitable  for  the  Grand  Khan 
by  western  nations  : 

LETTER  TO  THE  EMPEROR  OF  CHINA  FROM   THE   PRESIDENT  OP 
THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA. 

I,  John  Tyler.  President  of  tlje  United  States  of  America -which  States 
are:  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut, 
Vermont,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  ^Maryland,  Vir- 
ginia, North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Ohio, 
Louisiana,   Indiana,  Mississippi,  Illinois,   Alahama,  Missouri,   Arkansas,  and 


5G6  TIIK    MIDDLE     KINGDOM. 

Michigan — send  jou  tliis  letter  of  peace  and  friendship,  signed  by  my  own 
hand. 

I  hope  your  healtli  is  good.  China  is  a  great  Empire,  extending  over  a  great 
part  of  the  world.  The  Chinese  are  numerous.  You  have  millions  and  mil- 
lions of  subjects.  The  twenty-six  United  States  are  as  large  as  China,  though 
our  people  are  not  so  numerous.  The  rising  sun  looks  upon  the  great  moun- 
tains and  great  rivers  of  China.  When  lie  sets,  he  looks  iipon  rivers  and 
mountains  equally  large  in  the  United  States.  Our  territories  extend  from 
one  great  ocean  to  the  other  ;  and  on  the  west  we  are  divided  from  your  do- 
minions only  by  the  sea.  Leaving  the  mouth  of  one  of  our  great  rivers,  and 
going  constantly  toward  tlie  setting  sun,  we  sail  to  Japan  and  to  the  Yellow 
Pea. 

Now,  my  words  are  that  the  governments  of  two  such  great  countries  should 
be  at  peace.  It  is  proper,  and  according  to  tlie  will  of  lieaven,  that  they  should 
respect  each  other,  and  act  wisely.  1  therefore  send  to  your  court  Caleb  Cush- 
ing,  one  of  tlie  wise  and  learned  men  of  this  country.  On  his  first  arrival  in 
China,  he  will  iiujuire  for  your  health.  He  has  strict  orders  to  go  to  your 
great  city  of  Peking,  and  there  to  deliver  this  letter.  He  will  have  with  him 
secretaries  <tnd  interpreters. 

The  Chinese  love  to  trade  with  our  jteople,  and  to  sell  them  tea  and  silk,  for 
which  our  people  pay  silver,  and  sometimes  other  articles.  But  if  the  Chinese 
and  the  Americans  will  trade,  tliere  shall  be  rules,  so  that  they  shall  not  break 
your  laws  or  our  laws.  Our  minister,  Caleb  Gushing,  is  authorized  to  make  a 
treaty  to  regulate  trade.  Let  it  be  just.  Let  there  be  no  unfair  advantage  on 
either  side.  Let  the  people  trade  not  only  at  Canton,  but  also  at  Anioy,  Ningpo, 
Shanghai,  Fuhchau,  and  all  such  other  places  as  may  o.Ter  profitable  ex- 
changes both  to  China  and  the  United  States,  provided  they  do  not  break  your 
laws  nor  our  laws.  We  shall  not  take  the  part  of  evil-doers.  We  shall  not 
uphold  them  that  break  your  laws.  Therefore,  we  doubt  not  that  you  will  be 
pleased  that  our  messenger  of  peace,  with  this  letter  in  his  hand,  shall  come 
to  Peking,  and  there  deliver  it ;  and  that  your  great  officers  will,  by  your  or- 
der, make  a  treaty  with  liim  to  regulate  a.fairs  of  trade — so  that  nothing  may 
happen  to  disturb  the  pea(;e  between  China  and  America.  Let  the  treaty  be 
signed  by  your  own  imperial  hand.  It  shall  be  signed  by  mine,  by  the  author- 
ity of  our  great  council,  the  Senate. 

And  so  may  your  health  be  good,  and  may  peace  reign. 

Written  at  Washington,  this  twelfth  day  of  July,  in  the.  year  of  our  Lord 
one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty-three.     Your  good  friend. 

Mr.  Gushing  arrived  in  Cliiiia  in  the  frigate  Brandy  wine, 
Commodore  Parker,  February  24^,  1844.  The  announcement 
of  tlie  general  objects  of  lii.s  mission,  and  the  directions  he  had 
to  proceed  to  Peking,  was  made  to  Governor  Cliing,  who  in- 
stantly informed  the  com-t  of  his  arrival  ;  and  with  a  promp- 
titude indicative  of  the  desii-e  of  the  Emperor  to  give  no  cause 
of  offence,  Kiying  was  reappointed  commissioner,  with  highei 


EMBASSY    FROM   THE    UNITED   STATES   TO   CHINA.       567 

powers  than  before.  The  frigate  had  brought  out  a  flagstaff 
and  vane  for  the  consulate  at  Canton  ;  the  vane  was  in  the 
form  of  an  arrow,  and  as  it  turned  its  barb  to  tlie  four  points  of 
the  compass,  the  superstitious  people  tliought  it  conveyed  de- 
structive influences  around,  transfixing  all  the  benign  operations 
of  heaven  and  earth,  and  thereby  causing  disease  and  calamitv 
among  them.  An  unusual  degree  of  sickness  prevailed  at  tliis 
time  in  the  city  and  its  environs,  which  the  geomancers  and 
doctors  declared  would  not  cease  until  the  deadly  arrow  was  re- 
moved. The  people  accordingly  w^aited  on  the  consul,  Mr.  Forbes, 
to  request  the  removal  of  the  arrow,  which  he  acceded  to,  and 
substituted  a  vane  of  another  shape.  The  gentry  issued  a  pla- 
card the  next  day,  connuending  its  removal,  and  requesting  the 
people  to  harbor  no  ill-will  toward  the  Americans  as  the  cause 
of  the  sickness. 

Kiying  having  announced  his  appointment  and  jxnvers  to  the 
people,  proceeded  to  the  Bogue  to  meet  Sir  Henry  Pottinger, 
and  be  introduced  to  Governor  Davis,  from  whence  he  went  to 
Macao  and  took  up  his  residence  in  the  village  of  Wanghia,  in 
the  suburl)S  of  that  city.  lie  had  associated  three  assistants 
with  himself,  viz.,  Hwang  Ngan-tung,  Pwan  Sz'-shing,  one  of 
the  late  hong  merchants,  and  Chau  Chang-ling,  a  prefect.  II. 
E.  Hon.  Caleb  Cushing  was  sole  commissioner  and  envoy  ex- 
traordinary ;  Fletcher  AVebster,  Esq.,  was  secretary  ;  Rev.  E. 
C.  Bridgman,  D.D.,  and  Pev.  Peter  Parker,  M.D.,  were  joint 
Chinese  secretaries,  and  Dr.  Bridgman,  chaplain  ;  Messrs.  J.  H. 
O'Donnell,  R.  Mcintosh,  S.  Hernisz,  T.  R.  AVest,  and  John  R. 
Peters,  Jr.,  were  attached  to  the  legation. 

Mr.  Cushing  had  already  prepared  the  general  outline  of  the 
treaty,  which  greatly  abridged  the  negotiations,  and  the  few 
disputed  or  doubtful  points  in  the  draft  having  been  modified 
and  settled,  it  was  signed  at  AVanghia  on  July  3,  1844,  by  the 
two  plenipotentiaries,  Commodore  Parker,  and  a  few  other 
Americans,  a  large  company  of  Chinese  being  present.  Its  ful- 
ness of  details  and  clear  exhibition  of  the  rights  conceded  by 
the  Chinese  government  to  foreigners  dwelling  within  its  bor- 
ders, made  it  the  leading  authority  in  settling  disputes  among 
them  until  1860. 


668  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

Soon  after  Ki'ying  left  Canton  the  populace  began  to  show 
signs  of  disturbance.  A  party  of  gentlenieu  wei'e  walking  in 
the  Company's  garden,  when  the  gate  was  burst  open  by  a  mob 
and  they  were  obliged  to  escape  by  boats.  On  the  next  evening 
the  mob  again  collected,  with  the  intention  of  getting  possession 
of  the  large  garden,  but  were  driven  out  of  the  passage  without 
much  opposition.  Two  or  three  Americans,  in  escorting  one  of 
their  countrymen  to  his  house,  were  attacked  by  missiles  on 
their  return  ;  whereupon  one  of  them  fired  low  to  drive  the 
people  back,  but  unhappily  killed  a  native,  named  Sil  A-mun. 
The  case  was  investigated  by  the  district  magistrate,  and  a 
report  made  by  the  governor  to  Kiying;  but  Cliing  took  no 
pains  to  send  a  sufficient  force  to  repress  the  populace.  In  a 
communication  to  the  American  consul  he  says,  after  ordering 
him  to  deliver  up  the  murderer  :  "  It  has  been  ascertained  that 
the  man  who  was  killed  was  from  the  district  of  Tsingyuen, 
having  no  relatives  in  Canton.  But  if  he  had  been  a  citizen,  it 
would  have  become  at  the  moment  an  occasion  for  attack,  for  it 
would  have  been  told  to  the  populace,  and  they  would  have  re- 
venged it  by  again  setting  fire  to  the  factories  and  plundering 
their  contents,  or  something  of  that  sort.  The  people  are  highly 
irritated  against  the  offender,  and  it  is  impossible  but  that  they 
have  constant  debates  among  themselves  until  they  are  re- 
venged." 

A  party  of  marines  from  the  corvette  St.  Louis  came  up  to 
Canton  the  next  day,  and  qiiiet  was  restored.  Kiying  brought 
the  case  before  Mr.  Cushing,  stating  it  to  be  his  conviction  that 
"the  murderer  ought  to  forfeit  his  life,"  and  begging  him  to 
give  orders  for  a  speedy  examination  of  the  ease.  In  his  reply 
Mr.  Cushing  expressed  his  regret  at  what  had  occurred,  his 
willingness  to  institute  an  inquiry,  and  added  a  few  remarks 
upon  the  necessity  of  better  protecting  foreigners  at  Canton, 
in  order  to  prevent  the  recurrence  of  such  scenes,  and  embroil- 
ing the  two  counti'ics.  Kiying  replied  in  a  considerate  maimer, 
still  upholding  the  authority  of  his  government  and  laws:  "It 
seems  from  this  that,  regarding  our  nations  and  their  subjects, 
the  people  of  our  land  may  be  peaceful,  and  the  citizens  of  the 
United  States  may  be  peaceful,  and  yet,  after  their  governments 


CASES    OF    RIOT   AND    HOMICIDE   IN    CANTON.  569 

luive  become  amicable,  that  tlien  tlieir  people  may  become  inim 
ical ;  and  albeit  the  authorities  of  the  two  governments  may 
day  after  day  deliberate  upon  friendship,  it  is  all  nothing  but 
empty  M-ords.  Thus,  while  we  are  deliberating  and  settling  a 
treaty  of  peace,  all  at  once  the  people  of  our  two  countries  are 
at  odds  and  taking  lives."  lie  also  speaks  of  the  overbearing 
and  violent  character  of  the  people  of  Canton  : 

Sinco  the  period  when  tlie  Englisli  brought  in  sohiiers,  these  ladrones  have 
been  banding  together  and  forming  societies ;  and  while  some,  taking  advan- 
tage of  their  strength,  have  plundered  and  robbed,  others  have  called  upon 
the  able-bodied  and  valiant  to  get  their  living.  Therefore,  employing  troop&, 
which  is  the  endangering  of  the  authorities  and  [peaceable]  people,  is  the 
profit  of  these  miscreants  ;  peace  and  good  order  which  traders,  both  native  and 
foreign,  desire,  is  what  these  bad  men  do  not  at  all  wish.  ...  I  have 
lieard  that  usually  the  citizens  of  Canton  have  respected  and  liked  the  officers 
and  people  of  the  United  States,  as  they  were  peaceable  and  reasonable  ;  that 
they  would,  even  when  there  was  a  cause  of  diiference,  endeavor  to  settle  it, 
wliich  is  very  unlike  the  English.  But  unexpectedly,  on  the  16th  instant,  a 
cause  for  animosity  was  given  in  the  shooting  of  Sii  A-mun.  I  have  lieard  differ- 
ent accounts  of  this  affair ;  I  judge  reasonably  in  thinking  that  the  merchants  oi 
your  country  causelessly  and  rashly  took  life.  But  the  populace  are  determined 
to  seek  a  quarrel,  and  I  very  much  fear  lest  they  will  avail  of  this  to  raise  com- 
motion, perhaps  under  tlie  pretence  of  avenging  his  death,  but  doubtless  witli 
other  ideas  too. 

The  American  minister  referred  in  a  subsequent  commnnica- 
tion  to  the  death  of  the  boy  Sherry,  in  May,  1841,  when  the 
boat's  crew  from  the  ship  Morrison  was  captured.  This  affair 
had  been  already  bronght  to  the  notice  of  the  Chinese  govern- 
ment by  Commodore  Kearny,  and  a  sum  of  $7,800  paid  for 
losses  and  damages  sustained ;  but  the  present  was  a  fitting 
opportunity  for  reviving  it,  since  it  and  the  case  of  Sii  A-mun 
furnished  a  mutual  commentary  npon  the  necessity  of  securing 
better  protection  for  foreigners.  Kiying  made  an  investigation 
of  the  case,  and  reported  the  successive  actions  of  his  predecessor, 
Ki  Knng ;  so  thoroughly  indeed  was  his  reply  divested  of  all 
the  rhodomontade  usnally  seen  in  Chinese  state  papers,  that  one 
could  hardly  believe  it  was  written  by  a  governor-general  of 
Canton.  The  exciting  circumstances  of  the  first  casualty  did 
indeed  go  far  to  extenuate  it;  though  now  both  Kiying  and  his 
superiors  could  not  but  see  that  the  time  for  demanding  life  foi 


570  THE    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

life  had  passed  away.  The  commissioner  was,  however,  in  a 
dilemma.  He  could  only  appease  the  populace  by  stating  in  his 
proclamations  that  he  was  making  every  effort  to  ascertain  who 
was  the  murderer  and  bring  him  to  justice,  and  they  must  leave 
the  management  of  the  case  in  the  hands  of  the  regular  author- 
ities. On  the  other  hand,  the  arguments  of  Mr.  Cushing  and 
the  stipulations  in  the  English  treaty,  both  convinced  him  that 
foreign  nations  would  not  give  up  their  treaty  right  of  judging 
their  own  countrymen.  He  finally  escaped  the  trouble  by  de- 
ferring the  petitioners  and  relatives  of  the  deceased  awhile,  and 
then  appeasing  them  by  a  small  donation. 

In  conducting  these  negotiations,  and  settling  this  treaty  "be- 
tween the  youngest  and  oldest  empires  in  the  world,"  Mr.  Cush- 
ing exhibited  both  ability  and  knowledge  of  his  subject.  In  his 
instructions  he  was  directed  to  deliv^er  the  President's  letter  to 
the  Emperor  in  person,  or  to  an  officer  of  rank  in  his  presence ; 
and,  therefore,  on  his  arrival  he  informed  the  governor  that  he 
had  been  sent  to  the  imperial  court,  and  being  under  the  neces- 
sity of  remaining  a  few  weeks  at  Macao,  he  improved  the  first 
opportunity  to  inquire  after  the  health  of  his  Majesty.  Whether 
he  regarded  the  mere  going  to  court  as  important  camiot  be  in- 
ferred from  his  correspondence,  but  if  so,  he  should  have  gone 
directly  to  tiie  mouth  of  the  Pei  ho  and  waited  there  for  a  com- 
missioner to  be  sent  to  meet  him.  Vet  the  real  advantages  of 
such  a  proceeding  at  this  time  would  have  been  trifiing,  and  its 
risks  and  contingencies  very  serious;  as  the  Emperor  was  not 
dis])osed  to  forego  that  homage  required  of  all  who  appeared 
])efore  him,  however  willing  lie  might  be  to  grant  commercial 
])i-ivileges,  it  was  undesirable  to  excite  discussions  on  this  point. 
^Moreover,  the  appointment  of  Kiying  with  such  unusual  powers 
indicated  a  favorable  disposition  toward  the  Americans.  It  was 
fortunate  that  the  two  plenipotentiaries  wei-e  at  hand  when  the 
riot  and  homicide  occurred,  while  the  discussion  which  grew  out 
of  those  events  was  no  snuill  benefit  to  the  local  government. 
The  secret  of  nmch  of  the  ])ower  of  the  Emperor  of  China  con- 
sists in  the  acknowledgment  by  his  subjects  of  his  sacred  char- 
acter as  the  Son  of  Heaven  ;  and  although  that  lofty  assumption 
uuist  come  down  before  the  advance  of  western  civilization,  and 


CONCLUSION  OF  THE  FKKNCIl  TKEATV.       571 

will  ere  long  criiinble  of  itself,  to  have  asked  for  an  audience 
when  tliis  formalitj  was  known  to  be  inadmissible  would  have 
irritated  him,  and  put  the  foreign  minister  in  an  indefensible 
position.  The  subsequent  discussions  proved  how  deeply  rooted 
in  the  Chinese  mind  was  this  attribute  ;  the  peaceful  settle- 
ment of  the  question  in  1873  could  not  have  been  anticipated 
hi  1844. 

The  French  ambassador,  II.  E.  Th.  de  Lagrene,  arrived  in 
China  August  14th.  In  addition  to  the  two  secretaries,  MM.  le 
Marquis  de  Ferriere  le  Yoyer  and  le  Comte  d'liarcourt,  five 
other  gentlemen  were  sent  out  to  make  investio-ations  into  the 
commerce,  arts,  and  industrial  resources  of  the  Chinese.  M.  de 
Lagrene  took  possession  of  the  lodgings  prepared  for  him  at 
Macao,  in  the  same  building  which  Mr.  Gushing  had  occupied. 
Kiying  immediately  made  arrangements  for  opening  the  nego- 
tiations by  sending  his  three  associates  to  congratulate  the 
French  minister  on  his  arrival ;  he  himself  reached  Macao  Sep- 
tember 29tli.  The  gratification  of  the  Chinese  statesmen  at 
finding  that  the  missions  from  the  American  and  French  gov- 
ernments were  not  sent,  like  the  English  expedition,  to  demand 
indemnity  and  the  cession  of  an  island,  was  great.  Their  arrival 
had  been  foreshadowed  among  the  people  of  Canton,  the  num- 
ber of  ships  of  war  had  been  exaggerated,  and  the  design  of  the 
ambassadors  strangely  misrepresented  as  including  the  seizure 
of  an  island.  These  reports  could  hardly  fail  to  reach  and  have 
some  effect  upon  the  highest  officers  in  the  land.  The  time, 
therefore,  was  favorable,  not  merely  to  obtain  the  same  political 
and  commercial  advantages  which  had  been  granted  to  England, 
but  further  to  explain  to  the  Chinese  officers  something  of  the 
relations  their  nation  should  enter  into  with  the  other  powers  of 
the  earth.  The  first  interviews  between  Kiying  and  M.  de  La- 
grene were  held  in  October,  and  the  treaty  of  Wanghia  taken  as 
the  basis  of  agreement.  The  negotiations  were  amicably  settled 
by  the  signing  of  the  treaty  at  Whampoa  on  October  23d. 
This  act  may  be  said  to  have  concluded  the  opening  of  China, 
so  far  as  its  government  was  prepared  for  the  extension  of  this 
intercourse. 

The  instalments  due  according  to  the  treaty  of  Nanking  were 


672  TIIK   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

not  yet  all  paid,  but  the  Chinese  had  shown  their  desire  to  fulfil 
their  engagements,  and  the  $.21,000,000  were  received  by  the 
English  within  a  shoi-t  period  of  the  specified  time.  This  was 
a  minor  consideration,  however,  in  comparison  with  the  great 
advantages  gained  by  England  for  herself  and  all  Christendom 
over  the  seclusive  and  exclusive  system  of  former  days,  which 
had  now  received  such  a  shock  that  it  could  not  only  never 
recover  from  it,  but  was  not  likely  even  to  maintain  itself  where 
the  treaties  had  defined  it.  The  intercourse  begun  by  these 
treaties  went  on  as  fast  as  the  two  parties  found  it  for  tlieir 
benefit.  The  war,  though  eminently  nnjust  in  its  cause  as  an 
opium  war — and  even  English  officers  and  authors  do  not  try  to 
disguise  that  the  seizure  of  the  opium  was  tlie  real  reason  for  an 
appeal  to  arms,  though  the  imprisonment  of  Captain  Elliot  and 
other  acts  was  the  pretext — \vas  still,  so  far  as  human  sagacity 
can  perceive,  a  wholesome  infliction  upon  a  government  M'hich 
haughtily  refused  all  equal  intercourse  with  other  nations,  or  ex- 
planations regarding  its  conduct,  and  forbade  its  subjects  having 
free  dealings  with  their  fellow-men. 

'  If  in  entering  upon  the  conflict  England  had  published  to  the 
world  her  declaration  of  the  reasons  for  engaging  in  it,  the 
merits  of  the  case  would  have  been  better  understood.  If  she 
had  said  at  the  outset  that  she  commenced  the  struggle  with  the 
Emperor  because  he  would  not  treat  her  subjects  resorting  to 
his  shores  by  his  permission  with  common  humanity,  allowing 
them  no  intercourse  with  his  subjects,  nor  access  to  his  officers; 
because  he  contemptuously  discarded  her  ambassadors  and  con- 
sular agents,  sent  with  friendly  design  ;  because  he  made  foolish 
regulations  (which  his  own  subjects  did  not  observe)  an  occasion 
of  offence  against  others  when  it  suited  him,  and  had  despoiled 
them  of  their  property  by  strange  and  arbitrary  pi-occcdings, 
weakening  all  confidence  in  his  equity ;  lastly,  because  he  kept 
liimself  aloof  from  other  sovereigns,  and  shut  out  his  people 
from  that  intercourse  with  their  fellow-men  which  was  their 
privilege  and  right ;  her  character  in  this  war  would  have  ap- 
peared far  better.  But  it  is  the  prerogative  of  the  Governor  of 
nations  to  educe  good  out  of  evil,  and  make  the  wrath,  the 
avarice,  and  the  ambition  of  men  to  serve  his  })urposes  and  ad- 


CONDITION   OF    CIIIXA    AFTER   THE    WAR.  573 

vanco  his  own  designs,  although  tlieir  intentions  may  be  far 
otherwise. 

The  external  and  internal  relations  of  the  Chinese  Empire  at 
the  close  of  the  year  1844  were  in  a  far  better  state  than  one 
M'onld  have  snpposed  they  conld  have  become  in  so  short  a  time 
after  such  a  convulsion.  The  cities  and  provinces  where  the 
storm  of  war  had  beat  most  violently  were  i-eviving,  the  author- 
ity of  the  officers  was  becoming  re-established,  the  bands  of 
lawless  desperadoes  were  gradually  dispei'sing,  and  the  people 
resuming  their  peaceful  pursuits.  No  ill-will  was  manifested  in 
Amoy  on  account  of  the  losses  its  citizens  had  sustained,  nor  at 
Ningpo  or  Shanghai  for  their  occupation  by  Englisli  troops. 
The  English  consuls  at  the  five  ports  had  all  been  received,  and 
trade  was  connnencing  under  favorable  auspices.  The  opium 
trade — for  this  dark  feature  everywhere  forces  itself  into  the 
prospect — was  also  extending,  and  opium  schooners  plying  up 
and  down  the  coast,  and  anchoring  on  the  outside  limits  of 
eveiy  port  to  deliver  the  drug. 

The  citizens  of  Canton,  however,  maintained  their  hereditary 
ill-will  toward  foreigners,  and  proceeded  to  such  lengths  that 
the  local  government  became  powerless  to  carry  the  stipulation 
of  the  British  treaty,  to  enter  its  city  gates,  into  effect.  Gov- 
ernor Davis  proceeded  to  Canton  in  May,  1847,  with  several 
vessels  of  war,  capturing  all  the  guns  at  the  Bogue  in  his  pro- 
gress up  the  river,  and  compelled  the  authorities  to  grant  a 
larger  space  for  residences  and  wai-ehouses  on  the  south  side  of 
the  Pearl  River,  to  be  occupied  as  soon  as  arrangements  could 
be  made.  It  was  also  agreed  that  the  gates  should  be  uncondi- 
tionally opened  within  two  years,  so  that  foreigners  might  have 
the  same  access  to  this  city  as  to  the  other  four  ports.  When 
the  time  came  for  this  to  be  carried  out,  the  Emperor  ordered 
Governor-General  Sli  to  mind  the  voice  of  the  people  and  dis- 
regard this  engagement,  which  had  probably  never  received  his 
sanction.  A  careful  examination  of  the  Chinese  text  of  all  the 
treaties  showed  that  an  explicit  permission  to  enter  the  citadel 
{c/iin(/),  or  walled  portion  of  the  marts  opened  to  foreign  com- 
merce, was  not  given.  In  consequence  of  this  vagueness  the 
Hongkong  authorities,  acting  under  instructions  from  London, 


574  THE   iMIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

did  not  press  the  point,  and  the  gates  of  Canton  remained  in- 
violate till  January,  1858." 

•  C/iinese  Repositoiy,  Vols.  XVIII. ,  pp.  216,275;  XV.,  p.  40  ff.  Davis, 
Cfiina  durinff  the  War  (tiul  mice  the  Peace,  1852.  Vol.  II.,  Chaps.  V.  and  VI  , 
passim.  Among  other  authorities  on  the  war  may  be  mentioned  Lord  Jocelyin, 
Six  Montlis  with  ilte  Chinese  Expedition,  London,  1841  ;  K.  Stewart  Mackenzie, 
Narrative  of  the  Second  Campaign  in  China,  London,  1842;  Col.  Aithur  Cun- 
ynghame,  liecoUections  of  Service  in  China,  1853  ;  Lieut.  John  Ouchterlony, 
The  Chinese  War,  1844 ;  The  Last  Tear  in  China  to  the  Peace  of  Xaiding,  by 
a  Field  Officer,  London  and  Philadelphia,  1848 ;  Auguste  Haussmann,  L<i 
Chine,  resume  historiqiie,  etc.,  Paris,  1858  •  Ad.  Barrot  in  the  Revue  des  Deux 
Mondes  for  February  15,  March  1,  June  1,  and  July  1, 1842. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

THE    TAI-PIXG    REBELLION. 

The  war,  which  was  brought  to  an  end  by  the  treaty  of  JS  an- 
king,  left  the  imperial  government  astonished  and  crippled, 
but  not  paralyzed  or  dejected.  It  had,  moreover,  the  effect  of 
arousing  it  from  the  old  notions  of  absolutism  and  security  ; 
and  though  the  actual  heads  of  bureaus  at  Peking  were  unable, 
from  their  secluded  position  and  imperfect  education,  to  ascer- 
tain and  appreciate  the  real  nature  of  the  contest,  the  maritime 
officials  could  see  that  its  results  were  likely  to  be  lasting  and 
serious.  A  few  thoughtful  men  among  them,  as  Ilipu,  Seu  Ki- 
yu,  Iviying  and  his  colleagues,  understood  better  than  their  su- 
periors at  the  capital  that  the  advent  of  the  '  Western  Ocean 
people  '  at  the  five  open  ports  introduced  a  permanent  influence 
upon  the  Black-haired  race.  They  could  not,  of  course,  estimate 
what  this  influence  would  become,  but  a  sense  of  its  power  and 
vitality  had  the  effect  of  preventing  them  from  petty  opposition 
in  carrying  out  the  treaty  stipulations.  With  the  major  part  of 
the  officials,  on  the  other  hand,  life-long  prejudice,  joined  to 
utter  ignorance  as  to  the  numbers,  position,  and  resources  of 
foreign  nations,  led  them  to  withdraw  from  even  such  a  meas- 
ure of  intercourse  with  consular  and  diplomatic  officials  as  they 
could  easily  have  held.  The  tone  of  official  society  was  opposed 
to  having  any  personal  relations  with  their  foreign  colleagues, 
and  after  the  old  Emperor  Taukwang  had  passed  ofl^  the  stage 
in  1850,  his  son  showed — even  eight  years  after  the  peace — that 
promotion  was  incompatible  with  cultivating  a  closer  acquaint- 
ance with  them. 

It  is  not  sui'prising  that  this  reaction  took  on  the  form  of 
doing  as  little  as  possible,  and  that  its  stringency  was  increased 


676  THE  MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

ill  reality  by  the  device  of  making  the  governor-general  at  Can- 
ton the  only  channel  of  correspondence  with  foreign  ministers. 
This  magnate  was  surrounded  in  that  city  l»y  ^subordinates 
whose  training  had  been  inimical  to  extending  intercourse  with 
foreigners,  because  they  had  reaped  the  advantages  of  the  old 
system  in  their  monopoly  of  the  trade.  The  intendants  at  the 
other  open  ports  were  directed  to  refer  difficult  (piestions  re- 
lating to  foreigners  to  this  high  functionary,  but  as  they  wero 
more  disposed  to  let  such  disputes  settle  themselves,  if  possible, 
few  cases  were  ever  sent  to  him.  The  animus  of  the  whole 
governing  class  gradually  assumed  a  settled  determination  to 
keep  aloof  from  those  who  had  humbled  them  in  the  e^'es  of 
their  subjects,  and  yet  give  no  handle  to  these  potent  outsiders 
to  repeat  their  descent  on  the  coast.  It  was  a  poor  policy 
in  every  point  of  view,  only  serving  to  hasten  the  evils  they 
dreaded. 

Sir  John  Davis  was  appointed  governor  of  Hongkong  in  1844, 
and  during  four  years'  service  so  soon  after  the  war  saw  much 
of  this  proud  and  foolish  spirit.  His  two  volumes,  published  in 
1852  {China  during  the  AVan  and  since  the  Peace),  contain  a 
digest  of  the  official  records  and  acts  of  the  Chinese  govern- 
ment which  is  highly  instructive.  It  is  remarkable  that  lie 
should  show  so  much  surprise  at  the  mendacity,  ill-will,  and 
weakness  of  the  officers  in  these  reports  to  their  master,  or  at 
the  Emperor's  persistency  in  wreaking  his  wrath  on  those  whose 
poltroonery  had  done  him  so  much  harm.  A  residence  of  nearly 
thirty  years  in  the  country  should  have  developed,  in  his  case, 
an  intimate  acquaintance  with  native  ideas  of  honor  and  mercy, 
and  shown  him  how  little  of  either  are  practised  in  time  of  war. 
If  he  blames  the  Chinese  leaders  for  their  ignorance  and  silly 
mistakes  in  its  conduct,  one  can  readily  see  that  they  never  had 
an  oppoi-tunity  to  learn  the  truth  about  their  enemies.  Their 
struggle  against  the  impossible  was  not  altogether  in  vain,  there- 
fore, if  it  prepared  them  for  accepting  the  inevitable.  Had  Sir 
John  manifested  a  little  sympathy  for  their  plight  in  such  an 
unequal  contest,  and  shown  more  humanity  for  their  sufferings 
under  the  evils  which  afflicted  them,  his  opinion  of  the  best  rem- 
edies would  have  carried  niucli  weiirht.  As  an  instance  of  the 


SIR   JOHN   DAVIS   AND    KITING,  577 

result  of  Ills  own  training  in  the  East  India  Company's  school, 
he  remarks  respecting  the  imperial  edicts  against  opium,  that 
they  fell  into  disuse,  and  that  the  subject  had  never  been  re- 
vived since  the  war  ;  adding,  "  But  at  no  time  was  the  traffic 
deserving  the  full  load  of  infamy  with  which  many  were  dis- 
posed to  heap  it,  for  at  most  it  only  supplied  the  poison,  which 
tlie  Chinese  were  not  obliged  to  take.  The  worst  effect,  perhaps, 
was  the  piracy  it  engendered,  for  this  has  told  against  the  honest 
trade."  '  In  his  first  interview  with  Kiying,  in  May,  1844,  he 
proposed  that  the  Chinese  government  should  legalize  the  opium 
trade,  for  "  such  a  wise  and  salutary  measure  would  remove  all 
chances  of  unpleasant  occurrences  between  the  two  govern- 
ments ;  it  might  provide  an  ample  revenue  for  the  Emperor, 
and  check  to  the  same  extent  the  consumption  of  a  commod- 
ity which  was  at  present  absolutely  untaxed.'"  He,  how^ever, 
brought  it  more  directly  to  his  notice  the  next  year  in  conse- 
quence of  the  revival  of  smuggling  at  Whampoa  to  as  great  a 
degree  as  in  1839,  and  the  opium  vessels  all  left  the  Reach. 

Kiying  was  entirely  indisposed  to  move,  or  even  aid,  in  this 
matter,  which  he  knew  would  be  distasteful  to  the  Emperor, 
other  than  by  a  truly  Chinese  device — that  the  oflScials  of  both 
nations  should  let  it  go  on  by  nnitual  connivance.  Sir  John 
naively  remarks  on  this  :  "  The  only  thing  wanting  was  that  the 
Emperor  should  publicly  sanction  what  he  had  once  publicly 
condemned.  .  .  .  The  trade,  however,  was  practically  tol- 
erated, and  to  us  this  made  a  great  diiference.  The  Chinese 
government  was  not  sufficiently  honest  to  make  a  public  avowal 
of  this  change  in  its  system,  but  the  position  in  which  Great 
Britain  stood  became  materially  altered.  China  had  distinctly 
declined  a  conventional  arrangement  for  the  remedy  of  the 
evil,  and  expressed  a  desire  that  we  should  not  bring  the  exist- 
ing abuse  to  its  notice."  ^  With  two  such  men  in  command,  of 
course  nothing  was  ever  done  by  either  side  to  restrain  the  evils 
growing  out  of  this  contraband  and  demoralizing  trade,  until 
another  war  and  new  treaties  changed  the  national  relations. 

'  Chimi  chning  tits  War,  etc.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  19. 
Ubid.,  Vol.  li.,  p.  44. 
3/6j«.,  Vol.  n.,  p.  303. 


578  THE   MIDDLE    KIPTGDOM. 

At  Canton  the  long-cherished  dislike  to  foreigners  was  fo- 
mented by  demagogues  and  idlers.  These  worked  upon  the 
fears  of  the  people  In-  telling  them  that  their  lands  were  to  be 
taken  to  build  warehouses  upon  ;  and  this  rumor  was  so  far  be- 
lieved that  it  soon  became  unsafe  for  foreignci-s  to  venture  far 
into  the  suburbs.  In  December,  1847,  not  long  after  the  ar- 
rangement with  Sir  John  Davis  respecting  an  entrance  into  Can- 
ton city  was  made,  six  Englishmen  were  attacked  by  a  mob  at 
Hwang-chuh-ki  while  on  a  ramble,  and  all  killed,  some  of  them 
with  reiined  cruelty.  Kiying  took  immediate  measures — ex- 
tremely creditable  to  his  sense  of  what  he  owed  to  justice  and 
maintenance  of  peace — to  pnnisli  these  villagers.  A  mimber  of 
men  whom  their  fellows  indicated  as  leaders  in  the  outrage 
were  arrested  ;  the  prisoners  were  tried  at  Canton  by  the  regu- 
lar courts.  Four  were  presently  decapitated  in  the  sight  of  a 
military  deputation  sent  from  Hongkong,  and  two  others  by 
orders  from  Peking.  This  well-timed  justice  secured  the  safety 
of  foreigners  peaceably  going  about  the  city  and  environs  ;  but 
it  was  creditjly  stated  afterward  that  there  were  numerous  pla- 
cards already  posted  in  that  region  informing  the  people  that 
foreigners  would  perhaps  be  coming  thither  to  select  sites  for 
themselves.  These  unfortunate  Englishmen,  indeed,  would  per- 
haps have  been  allowed  to  return  home,  if  they  had  been  able 
to  speak  to  the  villagers  and  explain  their  object. 

This  incident  makes  it  proper  to  notice  a  common  misappre- 
hension abroad  in  respect  to  the  influence  of  the  treaties  which 
had  been  signed  with  China  upon  the  people  themselves.  It 
was  inferred  that  as  soon  as  the  three  treaties  with  England, 
France,  and  America  had  been  ratified,  the  great  body  of  edu- 
cated Chinese  at  least  would  inquire  and  learn  what  were  their 
provisions,  and  a  natural  curiosity  would  be  manifested  to  know 
something  about  the  peoples  of  those  lands.  Kothing  could  be 
more  likely — nothing  was  farther  from  the  reality,  Xo  efforts 
were  ever  made  by  the  imj^erial  officers  at  the  capital  or  in  the 
provinces  to  promulgate  these  national  compacts,  whose  original 
and  ratified  copies  were  never  even  transmitted  to  Peking. 
Consequently,  the  existence  and  nature  of  these  Iiaoo  yoh,  or 
'  peace  contracts,' had  to  be  continually  taught  to  the  natives, 


DISPOSITION   OF   CHINESE   TOWARD   FOREIGNERS.      ^70 

wlio  on  their  part  did  not  usually  feel  themselves  under  much 
obligation  to  obey  them.  In  China,  as  elsewhere,  just  laws 
never  execute  themselves,  and  it  is  hardly  surprising  that  not  an 
officer  of  the  Emperor  should  go  out  of  his  way  to  enforce  their 
distasteful  stipulations. 

It  was  therefore  uphill  work  to  see  that  the  treaties  did  not 
become  a  dead  letter,  and  all  the  hardest  part  of  this  labor  fell 
to  the  lot  of  the  British  consuls.  They  alone  stood  forth 
among  foreign  officials  as  invested  with  some  power  of  their 
own  ;  and  being  generally  able  to  use  the  Chinese  language,  they 
came  into  personal  relations  with  the  local  officers,  and  thus 
began  the  only  effectual  mode  through  which  the  treaties  could 
become  agencies  for  breaking  down  the  hoary  wall  of  prejudice, 
ignorance,  and  contempt  which  had  so  long  kept  China  out  of 
the  pale  of  progress.  In  doing  this,  no  fixed  course  could  be 
laid  down  ;  though  the  constant  tendency  of  the  consuls  was  to 
encroach  on  the  power  of  the  mandarins,  these  latter  \vere  gen- 
erally able  to  recur  to  the  treaties,  and  thus  learn  the  necessity 
and  benefits  of  adherence  to  them.  Their  education  was  a 
colossal  undertaking,  and  considering  the  enormous  difficulties, 
its  progress  has  been  as  rapid  as  was  consistent  with  the  welfare 
of  themselves  or  their  subjects.  In  this  progress  they  bear  the 
greatest  share  of  the  burden  ;  its  responsibilities  and  costs,  its 
risks  and  results,  almost  wholly  come  upon  them,  w^hile  foreign 
nations,  with  the  immense  undefined  rights  of  exterritoriality  on 
their  side,  are  interested  on-lookers,  ready  to  take  advantage  of 
every  faux  pas  to  compel  them  to  conform  to  their  interpretation 
of  the  treaties.  Very  little  consideration  is  given  to  their  igno- 
rance of  international  law,  to  their  full  belief  in  the  power  of 
China,  or  to  their  consequent  disinclination  to  accept  the  new 
order  of  things  so  suddenly  forced  on  them.  On  the  other 
hand,  no  one  who  knows  all  the  features  of  this  period  will  with- 
hold the  praise  due  to  the  British  authorities  in  China  for  their 
conduct  in  relations  with  its  functionaries ;  it  might  fairly  be 
added  that  the  improved  state  of  international  intercourse  is 
mostly  due  to  them. 

The  condition  of  the  Empire  at  the  close  of  the  war  was 
most  discouraging  to  its  rulers,  who  had  not  dreamed  of  re- 


5S0  THE  MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

ceiving  so  crushing  a  defeat.  It  is  creditable  to  them  that  they 
honorably  paid  up  the  $21,000,000  exacted  of  them  by  the 
British,  who  of  course  restored  Chusan  at  the  stipulated  time. 
Tlie  name  of  II.  Montgomery  Martin,  tlien  treasurer  of  Hong- 
kong colony,  must  be  awarded  due  mention  as  being  the  only 
Queen's  official  who  endeavored  to  resist  its  surrender,  on  the 
plea  of  its  great  benefit  to  lier  eastern  empire  and  influence. 
Sir  John  Davis  speaks  of  the  "  political  and  military  consider- 
ations "  which  gave  importance  to  it ;  but  the  proposal  of  Mr. 
Martin  was  promptly  rejected  by  his  superiors,  and  the  whole 
archipelago  has  since  been  neglected.  At  the  four  northern 
ports  opened  by  treaty,  with  the  exception  of  Fuhchau,  trade 
began  without  difficulty.  This  city  having  entirely  escaped  the 
ravages  of  the  war,  its  proud  gentry  influenced  the  citizens 
against  foreigners  and  their  trade  ;  the  first  European  residents 
there  met  with  some  ill-usage,  but  this  bitter  feeling  gradually 
wore  off  as  the  parties  became  better  known. 

At  Canton  the  case  was  aggravated  by  the  prejudices  of  race 
and  the  turbulence  of  the  unemployed  braves  who  had  flocked 
into  it  on  the  invitation  and  inducements  of  Commissioner  Lin 
to  enlist  against  the  English.  They  had  been  disbanded  by 
Kiying,  but  had  not  returned  to  their  homes  ;  their  lawlessness 
increased  till  it  threatened  the  supremacy  of  the  provincial  gov- 
ernment,  and  required  the  strongest  measures  of  repression. 
The  disorders  spread  rather  than  diminished  under  an  impover- 
ished treasury  and  ill-paid  soldiery,  and  prepared  the  way  for 
the  rebellion  which  during  the  next  twenty  years  tasked  the  ut- 
most resources' of  the  nation.  The  ignorance  of  one  part  of  its 
people  of  what  was  taking  place  in  another  province — which 
during  the  foreign  war  so  greatly  crippled  the  Emperor's  efforts 
to  interest  his  subjects  in  this  struggle — hete  did  much  to  pre- 
serve them  from  unitino;  aijainst  him  to  his  overthrow.  It  was 
plain  to  every  candid  observer  that  however  weak,  unprincipled, 
and  tyrannical  the  Manchu  rulers  might  be,  they  were  as  efficient 
sovereigns  as  the  people  could  produce,  and  no  substituted  sway 
could  possibly'  elevate  and  purify  them  until  higher  principles  of 
social  and  political  life  had  been  adopted  by  the  nation  at  large. 

The  protracted  convulsion,  known  abroad  as  the  Tai-ping 


CAUSES   OF   THE   TAI-PIXG    IXSURRECTIOIS".  58T 

Rebellion,  owed  much  of  its  duration  as  well  to  the  exposure  of 
the  fjoverninent's  internal  rottenness  as  to  its  weakness  ao-ainst 
foreign  nations ;  hut  many  other  causes  were  at  work.  The 
body  of  the  Chinese  people  are  well  aware  that  their  rulers  are 
no  better  than  themselves  in  morals,  honesty,  or  patriotism  ;  but 
they  are  all  i-eady  to  ascribe  the  evils  they  suffer  from  robbers, 
taxation,  exactions,  and  unjust  sentences  to  those  in  authority. 
The  rulers  are  conscious  that  their  countrymen  consider  it  honor- 
able to  evade  taxes,  defy  the  police  when  they  can  safely  do  so, 
and  oppose  rather  than  aid  in  the  maintenance  of  law  and  order. 
There  is  no  basis  of  what  in  Christian  lands  is  regarded  as  the 
foundation  of  social  order  and  just  government — the  power  of 
conscience  and  amenableness  to  law ;  nevertheless,  from  the 
habits  of  obedience  taught  in  the  family  and  in  the  schoolroom, 
the  people  have  attained  a  good  degree  of  security  for  them- 
selves and  show  much  regard  to  just  rulers.  The  most  serious 
evils  and  sufferings  in  Chinese  society  are  caused  by  its  dis- 
orderly members,  not  its  rapacious  rulers  ;  and  both  can  only  be 
removed  and  reformed  by  the  reception  of  a  higher  code  which 
raises  the  standard  of  action  from  expediency  to  obligation. 

In  giving  an  account  of  the  rise  and  overthrow  of  the  Tai-ping" 
Rebellion,  it  will  be  necessary  to  limit  the  narrative  to  the  most 
important  religious,  political,  and  military  events  connected  with 
it  up  to  its  suppression  in  ISGT.  The  phrase  "  Tai-ping  Rebel- 
lion "  is  wholly  of  foreign  manufacture  ;  at  Peking  and  every- 
where among  those  loyal  to  the  government  the  insurgents  were 
styled  Chany-mao  tseh^  or  '  Long-haired  rebels,'  while  on  their 
side,  by  a  whimsical  resemblance  to  English  slang,  the  imperial- 
ists were  dubbed  imj)s.  When  the  chiefs  assumed  to  be  aiming 
at  independence  in  1850,  in  order  to  identify  their  followers 
with  their  cause  they  took  the  term  Ping  Chao,  or  '  Peace 
Dynasty,'  as  the  style  of  their  sway,  to  distinguish  it  from  the 
TsiiKj  Chao,  or  '  Pure  Dynasty,'  of  the  Manchus.  Each  of  them 
prefixed  the  adjective  Ta  (or  Tai,  in  Cantonese), '  Great,'  as  is  the 
Chinese  custom  with  regard  to  dynasties  and  nations ;  thus  the 
name  Tai-ping  became  known  to  foreigners.  The  leader  took 
the  style  Tien-teh^  or  '  Heavenly  Virtue,'  for  his  reign,  thereby 
indicating  his  aim  in  seeking  the  throne,     hi  is  own  personal 


582  THE  MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

name,  Hung  Siii-tsuen,  was  regarded  as  too  sacred  to  be  used  b}) 
his  followers.  The  banners  and  edicts  used  at  Kanking  and  in 
his  army  bore  the  inscription,  Tien-fii,  Tieii-hiung,  Tien-icang 
Tat-jying  Tien-hivoh,  or  '  Heavenly  Father,  Heavenly  Elder 
Brother,  Heavenly  King  of  the  Great  Peace  [Dynasty]  of  the 
Heavenly  Kingdom  '  {i.e.,  China). 

The  incidents  of  this  man's  early  life  and  education  were  as- 
certained in  1854,  from  his  relative  Hung  Jin,  b}-  the  Rev. 
Theodore  Hamberg,  whose  narrative  '  bears  the  marks  of  a 
trustworthy  recital.  Hung  Siu-tsuen  was  the  youngest  son  of 
Hung  Jang,  a  well-to-do  farmer  living  in  Plwa  hien,  a  district 
situated  on  the  North  Eiver,  about  thirty  miles  from  Canton 
city,  in  a  small  village  of  which  he  was  the  headman.  The 
family  was  from  Kiaying  prefecture,  on  the  borders  of  Kiangsi, 
and  the  whole  village  was  regarded  as  belonging  to  the  Hakkas, 
or  Squatters,  and  had  little  intercourse  with  the  Pun-tis,  or  In- 
digenes, on  that  account.  Siu-tsuen  was  born  in  1813,  and  at  the 
usual  age  of  seven  entered  school,  where  he  showed  remarkable 
aptitude  for  study.  His  family  being  too  poor  to  spare  his  ser- 
vices long,  he  had  to  struggle  and  deny  himself,  as  man}''  a  poor 
aspirant  for  fame  in  all  lands  has  done,  in  order  to  fit  himself  to 
enter  the  regular  examinations.  In  1826  his  name  appeared  on 
the  list  of  candidates  in  Hwa  hien,  but  Hung  Jin  says :  "  Though 
his  name  was  always  among  the  first  upon  the  board  at  the  dis- 
trict examinations,  yet  he  never  succeeded  in  attaining  the 
degree  of  Siu-tsai."  In  1833  he  was  at  Canton  at  the  triennial 
examination,  when  he  met  with  the  native  evangelist  Liang 
A-fah,  who  was  distributing  and  selling  a  number  of  his  own 
writings  near  the  Kung  yuen  to  the  candidates  as  they  went  in 
and  out  of  the  hall.  Atti'acted  by  the  venerable  aspect  of  this 
man,  he  accepted  a  set  of  his  tracts  called  Kiuen  Shi  Liang 
Ten,  or  '  Good  Words  to  Exhort  the  Age.'  He  took  them  home 
with  him,  but  threw  them  aside  when  he  found  that  they  ad- 
vocated Christianity,  then  a  proscribed  doctrine. 

In  1837  he  was  again  in  the  provincial  tripos,  where  his  re- 

'  Visions  of  Hun (j  Siu-tshuen  and  Orifjin.  oftlie  Kwang-si  Insurrectioii,  Hong- 
kong, 1854.  Mr.  W.  Sargent  in  the  North  American  Eeview  for  July,  1854, 
Vol.  LXXIX.,  p.  158. 


THE   LIFE   OF   HUJ^G   SIU-TSFEN.  583 

peated  disappoiiitment  and  discontent  aggravated  an  illness  that 
seized  him.  On  reaching  his  home  he  took  to  his  bed  and  pre- 
pared for  death,  having  had  several  visions  foretokening  his  de- 
cease, lie  called  his  pai-ents  to  his  bedside  and  thus  addressed 
them:  "My  days  are  counted  and  my  life  will  soon  be  closed. 
O  my  parents  !  how  badly  have  I  returned  the  favor  of  your  love 
to  me ;  I  shall  never  attain  a  name  that  shall  reflect  lustre  on  you." 
After  uttering  these  words  he  shut  his  eyes  and  lost  all  strength 
and  connnand  over  his  body,  and  became  unconscious  of  what 
was  going  on  around  him.  His  outward  senses  were  inactive, 
his  body  appeared  as  dead,  but  his  soul  was  acted  upon  by  a  pe- 
culiar eneigy,  seeing  and  remembering  things  of  a  very  extra- 
ordinary nature. 

At  first,  when  his  eyes  were  closed  he  saw  a  dragon,  a  tiger, 
and  a  cock  enter  the  room ;  a  great  number  of  men  placing 
upon  instruments  then  approached,  bearing  a  beautiful  sedan- 
chair  in  which  they  invited  him  to  be  seated.  Kot  knowing 
wdiat  to  make  of  this  honor,  he  was  carried  away  to  a  luminous 
and  beautiful  place  wherein  a  multitude  of  fine  men  and  women 
saluted  him  on  arrival  with  expressions  of  joy.  On  leaving  the 
sedan  an  old  woman  took  him  down  to  a  river,  saying :  "  Thou 
dirty  man,  why  hast  thou  kept  company  with  yonder  people  and 
defiled  thyself  ?  I  must  now  wash  thee  clean."  After  the 
washing  was  over  he  entered  a  large  building  in  company  with 
a  crowd  of  old  and  virtuous  men,  some  of  whom  were  the  ancient 
sages.  Here  they  opened  his  body,  took  out  the  heart  and  other 
organs,  and  replaced  them  by  new  ones  of  a  red  color  ;  this 
done,  the  wound  closed  without  leaving  a  scar.  The  whole 
assembly  then  went  on  to  another  larger  hall,  whose  splendor 
was  beyond  description,  in  which  an  aged  man,  with  a  golden 
beard  and  dressed  in  black  robes,  sat  on  the  liighest  place.  See- 
ing Siu-tsuen,  he  began  to  shed  tears  and  said :  "  All  human 
beings  in  the  world  are  produced  and  sustained  by  me  ;  they  eat 
my  food  and  wear  my  clothing,  but  not  one  among  them  has  a 
heart  to  remember  and  venerate  me  ;  what  is  worse,  they  take 
my  gifts  and  therewith  worship  demons  ;  they  purposely  rebel 
against  me  and  arouse  my  anger.  Do  thou  not  imitate  them." 
Hereupon  he  gave  him  a  sword  to  destroy  the  demons,  a  seal  to 


584  Till':    MIDDLE     KIXfiDOr. 

overcome  the  evil  spirits,  and  a  sweet  yellow  fruit  to  eat.  Sin- 
tsueii  received  them,  and  straightway  began  to  exhort  his  vener- 
able companions  to  perform  their  duties  to  their  master.  After 
doing  so  even  to  tears,  the  high  personage  led  him  to  a  spot 
whence  he  could  behold  the  world  below,  and  discern  theliorrible 
depravity  and  vice  of  its  inhabitants.  The  sight  was  too  awful  to 
be  endured,  and  words  were  inadequate  to  describe  it.  So  he 
awoke  from  his  trance,  and  had  vigor  enough  to  rise  and  dress 
himself  and  go  to  his  father.  Making  a  bow,  Siu-tsuen  said  :  "  The 
venerable  old  man  above  has  commanded  that  all  men  shall  turn 
to  me,  and  that  all  treasures  shall  ilow  to  me."  This  sickness 
continued  about  forty  days,  and  the  visions  were  multiplied. 
]Ie  often  met  with  a  man  in  them  whom  he  called  his  elder 
I)rother,  who  instructed  him  how  to  act  and  assisted  him  in 
going  after  and  killing  evil  spirits.  lie  became  more  and 
more  possessed  with  the  idea,  as  his  health  returned,  that  he 
had  been  comniissioned  to  be  Emperor  of  China  ;  and  one  day 
his  father  found  a  slip  on  which  was  written  "  The  Heavenly 
King  of  Great  Heason,  the  Sovereign  King  Tsuen.""  As  time 
wore  on,  this  lofty  idea  seems  to  have  more  and  more  developed 
his  mind  to  a  soberness  and  purity  which  overawed  and  at- 
tracted him.  ]S'othing  is  said  about  his  utterances  while  the 
M-ar  with  England  was  progressing,  but  he  nmst  have  known  its 
progress  and  results.  Ilis  cataleptic  fits  and  visions  seem  not 
to  have  returned,  and  he  pursued  his  avocation  as  a  school- 
teacher until  about  1843,  having  meanwhile  failed  in  anotlier 
trial  to  obtain  his  degree  at  Canton.  In  that  year  his  wife's 
brother  asked  to  take  away  the  nine  tracts  of  Liang  A-fah  to 
see  what  they  contained ;  when  he  returned  them  to  Siu-tsuen 
he  ui-ged  him  to  road  them  too. 

They  consisted  of  sixty-eight  short  chapters  upon  common 
topics,  selected  from  the  Bible,  and  not  exactly  fitted  to  give 
liim,  in  his  excited  state  and  total  ignorance  of  western  books 
and  religion,  a  fair  notion  of  Chi-istianity.  As  he  read  them 
he  saw,  as  lie  thought,  the  true  meaning  of  his  visions.  The 
venerable  old  man  M-as  no  other  than  God  the  Father,  and  his 
guide  was  Jesus  Christ,  who  had  assisted  him  in  slaying  the 
demons.     "These  books  are  certainly  sent  purposely  by  heaven 


HIS    HKLIEF    IN    HIS    DIVINE    CALLING.  585 

to  me  to  confirm  the  truth  of  my  former  expei'ieiiee.  If  1  had 
received  them  witliout  having  gone  through  the  sickness,  I 
should  not  have  dared  to  believe  in  them,  and  by  myself  to  op- 
pose the  customs  of  the  whole  world.  If  I  had  merely  l)een 
sick,  but  not  also  received  the  books,  I  should  have  had  no  fur- 
ther evidence  as  to  the  truth  of  my  visions,  which  might  also 
have  been  considered  as  mere  products  of  a  diseased  imagina- 
tion." 

This  sounds  reasonable,  and  commends  itself  as  wholly  unlike 
the  ravings  of  a  madnuin.  Nevertheless,  while  it  would  be 
unwise  for  us  to  closely  criticise  this  narrative  in  its  details, 
and  assert  that  Siu-tsuen's  pretensions  were  all  hypocritical,  we 
must  bear  in  mind  the  fact  that  he  had  certaiidy,  neither  at 
this  time  nor  ever  afterward,  a  clear  conception  of  the  true 
nature  of  Christianity,  judging  from  his  wi-itings  and  edicts. 
The  nature  of  sin,  and  the  dominion  of  God's  law  npon  the 
sinner  ;  the  need  of  atonement  from  the  stain  and  effects  of 
sin ;  Christ's  mediatoi'ial  sacrifice  ;  were  subjects  on  which  he 
could  not  possibly  have  received  full  instruction  from  these 
fragmentary  essays.  In  after  days  his  conviction  of  his  own 
divine  calling  to  rule  over  China,  seems  to  have  blinded  his 
understanding  to  the  spiritual  nature  of  the  Christian  church. 
His  individual  penchant  was  insufficient  to  resist  or  mould  the 
subordinates  who  accepted  his  mission  for  their  own  ends.  But 
lie  was  not  a  tool  in  their  hands  at  any  time,  and  his  personal 
influence  permeated  the  ignorant  mass  of  reckless  men  around 
him  to  an  extraordinary  degree,  while  his  skill  in  turning  some 
of  the  doctrines  and  requirements  of  the  Bible  as  the  ground 
and  proofs  of  his  own  authority  indicated  original  genius,  since 
the  results  M-ere  far  l)eyond  the  reach  of  a  cunning  impostor. 
From  first  to  last,  beginning  with  poverty,  obscurity,  and  weak- 
ness in  II wa,  continuing  with  distinction,  power,  and  royalty  at 
Nanking  and  throughout  its  five  adjacent  provinces,  and  ending 
with  defeat,  desertion,  and  death  in  his  own  palace,  Hung  never 
wavered  or  abated  one  jot  of  his  claim  to  supreme  rule  on 
earth.  When  his  end  was  reported  at  Peking  in  August,  1864, 
thirty-one  years  after  his  receiving  Liang  A-falTs  tracts,  the 
imperial   resci'ipt  sadly  said :  "  Words  cannot  convey  any  idea 


686  THE    MIDULIC    KIXGUOJt. 

of  the  misery  and  dedolatiou  lio  caused  ;  the  measure  of  his 
iniquity  was  full,  and  the  wrath  of  both  gods  and  men  was 
roused  against  him." 
N^  A  career  so  full  of  exceptional  interest  and  notable  incidents 
cannot,  of  course,  be  minutely  described  in  this  sketch.  xVfter 
Hung's  examination  of  the  tracts  which  had  lain  unnoticed  in 
his  hands  for  ten  years,  followed  by  his  conviction  of  the  real 
meaning  of  his  visions  in  1837,  he  began  to  proclaim  his  mis- 
sion and  exhort  those  around  him  to  accept  Christianity.  Hung 
Jin  (who  furnished  Mr.  llamberg  with  his  statements)  and  a 
fellow-student,  Fung  Vun-shan,  were  his  first  converts;  they 
agreed  to  put  away  all  idols  and  the  Confucian  tablet  out  of 
their  schools,  and  then  baptized  or  washed  themselves  in  a 
brook  near  by,  as  a  sign  of  their  purification  and  faith  in  Jesus. 
As  they  had  no  portion  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures  to  guide  them, 
they  were  at  a  loss  to  understand  many  things  spoken  of  by 
Liang  A-fah,  but  his  expositions  of  the  events  and  doctrines 
occurring  in  them  were  deeply  pondered  and  accepted.  The 
Mosaic  account  of  creation  and  the  flood,  destruction  of  Sodom, 
sermon  on  the  Mount,  and  nature  of  the  final  judgment,  were 
given  in  them,  as  well  as  a  full  relation  of  Christ's  life  and 
death ;  and  these  prepared  the  neophytes  to  receive  the  Bible 
M'hen  they  got  it.  Jhit  the  same  desire  to  find  proof  of  his 
own  calling  led  Siu-tsuen  to  fix  on  fanciful  renderings  of  cer- 
tain texts,  and,  after  the  maimer  of  commentators  in  other  lands, 
to  extract  meanings  never  intended.  A  favorite  conceit,  among 
others,  was  to  assume  that  wherever  the  character  tsaen,  ^, 
meaning  '  whole,'  '  altogether,'  occurred  in  a  verse,  it  meant 
himself,  and  as  it  forms  a  part  of  the  Chinese  phrase  for  al- 
Qiilghtij,  he  thus  had  strong  reasons  (as  he  thought)  for  his 
course.  The  phrase  Tien  kwoh,  denoting  the  '  Kingdom  of 
Heaven  '  in  (Jhrisfs  preaching,  they  applied  to  China,  With 
such  preconceived  views  it  is  not  w^onderful  that  the  brethren 
were  all  able  to  fortify  themselves  in  their  opinions  by  the 
strongest  arguments.  All  those  discourses  in  the  series  relat- 
ing to  repentance,  faith,  and  man's  depravity  were  apparently 
entirely  overlooked  by  them. 

The  strange  notions,  unaffected  earnestness,  moral  conduct,  and 


HIS    C0:N  VERSION    AM)    EARLY    ADHERENTS.  587 

new  ideas  about  God  and  happiness  of  these  men  soon  began  to 
attract  people  to  them,  some  to  dispute  and  cavil,  others  to  ac- 
cept and  M'orship  M-ith  them.  Their  scholars,  one  and  all,  de- 
serted them  as  soon  as  the  Confucian  tablet  was  removed  from 
the  schoolroom,  and  they  were  left  penniless  and  unemployed, 
sometimes  subjected  to  beatings  and  obloc^uy  for  embracing  an 
outlandish  religion,  and  other  times  ridiculed  for  forsaking  their 
ancestral  halls.  The  nundjer  of  their  adherents  was  too  few  to 
detain  them  at  home,  and  in  May,  184-4,  Siu-tsuen,  Yun-shan, 
and  two  associates  resolved  to  visit  a  distant  relative  who  lived 
near  tlie  Miaotsz'  in  Kwangsi,  and  get  their  living  along  the 
road  by  peddling  ink-stones  and  pencils.  They  I'eached  the  ad- 
joining district,  Tsingj'uen,  where  they  preached  two  months 
and  baptized  several  persons ;  some  time  after  Hung  Jin  took 
a  school  there,  and  remained  several  yeai-s,  baptizing  o\'er  fifty 
converts.  Siu-tsuen  and  Yun-shan  came  to  the  confines  of  the 
Miaotsz'  in  Sinchau  f  u  in  three  months,  preaching  the  existence 
of  the  true  God  and  of  redemption  by  his  Son,  and  after  many 
vicissitudes  reached  their  relative's  house  in  Kwei  hien  among 
the  mountains.  Here  they  tarried  all  summer,  and  their  earnest 
zeal  in  spreading  the  doctrines  which  they  evidently  had  found 
so  cheering  to  their  own  hearts,  arrested  the  attention  of  these 
I'ude  mountaineers,  and  many  of  them  professed  their  faith  in 
Christ.  Siu-tsuen  returned  home  in  the  winter,  and  was  dis- 
appointed in  not  finding  his  colleague  Yun-shan  there  as  well 
as  the  other  two,  nor  could  he  give  any  account  of  his  course. 
It  appeared  afterward  that  Yun-shan  had  met  some  acquaint- 
ances on  his  road,  and  became  so  much  interested  in  preaching 
to  them  at  Thistle-mount  that  he  remained  there  two  years, 
teaching  school  and  gathering  churches. 

Siu-tsuen  continued  to  teach  and  preach  the  truth  as  he  had 
learned  it  from  the  books  in  his  hands.  In  1846  he  heard  of  I. 
J.  Roberts,  the  American  missionary,  living  at  Canton,  and  the 
next  spring  received  an  invitation  to  come  there  and  study.  He 
and  Hung  Jin  did  so ;  the  former  remained  with  Mr.  Roberts 
about  two  months,  giving  him  a  narrative  of  his  own  visions,  con- 
version, and  preaching,  at  the  same  time  learning  the  nature  and 
extent  of  foreign  mission  work  in  that  city.     He  made  a  visit 


688  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

home  v.ith  two  native  Christians,  who  iiacl  been  sent  to  llwa 
to  learn  more  about  him.  They  seem  to  have  obtained  good  re- 
j)orts  of  his  character;  but  otliei-s  in  Mr.  Iiol)erts'  employ  were 
afraid  of  his  intiuence  if  he  should  enter  their  church,  and 
tlierefore  intrigued  to  have  him  refused  admission  just  then. 
IMr.  Tl(A)erts  appears  to  have  acted  discreetly  accoi'ding  to  the 
light  he  had  respecting  the  applicant's  integrity,  and  would  no 
doubt  have  baptized  him  had  not  the  latter  soon  after  left 
Canton,  where  he  had  no  means  of  support.  At  this  time 
the  i^olitical  distui-bances  in  Kwangtung  seem  to  have  greatly 
influenced  Siu-tsuen's  course,  and  Mhen  he  reached  home  he 
made  a  second  visit  to  his  relative,  and  thence  went  to  Thistle- 
moimt  to  rejoin  Fung  Ynn-shan.  Hung  Jin  states  that  before 
this  date  he  had  expressed  disloyal  sentiments  against  the  Man- 
chus,  but  these  are  so  common  among  the  Cantonese  that  they 
attracted  no  notice.  On  secini;  Yun-shan  and  meeting  the  two 
thousand  converts  he  luid  gathered,  it  is  pretty  certain  that 
hopes  of  a  successful  resistance  must  have  revived  in  his  breast. 
A  woman  among  them  also  began  to  relate  some  visions  she 
had  seen  ten  years  before,  foretelling  the  advent  of  a  man  who 
should  teach  them  how  to  worship  God.  The  number  of  con- 
verts rapidly  increased  in  three  prefectures  adjacent  to  the 
liivcr  ^  uh  ill  the  eastern  part  of  Kwangsi,  and  no  serious  hin- 
drance was  met  with  from  the  officials,  though  there  were  not 
wanting  enemies,  by  one  of  whom  Yun  shan  was  accused  and 
tlien  thrown  into  prison.  However,  the  prefect  and  disti'ict 
magistrate  to  whom  the  case  was  i-efei-red,  fiiuling  no  sutlicient 
cause  for  punishment,  liberated  him;  though  the  new  sectai-ies 
liad  made  themselves  somewhat  obnoxious  to  the  idolaters  by 
their  iconoclasm  — so  hard  is  it  to  learn  patience  and  toleration 
in  any  country.  In  very  many  villages  in  that  region  the 
^-^Shaiigti  hwui^  or  '  Associations  for  woi'shipping  God,'  began  to 
be  recognized,  l)ut  they  do  not  seem  to  have  quoted  the  tolei-a- 
tion  edict  obtained  in  1844  in  favor  of  Christianity,  as  that  only 
spoke  of  the  Tun-ehu  kiao,  or  Catholics.  The  worship  of 
Shangti  is  a  peculiar  function  of  the  Emperoi-,  as  has  been  al- 
ready ex]>lained  ;  and  it  is  not  surpi-ising  to  1)C  told  by  Hung 
Jin  that  tlic  new  sect  was  reiiarded  as  ti'casonable. 


ORGANIZATION    OF   THE    SIIANGTI    IIWUI.  ^89 

111  1848  Sill  tsueii's  father  died  trusting  in  the  new  faith  and 
directing  that  no  Buddhist  services  be  lield  at  his  funeral ;  the 
whole  family  had  l)y  this  time  become  its  followers,  and  when 
the  son  and  Yun-shan  met  them  soon  after,  they  began  to  dis- 
cuss their  future.  The  believers  in  Kwangsi  were  left  to  take 
care  of  themselves  during  the  whole  winter,  and  appear  to  liavo 
gone  on  witli  their  usual  meetings  without  hindranceo  In  June, 
1849,  the  two  leaders  left  Uwa  for  Kwangsi,  assisted  by  tlio 
faitliful,  and  found  much  to  encourage  them  in  their  secret 
plans  in  the  general  unit}'  which  pervaded  the  association. 
Some  members  had  been  favored  with  visions,  others  had  be- 
come exhorters,  denouncing  those  who  behaved  contrary  to  tlio 
doctrines ;  others  essayed  to  cure  diseases.  Siu-tsuen  was  im. 
mediately  acknowledged  by  all  as  their  leader;  he  set  himself 
to  introduce  and  maintain  a  rigid  discipline,  forbade  the  use  of 
opium  and  spirits,  introduced  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath, 
and  regulated  the  worship  of  God.  No  hint  of  calling  in  the  aid 
of  a  foreign  teacher  to  direct  them  in  their  new  services  ap- 
pears to  have  been  suggested  by  any  member,  nor  even  of  send- 
ing to  Canton  to  engage  the  services  of  a  native  convert,  though 
Liang  A-fah  was  still  living  then.  The  whole  year  was  thus 
passed  at  Thistle-mount,  and  the  nucleus  of  the  future  force 
thoroughly  imbued  with  the  ideas  of  their  leader,  who  had,  by 
June,  1850,  gathered  around  him  his  own  relatives  and  chosen 
his  lieutenants.' 

The  existence  of  such  a  large  body  of  people,  acting  together 
under  the  orders  of  one  man,  whose  aspirations  and  teachings 
had  gradually  filled  their  minds  with  new  ideas,  could  not  re- 
main unnoticed  by  the  authorities.  The  governor-general  lived 
at  Canton,  and  received  his  information  through  local  magis- 
trates and  prefects,  whose  policy  was  rather  to  understate  the 
truth.  But  Sii  Kwang-tsin  felt  that  he  was  not  fitted  for  the 
coming  struggle.    His  place  was  therefore  filled  by  the  appoint- 

'  The  insurgents  cut  off  the  tail,  allowed  their  hair  to  grow,  and  decided  that 
all  who  joined  the  insurrectional  movement  should  leave  off  the  chinig  and 
the  Tartar  tunic,  and  should  wear  the  robe  open  in  the  front,  which  their  an- 
cestors had  worn  in  the  time  of  the  Mings. — Callerv  and  Yvan,  llixiory  of  the 
Jimarycctiou  in  China,  translated  by  John  Oxeuford,  p.  61.    London,  1853. 


590  THE   MIDDI-E    KIXGDOM. 

ment  of  Lin,  then  living  in  Fuhchau,  who  started  to  fulfil  his 
new  ehai'ge,  but  died  in  Octobei",  as  he  entered  the  province. 
Governor  Sii  Avas  obliged  to  leave  Canton  on  duty,  but  he  never 
met  the  enemy  nor  returned  to  his  post.  The  po})ulac'e  of  the 
city  made  themselves  merry  over  his  violent  conduct  toward  a 
poor  paper-image  maker  near  the  landing,  who  had  just  set  out 
to  di-y  some  effigies  dressed  in  high  ofiicial  costume,  each  one 
lacking  a  head.  Su  chose  to  regard  this  proceeding  as  an  in- 
tentional insult,  as  the  artisan  must  have  known  that  he  was  to 
pass  by  that  way,  and  ordered  him  to  be  bambooed  and  his  etti- 
gies  destroyed  to  neutralize  the  bad  omen.  The  Peking  govern- 
ment had  just  sent  three  Manchus  to  superintend  operations  in 
Kwangsi ;  their  predecessors,  Li  and  Chau,  with  the  provincial 
governor,  Clung,  were  all  degraded,  but  these  new  imperial 
officials  did  no  better,  nor  did  those  on  the  spot  expect  that 
they  would  succeed.  Tahungah  was  the  ruffian  who  had  exe- 
cuted one  hundred  and  eighty  British  prisoners  in  Formosa 
nine  years  before ;  and  Saishangah  was  the  prime  minister  of 
the  young  Emperor  llienfung,  as  worthless  as  he  was  depraved. 
Cruntai,  who  had  long  been  in  command  of  the  Manchu  garri- 
son at  Canton,  was  also  sent,  in  May,  1851,  to  check  the  grow- 
ing power  of  the  insurgents.  They  were  well  posted  in  Wu- 
siuen  hien,  near  the  junction  of  two  rivers,  and  this  chieftain 
naively  expresses  his  surprise  in  his  report  to  the  Emperor  that 
the  rebels  should  occupy  an  important  })Ost  which  he  had  just 
decided  to  fortify.  However,  his  official  rei)oit '  explains  the 
reasons  for  the  imperial  reverses  better  than  anything  wliich 
had  hitherto  appeared.  Corruption,  venality,  idleness,  opium- 
smoking,  and  peculation  had  made  the  whole  army  a  mass  of 
rottenness ;  no  one  can  wonder  that  the  Tai-pings  marched 
without  dan<»;er  throufrh  the  land  to  their  ij-oal  at  Xankiuii;. 

A  year  previous  to  this  date,  however,  the  conflict  had  been 
begun  by  the  followers  of  Siu-tsuen.  In  tlieir  zeal  against  idol- 
atry they  had  destroyed  tem])les  and  irritated  the  people,  which 
ei-e  long  aroused  a  S])irit  of  distrust  and  emnity ;  this  was  fur- 
ther increased  by  the  long-standing  feud  and   mutual  hatred 


*  Chinese  Reposikn'y,  Vol.  XX. ,  p.  493. 


COMMENCEMENT    OF   THE    IJEVOLT.  591 

between  the  j>un-iis  and  h<(kk-as  (natives  and  squatters)  wlileh 
j-an  through  society.  8iu-tsuen  and  his  chiefs  were  mostly  of 
the  latter  class,  and  whenever  villages  were  attacked  and  the 
hakkas  worsted,  they  moved  over  to  Thistle-mount  and  pro- 
fessed to  worship  Shangti  with  Siu-tsuen.  In  this  way  the 
whole  population  had  become  more  or  less  split  up  into  parties. 
When  a  body  of  imperial  soldiers  sent  to  artest  him  and  Yun- 
shan  were  driven  off,  they  availed  themselves  of  the  enthusiasm 
of  their  followers  to  gather  them  and  occupy  Lienchu,  a  lai-ge 
market-town  in  Kwei  hien.  This  proceeding  attracted  to  their 
banner  all  the  needy  and  discontented  spirits  in  that  region,  but 
their  own  partisans  were  now  able  to  regulate  and  employ  all 
who  came,  requiring  a  close  adherence  to  their  religious  tenets 
and  worship.  This  town  of  Lienchu  w^s  soon  fortified,  and  the 
order  of  a  camp  began  to  appear  among  its  possessors,  wdio, 
Iiowever,  spared  the  townspeople.  The  di'illing  of  the  force, 
now  increased  to  many  thousands,  commenced ;  its  vitality  was 
soon  tested  when  it  was  deemed  best  to  cross  the  river  and  ad- 
vance on  Taitsun  in  order  to  obtain  more  room.  The  imperial- 
ists were  hoodwinked  by  a  simple  device,  and  when  they  found 
their  enemy  had  marched  off,  their  attack  on  the  rear  was  re- 
pulsed with  much  loss.  Like  all  their  class,  they  turned  their 
wrath  on  the  peaceful  inhabitants  of  Lienchu,  killing  and  burn- 
ing till  almost  nothing  was  left.  This  needless  cruelty  recoiled 
on  themselves,  and  all  the  members  of  the  Shangti  /iwui,  loyal 
and  disaffected  alike,  felt  that  their  very  name  carried  sedition 
in  it,  and  they  must  join  Siu-tsuen's  standard  or  give  up  their 
faith.  lie  had  induced  some  recent  comers  belonging  to  the 
Triad  Society  to  put  their  money  into  the  military  chest  and 
to  submit  to  his  rules.  One  of  his  religious  teachers  had  been 
detected  embezzling  the  funds  while  on  their  way  to  the  com- 
missariat, but  the  public  trial  and  execution  of  the  man  had 
served  both  as  a  warning  and  an  encouragement  to  the  different 
classes  who  witnessed  the  affair.  Most  of  the  Triad  chiefs,  how- 
ever, were  afraid  of  such  discipline,  and  drew  off  to  the  imperial- 
ists with  the  greater  number  of  their  followers.  The  defection 
furnished  Siu-tsuen  an  opportunity  to  make  known  his  settled 
opposition  to  this  fraternity,  and  that  every  man  joining  bis 


59*2  TIIK    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

pai'ty  innst  leave  it.  At  this  time  the  discipline  and  good  order 
exhibited  in  the  eiieaiiipinent  at  Taitsiin  nnist  have  struck  the 
people  around  it  with  surprise  and  ailiniration,  if  the  meagre 
accounts  we  have  received  are  at  all  trustwoi-thy. 

About  one  jeai-  elapsed  between  the  contiict  near  Lienchu 
and  the  capture  of  Yung-ngaii  chau,  u  city  on  the  liiver  j\Iei  in 
Pingloh  pi'efecture.  During  this  period  Siu-tsuen  had  be- 
come more  and  more  possessed  with  the  idea  of  liis  divine  mis- 
sion from  the  Tieti-fu,  or  '  Heavenly  Father,'  as  God  was  now 
connnonly  called,  and  the  Tien-Jiiung,  or  '  Ileaveidy  Elder 
Brother,'  as  he  termed  Jesus  Christ.  He  began  to  seclude 
himself  from  the  gaze  of  his  followers,  and  deliver  to  them 
such  revelations  as  he  received  for  the  management  of  the  force 
committed  to  him  to  clear  the  land  of  all  idolatry  and  0})pres- 
sion,  and  cheer  the  hearts  of  those  pledged  to  the  gloiious 
cause.  This  course  was  destructive  of  all  those  peculiar  tenets 
which  Christianity  teaches,  and,  so  far  as  can  be  learned,  neither 
lie  nor  Yun-shan  any  longer  prominently  set  forth  the  doctrines 
of  salvation  by  repentance  and  faith  in  Christ,  as  they  had  done 
in  their  first  journey  among  the  INIiaotsz',  but  held  their  follow- 
ers together  by  fanaticism  and  the  hope  of  final  triumph.  In 
its  main  features,  his  course  was  copied  from  that  of  IMoses  and 
Aaron  when  they  withdrew  into  the  tal)ernacle,  and  it  was 
easy  to  impress  upon  his  ujiinstructed  followers  the  repetition 
in  his  person  of  the  same  mode  of  making  known  the  will  of 
Heaven.  An  adequate  reason  can  also  be  found  in  this  scheme 
why  he  never  called  in  the  aid  of  foreign  missionaries  to  teach 
his  followers  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Christ  Jesus,  knowing  full 
well  that  none  of  them  w^onld  lend  any  conntenance  to  such  de- 
lusion. As  early  as  April,  1849,  when  still  in  Kwei  hien,  he 
began  to  promulge  his  decrees  in  the  form  of  revelations  re- 
ceived from  the  Heavenly  Father  and  Elder  Hrothei-,  when  one 
or  the  other  came  down  into  the  world  to  tell  him  what  course 
lie  should  pursue.  In  March,  1853,  just  before  capturing  Nan- 
king, he  issued  a  book  of  "  Celestial  Decrees,"  containing  a 
series  of  these  revelations,  from  which  the  I'eal  nature  of  his 
character  can  be  learned.  Two  extracts  will  be  sufficient  to 
(piote : 


CHAKACTEU   OF    THE    TIEN-WANd's    ATJTHOKITY.         593 

The  Heavenly  Father  addressed  the  multitude,  saying,  O  my  children  !  Do 
you  know  your  Heavenly  Father  and  your  Celestial  Elder  Brother  ?  To  which 
they  all  replied,  We  know  our  Heavenly  Father  and  Celestial  Elder  Brother. 
The  Heavenly  Father  then  said,  Do  you  know  your  Lord,  and  truly  'i  To 
which  they  all  replied,  We  know  our  Lord  right  well.  The  Heavenly  Father 
said,  I  have  sent  your  Lord  down  into  the  world  to  l)ecome  the  Celestial  King 
(Tkn-icniuj)  ;  every  word  lie  litters  is  a  celestial  command  ;  you  must  be  obe- 
dient ;  you  must  truly  assist  your  Lord  and  regard  your  King  ;  you  must  not 
dare  to  act  disorderly,  nor  to  be  disrespectful.  If  you  do  not  regard  your  Lord 
and  King,  every  one  of  you  will  be  involved  in  difficulty. ' 

It  is  only  from  these  official  documents  that  we  can  learn  the 
real  political  and  religions  tenets  of  the  revolutionists  now  in- 
trenched at  Yung-ngan,  and  soon  to  burst  forth  in  fury  upon 
their  country.  It  was  in  vain  to  expect  gospel  ligs  from  such  a 
bramble  bush. 

Another  extract  exhibits  their  jugglery  still  more  clearly.  It 
is  dated  December  1),  1S51,  and  contains  the  proceedings  and 
sentence  in  the  case  of  Chan  Sih-nang,  mIio  had  been  detected 
holdins  intercourse  with  General  Saishan^ah  at  Taitsun.  Four 
of  the  kings  were  that  day  consulting  upon  some  weighty  mat- 
ters, when  suddenly  the  Heavenly  Father  came  down  among 
them  and  secretly  told  them  to  instantly  arrest  Chan  and  two 
others  and  bring  them  to  Yang,  the  Eastern  King,  while  he  re- 
turned to  heaven.  They  did  so,  and  reported  the  matter  to  the 
Tien-%vang,  but  none  of  them  had  any  evidence  to  proceed  upon. 
"  Happily,  how^ever,  the  Heavenly  Father  gave  himself  the 
trouble  to  appear  once  more,"  and  ordered  two  of  the  royal  cou- 
sins to  go  and  inform  the  several  princes  of  his  presence.  They 
all  attended  at  court  and  entreated  the  Ileavenlv  Kino;  to 
accompany  them.  Hereupon,  his  Majesty,  guarded  by  the 
princes  and  body-guards,  together  with  a  host  of  officials,  ad- 
vanced into  the  presence  of  the  Heavenly  Father.  They  all 
kneeled  down  and  asked,  "  Is  the  Heavenly  Father  come  down  ?  ■' 
He  replied,  addressing  the  Tien-wang,  "  Siu-tsuen,  I  am  going 
to  take  this  matter  in  hand  to-day  ;  a  mere  mortal  would  find 
it  a  hard  task.     One  Chan  has  been  holdins;  collusive  commu- 


'  This  decree  bears  the  date  April  19,  1851,  at  Tung-hiang,  a  village  nea< 
Wusiuen. 


594  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

iiication  with  the  enemy  yesterday,  and  has  returned  to  court, 
intending  to  carry  into  effect  a  very  serious  revolt.  Go  and 
bring  him  liere."  The  culprit  soon  came,  and  the  examination 
is  reported  in  full.  In  answer  to  tlie  question,  "  Who  is  it  that 
is  now  speaking  to  you  ? "  he  replied,  "  The  Heavenly  Father, 
the  Supreme  Lord  and  Great  God  (Shangti)  is  addressing  me." 
He  said  soon  after,  "  I  am  aware  that  the  Heavenly  Father  is 
omnipotent,  omniscient,  and  omnipresent/'  By  a  series  of 
questions  his  guilt  was  proved,  and  he  and  his  accomplices,  with 
his  wife  and  son,  were  all  put  to  death  as  a  warning  to  traitors, 
in  presence  of  a  large  concourse,  to  whom  they  confessed  the 
justice  of  their  fate. 

When  in  possession  of  Nanking,  Hung  Siu-tsuen  was  for- 
mally proclaimed  by  his  army  to  be  Emperor  of  China,  and  as- 
sumed the  style  and  insignia  of  royalty.  Five  leading  chiefs  were 
appointed  to  their  several  corps  as  South,  East,  West,  North, 
and  Assistant  Kings ;  Fung  Yun-shan  w'as  the  Southern  King. 
Who  among  them  were  the  efficient  disciplinarians  and  leading 
minds  in  carrying  on  their  plan  cannot  be  now  ascertained,  so 
complete  was  the  secrecy  which  enveloped  the  whole  movement 
from  first  to  last  as  to  the  personnel  of  the  force.  Dr.  Medhurst's 
translations  of  their  orders,  tenets,  laws,  revelations,  and  text- 
books furnish  the  most  authentic  sources  for  estimating  its 
character,  but  they  fail  to  describe  its  living  agents.  In  so 
large  an  army,  composed  of  the  most  heterogeneous  elements, 
it  cannot  be  expected  that  there  would  be  at  any  time  nnicli 
knowledge  of  the  sacred  Scriptures,  on  which  its  leaders  based 
their  assumed  powers  derived  from  the  '  Heavenly  Father  and 
Elder  Brother ; '  but  there  certainly  was  a  remarkable  degree 
of  sobriety  and  discipline  among  them  during  the  first  few 
years  of  their  existence.  A  most  perplexing  question,  which 
increased  in  its  urgency  and  difficulty  as  soon  as  opposition 
drove  the  rebel  general  to  intrench  himself  at  Liencliu,  was 
temporarily  arranged  by  forming  a  separate  cMcaiu])inent  for 
the  women,  and  placing  over  them  officers  of  their  own  sex  to 
see  that  discipline  was  maintained.  In  doing  this  he  allowed 
the  married  people  as  great  facilities  for  the  care  of  their  chil- 
dren  as  was  possible   under  the  conditions  of  army  life;  but 


THE   REBEL   ADVANCE   TO   THE   YANGTSZ\  505 

diiriu*^  their  progress  through  the  land  in  1852  and  1853,  much 
suffering  must  have  been  endured. 

In  1852  the  state  and  size  of  the  army  in  Yung-ngan  fully 
authorized  the  leaders  of  the  I'evolt  to  march  northward.  Sev- 
eral engagements  had  given  their  men  confidence  in  each  other 
as  thev  saw  the  imperialists  put  to  flight ;  defeats  had  further- 
more shown  that  their  persevering  enemy  entertained  no  idea 
of  sparing  even  one  of  them  if  captured.  The  want  of  provi- 
sions durino-  their  fiv^e  months'  sieo;e  within  its  walls  further 
trained  them  to  a  certain  degree  of  patient  endurance ;  when, 
therefore,  they  broke  through  the  besieging  force  in  three  di- 
visions on  the  night  of  April  T,  1852,  they  were  animated  by 
success  and  hope  to  possess  themselves  of  the  Empire.  March- 
ing north  they  now  attacked  Kweilin,  the  provincial  capital, 
May  15tli,  but  having  no  cannon  fit  to  besiege  a  walled  city  of 
that  size,  crossed  the  border  and  captured  Tau  in  Hunan,  which 
gave  them  access  to  the  Iliver  Siang  and  means  of  transporta- 
tion. Their  course  was  thenceforth  an  easy  conquest  of  the 
towns  along  its  valley.  Kweiyang  chau,  Chin  chau,  Tunghing, 
ISTganjin,  and  others  were  taken  and  evacuated,  one  after  the 
other,  until  they  reached  the  capital  of  this  province,  September 
18th.  Chano-sha  and  Siangtan  together  form  one  immense  city, 
and  its  defenders  fully  understood  their  peril,  and  the  prob- 
ability of  entire  destruction  if  they  allowed  it  to  be  captured. 
For  eighty  days  the  Tai-pings  exerted  themselves  in  vain  to 
obtain  possession,  losing,  however,  very  few  men,  and  doing  no 
great  harm  to  their  enemy,  who  kept  beyond  reach.  December 
1st  they  raised  the  siege,  and  by  the  13tli  reached  Yohchau  on 
the  Yangtsz ',  which  was  taken  without  a  struggle.  Ten  days 
after,  replenished  and  encouraged  by  the  spoil  found  in  Yoh- 
chau, they  occupied  Hanyang  and  Wuchang,  the  capital  of 
Ilupeli  province,  lying  on  the  other  side  of  the  river.  Its  gar- 
rison was  unable  to  escape,  and  many  eoldiers  were  destroyed. 
Hwangchau  and  Kiukiang,  two  prefect  cities  lower  down,  were 
captured  January  12th  and  February  18th,  while  Nganking, 
the  capital  of  i^ganhwui,  fell  a  week  later.  Nothing  seemed 
able  to  resist  the  advance  of  the  insurgents,  and  on  March 
8th  they  encamped  before   Nanking.      It  was   garrisoned   by 


596  THE    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

Mancbus  and  Chinese,  who,  however,  made  no  better  defence 
than  their  comrades  in  otlier  cities  ;  in  ten  days  its  walls  were 
breached,  and  all  the  defenders  found  iii>i(lc  put  to  death,  in- 
cluding Luh,  the  governor-general  of  the  pi\)vince.  Chiidciang 
and  Yangchau  soon  were  dragged  to  the  same  fate,  thus  depriv- 
ing the  imperialists  of  their  control  of  the  (irand  Canal. 

This  I'apid  progress  through  the  land  since  leaving  Yung-ngan 
eleven  months  previously  had  spread  consternation  among  the 
demoralized  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  Emperor,  mIio,  on  his 
part,  Avas  as  weak  and  ignorant  as  any  of  his  subordinates. 
The  march  of  the  insurgents  showed  the  ntter  hollowness  of 
the  imperial  troops,  the  incapacity  of  their  most  trusted  leaders, 
and  the  little  interest  taken  by  the  great  body  of  the  nation  in 
the  conflict.  Many  causes  which  might  adequately  c.\}»lain 
this  extraordinary  success  cannot  now  be  ascertained,  but  a 
national  dislike  of  the  Mancbus  on  the  part  of  the  Chinese  lay 
at  the  bottom  of  their  coldness.  They  felt,  too,  that  a  gov- 
ernment wdiich  could  not  protect  them  against  a  few  thousand 
foreign  troops  might  as  well  give  place  to  a  native  one.  The 
insurgents  had  perhaps  not  more  than  ten  thousand  adherents, 
including  women  and  children,  when  they  left  Yung-ngan ; ' 
but  these  went  forth  in  the  full  conviction  of  the  heavenly 
connnission  of  their  leader  to  destroy  idolatry,  set  up  the  wor- 
ship of  the  true  God,  and  inaugurate  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
hi  the  person  of  the  "Heavenly  King."'  The  term  SJuDujti 
was  known  by  every  schoolboy  to  be  the  name  of  the  God  wor- 
shipped at  Peking  by  the  Emperor  in  his  right  as  Son  of  Heaven, 
and  the  successor  of  the  ancient  sovereigns  mentioned  in  the 
Ska  King ,'  accordingly,  Avhen  the  insurgents  set  up  the  wor- 
ship of  the  true  God  as  they  had  been  able  to  learn  it  from 
Gutzlaff's  revised  version  of  the  Bible,  their  countrymen  im- 
mediately recognized  the  challenge.  It  was  an  attack  on  the 
religious  as  well  as  political  position  of  Taukwang;  whoever 
maintained  his  side  in  the  gage  of  battle,  with  him  were  un- 
doubtedly the  powers  above.     The  progress  of  the  new  banner 

'  Though  one  of  their  officers  told  Mr.  Meadows,  at  Nanking,  that  the  force 
was  about  three  tliousand. 


SOUIICKS    OI-     rilKHl    STKENGTir.  597 

from  Yuiig-ngan  to  banking  was  like  tliat  of  a  fiery  cross,  and 
the  sufferings  of  the  people,  except  in  a  few  lai'ge  cities,  were 
really  more  owing  to  the  savage  itnperialists  than  to  the  Tai- 
pings.  The  latter  grew  in  strength  as  they  advanced,  owing 
to  indiscriminate  slaughter  on  the  part  of  their  enemies  of 
unoffending  natives,  and  at  last  reached  their  goal  with  not 
much  less  than  eighty  thousand  men. 

Their  position  was  now  accessible  to  foreigners — who  had 
been  watching  their  rise  and  progress  under  great  disadvantages 
in  arriving  at  the  truth — and  they  were  soon  visited  by  them 
in  steamers.  The  first  to  do  so  was  Governor  Bonham  in 
II.  M.  S.  Ilermes,  accompanied  by  T.  T.  Meadows,  one  of  the 
most  competent  linguists  in  China,  who  published  the  result  of 
liis  inquii-ies.  The  visitors  were  at  first  received  with  incre- 
didity,  but  this  soon  gave  way  to  eager  curiosity  to  learn  the  real 
nature  of  their  religious  views  and  practices.  The  insurgents 
themselves  were  even  inore  ignorant  of  foreigners  than  were 
these  of  the  rebels,  so  that  the  interest  could  not  fail  to  be  re- 
ciprocal, nor  could  either  party  desire  to  come  into  collision 
W'ith  the  other. 

About  two  months  after  the  cities  of  Xanking,  Chinkiang, 
and  Yangchau  had  been  taken,  garrisoned,  and  put  in  a  state 
of  defence  by  their  inhabitants,  working  under  the  direction  of 
Tai-ping  officers,  the  leaders  felt  so  much  confidence  in  tlieir 
cause,  their  troops,  and  their  ability,  that  they  despatched  a 
division  to  capture  Peking.  Xo  particulars  of  its  size  or  com- 
position are  given,  but  its  course  and  achievements  are  recorded 
in  the  Peking  Gazette.  The  force  landed  not  far  from  Kwa- 
cliau,  M'here  it  defeated  a  body  of  Manchus,  and  then  proceeded 
to  Liuho  and  Fungyang  fu  without  finding  serious  opposition. 
Crossing  the  province  of  Xganhwui,  they  entered  that  of  Ho- 
nan,  and  in  one  month  from  landing  the  troops  laid  siege  to  Kai- 
fung,  the  provincial  capital,  June  19th.  Three  days  later  they 
were  repulsed,  and  their  leaders  crossed  the  Yellow  River  to 
Hwaiking  fu,  about  a  hundred  miles  west  of  Kaifung.  For 
two  months  they  were  baffled  by  an  unusual  resistance  on  the 
part  of  the  imperialists,  and  M-ere  compelled  to  leave  it  and  go 
west  into  Shansi,  where  they  took  Pingyang  fu  and  flanked  the 


598  Tin-:  middle  kingdom. 

enemy  by  turning  east  and  nurtli-east  till  tliey  crossed  the  Liiu 
niing  pass  and  got  into  Chihli.  It  was  their  design  to  have 
gone  down  the  liiver  "Wei  to  Lintsing  chau  on  the  Grand 
Canal,  but  they  were  compelled  to  make  a  detour  of  some 
hundreds  of  miles  to  reacli  this  last  place.  In  doing  so 
they  ascended  the  steep  defiles  leading  from  the  basin  of  the 
Yellow  lliver  to  the  plateau  in  South  Shansi.  This  march 
was  accomplished  in  the  month  of  September,  and  on  October 
9th  the  prefect  city  of  Shinchau  in  Chihlf,  only  two  hundred 
miles  from  Peking,  was  taken.  Their  army  remained  at  Shin- 
chau for  a  fortnight,  when  they  marched  across  the  plain  north- 
easterly to  Tsinghai  hien,  on  the  Grand  Canal.  Here  they 
intrenched  themselves  on  October  2Sth,  but  twenty  miles  south 
of  Tientsin.  A  detachment  sent  to  attack  that  city  was  re- 
pulsed, and  the  whole  body  were  blockaded  on  Xovember  3d  by 
the  Manchu  force,  wliicli  had  followed  it  from  Ilwaiking,  and 
other  corps  ordered  from  the  north  to  intercept  its  progress 
toward  the  capital.  In  six  months  this  insurgent  force  had 
traversed  four  provinces,  taken  twenty-six  cities,  subsisted  them- 
selves on  the  enemy,  and  defeated  every  body  of  impei'ialists 
sent  against  thenio  The  men  who  performed  this  remarkable 
march  of  fully  one  thousand  five  hundred  miles  in  the  face  of 
such  odds,  would  have  accomplished  even  greater  deeds  under 
better  training.  Considering  all  things,  it  is  quite  equal  to 
General  Sherman's  march  to  the  sea  in  1861: ;  yet  so  little  is 
known  of  the  details  of  this  feat,  that  we  are  not  even  cei'tain 
of  its  leader's  name — whether  Lin  Fung-tsiang,  spoken  of  by 
the  Gazette  as  a  '  Pretended  Minister,'  or  some  other  general, 
was  in  command. 

.  It  is  rather  hard  to  understand  why  the  Tai-pings  intrenched 
themselves  so  near  to  Tientsin,  but  the  officials  of  that  city,  in 
1858,  ascribed  it  to  the  fact  that  water  covered  the  plain,  pre- 
venting all  operations  against  the  town.  Perhaps  their  want 
of  siege  guns,  and  the  cavalry  now  brought  from  Mongolia,  de- 
cided the  leaders  to  intrench  themselves  at  Tsinghai  and  send 
to  Nanking  for  reinforcements.  The  Tai-ping  Wang  immedi- 
ately despatched  an  auxiliary  force,  which  also  crossed  Kgan- 
liwui  to  Funghien  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Yellow  lliver ;  this 


THE   EXPEDITION   AGAINST   PEKING.  599 

place  was  captured  March  IT,  1854,  "after  taking  city  after 
city,"  as  the  Emperor  llieiif ung  expressed  it.  The  ice  was  gone 
when  the  army  reached  Liiitsiiig  cliau,  April  12th,  and  that 
city  was  taken  by  a  tierce  assault  against  the  combined  resist- 
ance of  its  garrison  and  the  imperialists  outside,  after  the  in- 
sur'-'ciit  auxiliary  was  attacked  in  force.  The  other  body  had 
left  Tsinghai  in  February,  starved  out  rather  than  driven  away, 
and  gone  to  the  district  town  of  Ilien,  which  they  left  March 
KUh  for  Fauching,  and  probably  rejoined  their  comrades  some- 
where between  that  and  Lintsing.  They  were  about  a  hundred 
miles  apart,  and  the  intervening  region  was  no  doubt  forcibly 
drained  of  its  supplies.  This  joint  army  remained  in  possession 
of  their  depots  as  long  as  they  saw  lit,  and  ti-eated  the  inhabi- 
tants reasonably  well,  among  whom  there  were  no  Manchus, 
The  inability  to  understand  each  other  s  speech  kept  the  people 
of  this  district  from  mixing  with  the  southerners,  and,  combined 
with  the  impossibility  of  keeping  open  the  road  to  Nanking, 
decided  the  Tai-pings  to  return.  This  they  did  in  March,  1855, 
by  re-entering  IS^ganhwui  and  rejoining  the  main  body  where- 
ever  ordered  ;  but  no  details  are  known  of  their  movements  for 
nearly  a  year  before  that  date.  Peking  and  the  Great  Pure 
dynasty  were  saved,  however ;  while  the  failure  of  Hung  Siu- 
tsuen  to  risk  all  on  such  an  enterprise  proved  his  ignorance  of 
the  real  point  of  this  contest.  lie  never  was  able  to  undertake 
a  second  campaign,  and  his  followers  soon  degenerated  into 
banditti. 

The  possession  of  Nanking,  Chinkiang,  and  Kwachau,  with 
the  large  flotilla  along  the  Yangtsz'  River  west  to  Ichang  in 
Hupeh,  a  distance  of  over  six  hundred  miles,  had  entirely  sun- 
dered the  Emperor's  authority  over  the  seven  south-eastern  prov- 
inces. The  country  on  each  side  for  fifty  or  one  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  was  visited  by  the  insurgents'  troops  merely  for  sup- 
plies. Their  boats  penetrated  to  Nanchang  in  Kiangsi,  went 
up  the  Piver  Siang  even  beyond  Changsha  in  Ilunan,  ravaged 
one  town  after  another  in  quest  of  provisions  and  reinforce- 
ments, which  were  either  taken  to  Nanking  or  used  to  support 
the  crews  ;  but  nowhere  did  the  leaders  set  up  anything  like  a 
government,  nowhere  did  they  secure  those  who  submitted  or 


coo  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

pursued  their  avocations  quietly  any  protection  against  imperi- 
alist or  other  foes.  As  a  revohition  involving  a  reoi-ganizatioTi 
of  the  Chinese  nation  on  C'liristian  principles,  and  a  well-defined 
assertion  of  the  rights  and  duties  of  rulers  and  subjects,  it  had 
failed  entirely  within  a  year  after  the  possession  of  Kanking. 
There  Avas  no  hope  that  any  of  the  leaders  in  the  niovement 
would  develop  the  ability  to  initiate  the  establishment  of  a  con- 
sistent and  suitable  control,  since  not  one  of  them  was  endowed 
either  with  the  expei'ience  necessaiy  to  introduce  provisional 
government  over  concpiei'ed  communities,  or  with  that  tact  cal- 
culated to  impress  their  inhabitants  with  enduring  confidence 
in  them.  All  their  prisoners  were  compelled  to  work  or  fight 
in  their  service,  and  were  willing  to  earn  their  food  and  clothes  ; 
while  in  obeying  snch  orders,  and  going  through  such  religious 
ceremonies  as  were  told  them,  tliey  of  course  had  not  much  to 
complain  of  ;  but  this  conduct  did  not  imply  hatred  of  the 
mandarins  or  an  abjuiation  of  Buddhism. 

During  the  three  years  after  JS'anking  had  V)een  occupied, 
the  people  in  the  Vangtsz*  valley  had  suffered  much  from  the 
conflict.  Both  armies  lived  on  the  land,  and  tlu;  danger  of  re- 
sisting the  demands  for  food,  clothes,  and  animals  was  nearly 
equalled  by  that  of  j(,)ining  the  contending  forces  ;  in  eitlier 
case  beggary  or  loss  of  life  was  sure  to  be  the  end.  As  an  in- 
stance of  by  no  means  unexamjilcd  suffering,  the  populous  mart 
of  Hankow  and  its  environs  was  taken  by  assault  six  different 
times  during  the  thirty  months  ending  in  May,  1855,  and  finally 
was  left  literally  a  heap  of  ruins.  In  country  places  the  im- 
perialists were,  of  the  two  parties,  perhaps  the  more  tei-rible 
scourge,  but  as  the  region  became  impoverished  each  side  vied 
with  the  other  in  exhausting  the  people.  The  Tai-])ings  were 
gradually  circumscribed  to  the  region  around  Kaiiking  and 
Nganking  by  the  slow  approaches  of  the  government  troops, 
and  in  1800  seemed  to  be  near  their  end.  The  interest  which 
liad  been  aroused  at  Shanghai  in  1853,  upon  hearing  of  their 
Christian  tenets  and  organization,  had  been  satisfied  in  the  va- 
rious visits  of  foreign  functioiuiries  to  Xanking,  the  intei'coursc 
with  the  leaders  and  men,  perusal  of  their  books,  and  observa- 
tion of  their  policy. 


FAILURE   OF   THE   ENTERPRISE.  601 

One  inherent  defect  in  the  enterprise,  wlien  viewed  in  its 
political  bearing,  ere  long  showed  itself.  Nothing  could  induce 
Iluiii":  Siu-tsuen  to  lead  his  men  to  the  north  and  risk  all 
ill  an  attack  on  Peking.  His  own  conviction  of  his  divine  mis- 
sion had  been  most  cordially  received  by  his  generals  and  the 
entire  b(xly  of  followers  which  left  Yung-ngan  in  1852;  but 
their  faith  was  not  accepted  by  the  enormous  additit>ns  made  to 
the  Tai-pings  as  they  advanced  to  Nanking,  and  gradually  the 
original  force  became  so  diluted  that  it  was  inade<juate  to  re- 
strain and  inspirit  their  auxiliaries.  Moreover,  the  Tien-wang 
had  never  seriously  worked  out  any  conception  of  the  radical 
changes  in  his  system  of  government,  which  it  would  be  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  inaugurate  under  a  Christian  code  of  laws. 
Having  had  no  knowledge  of  any  western  kingdom,  he  probably 
regarded  them  all  as  conformed  to  the  rules  and  examples  given 
in  the  Bible  ;  perhaps,  too,  he  trusted  that  the  "  Heavenly  Father 
and  Elder  Brother  "  would  reveal  the  proper  course  of  action 
when  the  time  came.  The  great  body  of  literati  would  natur- 
ally be  indisposed  to  even  examine  the  claims  of  a  western 
religion  which  placed  Shangti  above  all  other  gods,  and  allowed 
no  images  in  worship,  no  ritual  in  temples,  and  no  adoration  to 
ancestors,  to  Confucius,  or  to  the  heavenly  bodies.  But  if  this 
patriotic  call  to  throw  off  the  Manchu  yoke  had  been  fortified 
by  a  well-devised  system  of  public  examinations  for  office — 
modified  to  suit  the  new  order  of  things  by  introducing  more 
practical  subjects  than  those  found  in  the  classics — and  had  been 
put  into  practice,  it  is  hard  to  suppose  that  the  intellectual 
classes  would  not  gradually  have  ranged  themselves  on  the  side 
of  this  rising  power.  The  unnecessary  cruelty  and  slaughter 
practised  toward  the  Manchu  garrisons  and  troops  carried  more 
dread  into  the  hearts  of  the  population  than  stimulus  to  co-oper- 
ate with  such  ruthless  revolutionists.  The  latter  had  weakened 
their  prospects  by  destroying  confidence  in  their  moderation, 
justice,  and  ability  to  carry  out  their  aim  to  establish  a  new 
sway.  There  was  a  large  foundation  of  national  aspirations  and 
real  dislike  to  the  present  dynasty,  on  which  the  Tien-wang  could 
have  safely  reckoned  for  hel])  and  sympathy.  But  he  was  far 
from  equal  to  the  exigency  of  his  opportunity.     The  doubts  of 


602  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

liis  countrynien  as  to  liis  coiiipeteney  were  proved  bv  the  ^iitis- 
faction  and  relief  felt  when  his  uioveineiit  collapsed. 

AVheii  the  remnants  of  tlie  two  corps  which  returned  from 
the  north  in  1855  were  incorporated  into  the  foi-ces  holding  the 
Grand  Canal  and  the  Liang  Kiang  province,  their  outposts 
hardly  extended  along  the  Great  Eiver  beyond  Chinkiang  on 
the  east  and  Xganking  on  the  west.  In  that  year  dissensions 
sprung  up  among  the  leaders  themselves  inside  of  Nanking, 
which  ended  in  the  execution  of  Yang,  the  Eastern  King,  the  next 
year ;  a  tierce  struggle  maintained  by  Wei,  the  Northern  King, 
on  behalf  of  the  Tien-wang,  upheld  his  supremacy,  but  at  a  loss 
of  his  best  general.  Another  man  of  note,  Shih  Ta-kai,  the 
Assistant  King,  losing  faith  in  the  whole  undertaking,  managed 
to  withdraw  with  a  large  following  westward,  and  reached 
Sz'chuen.  The  early  friend  of  Ilung  Siu-tsuen,  Fung  Yun- 
shan,  known  as  the  Southern  King,  disappeared  about  the  same 
time.  Humors  of  these  conflicts  reached  Shanghai  in  such 
a  contradictory  form  that  it  was  impossible  to  learn  all  their 
causes. 

(3ne  source  of  sti'ife  arose  by  Yang  assuming  to  be  the  Holy 
Ghost.  Ileceiving  communications  from  the  Heavenly  Father 
and  Elder  Brother,  he  thus  placed  himself  above  the  Tien-wang, 
and,  it  is  said  by  Wilson,'  "  required  him  to  humble  himself  and 
receive  foi-ty  lashes"  for  some  misdemeanors  complained  of  by 
the  Comforter.  The  notices  of  this  man  which  have  reached 
us  show  that  he  early  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  movement, 
and  perhaps  manipulated  ''descents  of  the  Heavenly  Father," 
like  the  one  referred  to  above  as  mentioned  in  the  "  Book  of 
Declarations  "  in  the  case  of  Chan  Sih-nang."  Many  proclama- 
tions were  issued  in  his  name  (»n  the  progress  to  Naidving,  which 
set  forth  the  principles  under  whicli  the  Heavenly  Dynasty  were 
trying  to  conquer.  Incentives  addressed  to  the  patriotic  feel- 
ings of  the  Chinese  were  mixed  up  with  their  obligations  to  wor- 
ship Shangti,  now  made  known  to  them  as  the  Great  God,  our 
Heavenly  Father,  and  security  promised  to  all  who  submitted. 

'  Tfie,  **  ?Jrer-Vict<>rums  Army,''^  Lt.-Col.   Gordon's  Chinrxr  Citmpaiqn,  p.  43. 
'.T.  Milton  Mackie,  Life  of  Tni-pinfi-Wang,  Chief  of  the  Chinese  Insurrection^ 
Chap.  XXXIV.,  New  York,  1857. 


DISSENSIONS   AMONG   THE   TAI-PING   LEADERS.         603 

In  one  sent  forth  by  liini  when  nearing  Nanking,  he  thus  sum- 
marizes the  rules  wliich  guided  the  Tai-pings : 

I,  the  General,  in  obedience  to  the  royal  commands,  have  put  in  motion  the 
troops  for  the  punishment  of  the  oppressor,  and  in  everyplace  towliich  I  have 
come  the  enemy,  at  the  first  report,  have  dispersed  like  scattered  rubbish.  As 
soon  as  a  city  has  been  captured,  I  have  put  to  death  the  rapacious  mandarins 
and  corrupt  magistrates  therein,  but  have  not  injured  a  single  individual  of  the 
people,  so  that  all  of  you  may  take  care  of  your  families  and  attend  to  your 
business  without  alarm  and  trei^idation.  I  have  heard,  however,  that  numbers 
©r  lawless  vagabonds  are  in  the  villages,  who  previous  to  the  arrival  of  our 
troops  take  advantage  of  the  disturbed  state  of  the  country  to  defile  mens' 
wives  and  daughters,  and  burner  plunder  the  property  of  honest  people.  .  .  . 
I  have  therefore  especially  sent  a  great  officer,  named  Yiien,  with  some  hi^n- 
dreds  of  soldiers,  to  go  through  the  villages,  and  as  soon  as  he  finds  these  vaga- 
bonds he  is  commissioned  forthwith  to  decapitate  them  ;  while  if  the  honest 
inhabitants  stick  up  the  word  shun  ['  obedient  'J  over  their  doors,  they  will  have 
nothing  to  fear. ' 

Such  manifestoes  coukl  not  reassure  the  timid  population  of 
the  valley  of  the  Yangtsz',  and  the  carnage  of  the  unresisting 
JVLanchus  inXanking,  Chinkiang,  and  elsewhere  indicated  a  ruth- 
less license  among  the  followers  of  the  Tien-wang,  which  made 
them  feel  that  their  success  carried  with  it  no  promise  of  melio- 
ration. In  addition,  as  the  vast  spoil  ol)tained  from  these  cities 
and  towns  up  to  1S50  was  consumed,  the  outlook  of  the  rebels 
was  most  discouraging.  Among  their  forces,  the  disheartened, 
the  sick,  and  the  wounded,  with  the  captived  and  desperate,  soon 
died,  deserted,  or  skulked,  and  their  places  Avere  filled  by  forced 
levies.  Under  these  circumstances  the  dissensions  within  the 
court  at  Xanking  imperilled  the  whole  cause,  and  showed  the 
incapacity  of  its  leaders  in  face  of  their  great  aim.  Yang  had 
sunk  into  a  sensual,  unscrupulous  faction  leader  who  could  no 
longer  he  endured  ;  by  October,  1856,  he  and  all  his  adherents, 
to  the  number  of  twenty  thousand,  were  utterly  cut  off  by  Wei. 
But  this  latter  king  speedily  met  with  a  like  fate.  Shih,  the 
Assistant  King,  was  at  this  time  in  the  province  of  Kiangsi.  It 
had  become  a  life  struggle  with  Siu-tsuen,  and  his  removal  of  the 
four  kings  resulted  in  leaving  him  without  any  real  military 
chief  on  whose  loyalty  he  could  depend.     The  rumors  which 

'Lindley,  Tai-ping  Tien-kwoh,  \ol.  I.,  p.  94. 


604  THK    .MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

reached  Shanghai  in  1856  of  the  fierce  conflict  in  the  city  were 
prohahlv  exaggerated  hy  the  desire  prevalent  in  that  region  that 
the  parties  would  go  on,  like  the  Midianites  in  Gideon's  time, 
beatinir  down  each  other  till  thev  ended  the  matter. 

The  success  of  the  Tai-pings  had  encouraged  discontented 
leaders  in  other  parts  of  China  to  set  up  their  standards  of  revolt. 
The  progress  of  Shih  Ta-kai  in  Sz'chuen  and  Kweichau  engaged 
the  utmost  efforts  of  the  provincial  rulers  to  restore  peace.  In 
Kwangtung  a  powerful  band  invested  the  city,  but  the  opera- 
tions of  Governor  Yeh,  after  the  departure  of  Sii  Kwang-tsun 
in  185i,  were  well  supported  by  the  gentry.  By  the  middle  of 
1855  the  rising  was  quenched  in  blood.  The  destruction  of 
Fatshan,  Shauking,  and  other  large  towns,  had  shown  that  the 
sole  object  of  the  rebels  was  plunder,  though  it  was  thought  at 
first  that  they  were  Tai-pings.  The  executions  in  Canton  during 
fourteen  months  np  to  August,  1856,  were  nearly  a  hundred 
thousand  men  ;  but  the  loss  of  life  on  both  sides  must  be  reckoned 
by  millions.  A  band  of  Cantonese  desperadoes  seized  the 
city  of  Shanghai  in  September,  1853,  killing  the  district 
magistrate  and  some  other  officials.  They  retained  possession 
till  the  Chinese  New  Year,  January  27,  1854,  leaving  the  city 
amid  flames  and  carnage,  when  many  of  the  leaders  escaped  in 
foreign  vessels.'  None  of  these  men  were  affiliated  with  the 
Tai-pings. 

Jn  Formosa  and  Hainan,  as  well  as  in  Yunnan  and  Kansuh, 
the  provincial  authorities  had  hard  work  with  their  local  contin- 
gents to  maintain  the  Empei'or's  authority.  This  wretched 
})rince  was  himself  fast  bound  under  the  sway  of  Suhshun  and 
his  miserable  coterie,  devising  moans  to  rej>lcnish  his  coffers  by 
issuing  iron  and  paper  money,  and  proposing  counters  cut  out  of 
jade  stone  to  take  the  place  of  bullion.  The  national  history, 
however,  had  many  notices  of  precisely  such  disastrous  epochs 
in  former  times,  and  the  nation's  faith  in  itself  was  not  really 
weakened. 

By  1857  the  imperialists  had  begun  to  draw  close  lines  about 


'No  foreigners  here  or  elsewhere  in  China  were  injured  designedly  during 
all  this  insurrection. 


THE   REBEL   SORTIE   FROM   NANKING.  605 

the  rebels,  when  they  wei'e  nearly  restricted  to  the  i-iver  banks 
between  Nganking  and  Xanking,  both  of  wliich  cities  were 
blockaded.  Two  years  later  the  insurgent  capital  was  belea- 
guered, but  in  its  siege  the  loyalists  trusted  almost  wholly  to 
the  effects  of  want  and  disease,  which  at  last  reached  such  an 
extreme  degree  (up  to  18G0)  that  it  was  said  human  flesh  was 
sold  on  the  butchers'  stalls  of  Xanking.  Their  ammunition  was 
nearly  expended,  their  numbers  were  reduced,  and  their  men 
apparently  desirous  to  disperse ;  but  the  indomitable  spirit  of  the 
leader  never  quailed.  He  had  appointed  eleven  other  (('(okj,  or  gen- 
erals, called  Chung  TFan^  (' Loyal  King 'j,  Ylng  Wang  ('Heroic 
King'),  Kan  TH/vi^  (' Shield  King'),  Ting  Wang  ('Listening 
King '),  etc.,  whose  abilities  were  cpiite  equal  to  the  old  ones. 
As  the  siege  progressed  events  assumed  daily  a  more  threaten- 
ing aspect.  Chang  Kwo-liang  and  Ilo  Chun,  two  imperialist  gen- 
erals, invested  the  city  more  and  more  closely,  driving  the  insur- 
gents to  extremity  in  every  direction.  The  efforts  of  these  men 
were,  however,  not  aggressive  in  conseqnence  of  the  war  then 
waging  with  the  British  and  French  on  the  Pei  ho.  This  encour- 
aged the  beleaguered  garrison  to  a  desperate  effort  to  free  them- 
selves, and  on  May  G,  18G0,  a  well-concerted  attack  on  the 
armies  which  had  for  years  been  intrenched  behind  outworks 
about  the  city  scattered  them  in  utter  disorder.  A  small  body 
of  Tai-pings  managed  to  get  out  toward  the  north  of  Kiangsu, 
near  the  Yellow  Kiver.  Another  body  had  already  (in  March) 
carried  Hangchau  by  assault  by  springing  a  mine  ;  as  many  as 
seventy  thousand  inhabitants,  including  the  Manchu  garrison, 
perished  here  during  the  week  the  city  remained  in  possession  of 
the  rebels.  On  their  return  to  Nanking  the  joint  force  carried 
all  before  it,  and  the  needed  guns  and  annnunition  fell  into 
tlieir  hands.  The  loyalist  soldiers  also  turned  against  their  old 
officers,  but  the  larger  part  had  been  killed  or  dispei'sed.  Chin- 
kiang  and  Changchau  were  captured,  and  Ilo  Kwei-tsing,  the 
governor-general,  fled  in  the  most  dastardly  manner  to  Suchaii, 
without  an  effort  to  retrieve  his  overthrow.  Some  resistance 
was  made  at  Wnsih  on  the  Grand  Canal,  but  Ilo  Chnn  was  so 
paralyzed  by  the  onslaught  that  he  killed  himself,  and  Sucliau 
fell  into  the  hands  of  Chung  Wang  with  no  resistance  whatever. 


606  Till':   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

It  was,  nevertheless,  burned  and  pillaged  by  tlie  cowardly  im 
perialists  before  they  left  it,  Ho  Kwei-tsiug  setting  the  large 
suburbs  on  tire  to  uncover  the  solid  walls.  This  destruction 
was  so  unnecessary  that  the  citizens  welcomed  the  Tai-pings, 
for  they  would  at  least  leave  them  their  houses.  AVith  Suchau 
and  Ilangchau  in  their  hands,  the  Kan  Wang  and  Chung  Wang 
had  control  of  the  great  watercourses  in  the  two  })rovinces,  and 
their  desire  now  was  to  obtain  foreign  steamers  to  use  in  re- 
gaining niasteiy  of  the  Yangtsz'  lliver.  The  loss  of  their  first 
leaders  was  by  this  time  admirably  supplied  to  the  insurgents  by 
tliese  two  men,  who  had  had  a  w'ider  experience  than  the  Tien- 
Avang  himself,  while  their  extraordinary  success  in  dispersing 
their  enemies  had  been  to  them  all  an  assurance  of  divine  pro- 
tection and  approval. 

The  populous  and  fertile  region  of  Kiangnan  and  Chehkiang 
was  wholly  in  their  hands  by  June,  1800,  so  far  as  any  organ- 
ized Mancliu  force  could  resist  them.  The  destruction  of  life, 
property,  and  industry  within  the  three  months  since  their  sally 
from  Nanking  had  been  un])aralleled  probably  since  the  Conquest, 
more  than  two  centuries  before,  and  revived  the  stories  told  of 
the  ruthless  acts  of  Attila  and  Tamerlane.  Shanghai  was  threat- 
ened in  August  by  a  force  of  less  than  twenty  thousand  men 
led  by  the  Chung  Wang,  and  it  would  have  been  captured  if  it 
had  not  been  protected  by  British  and  French  troops.  Many 
villages  in  the  district  were  destroyed,  but  the  flotilla  approach- 
ing from  Sungkiang  recoiled  from  a  collision  with  foreigners, 
and  the  insurgents  all  retired  before  September.  They,  however, 
could  now  be  supplied  with  nnmitions  of  war,  and  even  began 
to  enlist  foreigners  to  help  them  drill  and  light.  It  was  an 
anomalous  condition  of  things,  possible  only  in  China,  that 
while  the  allied  force  was  marching  upon  Peking  to  extort  a 
treaty,  the  same  force  was  encircling  the  walls  of  Shanghai, 
burning  its  suburbs  to  destroy  all  cover,  and  aiding  its  rulers 
to  preserve  it  to  Ilienfung— all  in  order  to  conquer  a  ti-ade.  It 
was  then  the  moment  for  the  Tai-pings  to  have  moved  rapidly 
upon  Chihli  and  tried  the  gage  of  battle  before  the  metropolis, 
as  soon  as  possible  after  Lord  Elgin  had  withdrawn.  But  they 
had  now  very  few  left  to  them  of  the  kind  of  troops  which 


FOREKiN   AID   AGAINST  THE   REBELS.  ''><)7 

threatened  the  capital  in  1853-54,  and  could  not  depend  on  re- 
cruits from  Kiangnan  in  the  hour  of  adversity. 

At  this  juncture  the  imperialists  began  to  look  toward 
foreigners  foi"  aid  in  restoring  their  prestige  and  power  by 
employing  skill  and  weapons  not  to  be  found  among  them- 
selves. An  American  adventurer,  Frederick  G.  Ward,  of  Salem, 
Mass.,  proposed  to  the  Intendant  Wu  to  recaptui-e  Sungkiaiig 
from  the  Tai-pings ;  he  was  repulsed  on  his  first  attempt  at  the 
head  of  about  a  hundred  foi-eigners,  but  succeeded  on  the  second, 
and  the  imperialists  straightway  occupied  the  city.  This  suc- 
cess, added  to  the  high  pay,  stimulated  many  others  to  join 
him,  and  General  Ward  ere  long  was  able  to  organize  a  larger 
body  of  soldiers,  to  which  the  name  of  Cliang-shing  Mun,  or 
'  Ever-victorious  force,'  was  given  by  the  Chinese  ;  it  ultimately 
proved  to  be  well  applied.  Its  composition  was  heterogeneous, 
but  the  energy,  tact,  and  discipline  of  the  leader,  under  the 
impulse  of  an  actual  struggle  with  a  powerful  foe,  soon  moulded 
it  into  something  like  a  manageable  corps,  able  to  serve  as  a 
nucleus  for  training  a  native  army.  Foreigners  generally  looked 
down  upon  the  undertaking,  and  many  of  the  allied  naval  and 
military  officers  regarded  it  with  doubt  and  dislike.  It  had 
to  prove  its  character  by  works,  but  the  successive  defeats  of 
the  insurgents  during  the  year  1862  in  Kiangsu  and  Chehkiang, 
clearly  demonstrated  the  might  of  its  trained  men  over  ten 
times  their  number  of  undisciplined  braves. 

But  we  must  retrace  our  steps  somewhat.  In  1860  the  pos- 
session of  the  best  parts  of  Kiangsu  and  Chehkiang  led  the 
Tien  Wang  to  plan  the  relief  of  Nganking  by  advancing  on 
Hankow  with  four  sepai'ate  corps.  They  were  under  the  leader- 
ship of  the  Chung  Wang,  and,  so  far  as  the  details  can  be  gath- 
ered, manifested  a  practical  generalship  hardly  to  be  expected. 
The  Ying  Wang  was  to  move  through  Ng-anhwui  from  Lucliau 
westerly  to  Ilwangchau  ;  the  Attendant  King  (Shih)  was  to 
leave  Kiangsi  and  co-operate  with  the  Chung  Wang  by  reach- 
ing the  Yangtsz'  as  near  Hankow  as  possible,  and  a  smaller  force 
under  the  Tu  AVang  was  to  recover  Ilukau  at  the  mouth  of 
Poyang  Lake  and  ascend  the  Great  River  in  boats.  The  area 
through  which  this  campaign  was  to  be  carried  on  may  be  un- 


608  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

derstood  when  we  learn  that  the  Chung  AVang's  march  of  five 
liiiiidred  miles  was  over  the  two  ranges  of  mountains  on  the 
frontiers  of  Kiangsi,  and  that  of  the  Ying  Wang  two  hundred 
miles  through  the  plains  of  Xganhwui.  This  last  king  did  act 
ually  take  his  force  of  about  eighty  thousand  men  two  hundred 
miles  to  II wangchau  (fifty  miles  below  Hankow)  in  eleven  days, 
1)nt  none  of  his  colleagues  came  to  his  aid.  The  experience  of 
eight  years  had  quite  changed  the  elements  of  the  contest. 

The  people  now  generally  realized  that  neither  life,  property, 
nor  government  was  secured  under  the  Tai-pings ;  the  impe- 
rialists had  learned  how  to  obtain  the  co-operation  of  the  pa- 
triotic gentry,  and  the  rank  and  file  of  the  Tai-pings  were  by 
this  date  mostly  conquered  natives  of  the  same  region,  as  no 
recruits  had  ever  come  from  Kwangsi.  Moreover,  the  region 
was  impoverished,  and  this  involved  greater  privations  to  all 
parties.  Yet  the  Chung  AVang  went  from  AVuhu  south-west 
to  Kwangsin,  crossed  the  water-shed  into  Kiangsi,  defeated  a 
foi'ce  at  Kienchang,  crossed  the  River  Kan  near  Linkiang,  and 
marched  north-west  to  AVuning  hien  on  the  River  Siu.  Here 
he  heard  of  the  defeat  of  Tu  AVang,  and  the  non-arrival  of 
Shih's  force  ;  and,  lest  he  should  be  hemmed  in  himself,  as  the 
failure  of  the  campaign  was  evident,  he  led  his  army  back 
across  the  province  to  Kwangsin  by  September,  1861.  The 
jiarticulars  of  this  last  great  exploit  of  the  Tai-pings  are  so  im- 
j)erfectly  known,  that  it  is  impossible  to  judge  of  it  as  a  mili- 
tary movement  accomplished  under  enormous  difficulties ;  but 
the  Loyal  King  must  have  been  a  strategist  of  no  mean  rank. 

In  November,  1861,  Nganking  succumbed  to  the  imperialists. 
Its  defenders  and  the  citizens  endured  untold  sufferings  at  the 
last,  while  its  victors  had  an  empty  shell ;  but  the  river  Avas 
theirs  down  to  Nanking,  On  his  return  east,  Chung  AVang 
moved  into  Chehkiang  and  overran  all  the  northern  half  of 
that  province,  his  men  inflicting  untold  horrors  upon  the  in- 
habitants, whom  they  killed,  burned,  and  robbed  as  they  listed. 
Ningpo  was  taken  December  9th  and  held  till  May  10th,  when 
it  was  recaptured  by  the  allies;  foreign  trade  had  not  been 
interrupted  during  this  period,  and  the  city  suffered  less  than 
many  others.     In  September  the  Tai-pings  were  driven  out  of 


THE    "  EVER-VICTOKIOUS   FORCE."  609 

the  valley  of  the  Yung  Kiver,  but  the  deatli  of  General  Ward 
at  Tsz'ki  deprived  the  imperialists  of  an  able  leader.  The 
career  of  this  man  had  been  a  strange  one,  but  his  success  in 
trainii)g  his  men  was  endorsed  by  honorable  dealing  with  the 
mandarins,  who  had  reported  well  of  him  at  Peking.  He  was 
buried  at  Sungkiang,  where  a  shrine  was  erected  to  his  mem 
ory,  and  incense  is  burned  before  him  to  this  day. 

It  was  difficult  to  find  a  successor,  but  the  command  rather 
devolved  on  his  second,  an  American  named  Bui-gevine,  who 
was  confirmed  hy  the  Chinese,  but  proved  to  be  incapable.  He 
was  superseded  by  Holland  and  Cooke,  Englishmen,  and  in 
April,  1863,  the  entire  command  was  placed  under  Colonel 
Peter  Gordon,  of  the  British  army.  During  the  interval  be- 
tween May,  1860,  wdien  Ward  took  Sungkiang,  and  April  6, 
1863,  when  Gordon  took  Fushau,  the  best  manner  of  conibin- 
ing  native  and  foreign  troops  M'as  gradually  developed  as  they 
became  more  and  more  acquainted  with  each  other  and  learned 
to  respect  discipline  as  an  earnest  of  success.  Such  a  motley 
force  has  seldom  if  ever  been  seen,  and  the  enormous  prepon- 
derance of  Chinese  troops  would  have  perhaps  been  an  element 
of  danger  had  they  been  left  idle  for  a  long  time. 

The  bravery  of  the  Ever-victorious  force  in  the  presence  of 
the  enemy  had  gradually  won  the  confidence  of  the  allies,  as 
well  as  the  Chinese  officials,  in  whose  pay  it  was  ;  and  when  it 
operated  in  connection  with  the  French  and  British  contingent 
in  driving  the  Tai-pings  out  of  jS^ingpo  prefecture,  the  real 
worth  of  Ward's  drill  was  made  manifest.  The  recapture  of 
that  city  by  Captain  Dew's  skilful  and  brave  attack  in  reply  to 
their  unprovoked  firing  at  H.  M.  S.  Encounter,  brought  out  the 
bravery  of  all  nationalities,  as  well  as  restored  the  safety  of  the 
port.  An  extract  from  Captain  Dew's  report  will  exhibit  the 
dreadful  results  to  the  common  people  of  this  civil  war: 

I  had  known  Ningpo  in  its  palmy  days,  when  it  boasted  itself  one  of  the 
first  commercial  cities  of  the  Empire  ;  but  now,  on  this  11th  of  May,  one 
might  have  fancied  that  an  angel  of  destruction  had  been  at  work  in  the  city 
as  in  the  suburbs.  All  the  latter,  with  their  wealthy  hongs  and  thousands  of 
houses,  lay  levelled  ;  while  in  the  city  itself,  once  the  home  of  half  a  million 
of  people,  no  trace  or  vestige  of  an  inhabitant  could  be  seen.  Truly  it  was  a 
city  of  the  dead.     The  rich  and  beautiful  furniture  of  the  houses  had  become 


010  THE    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

firewood,  or  was  removed  to  the  walls  for  the  use  of  soldiers.  The  canals 
were  filled  with  dead  bodies  and  stagnant  filth.  The  stonework  of  bridges 
and  pavements  had  been  nplifted  to  strengthen  walls  and  form  barricades  in 
the  streets  ;  and  in  temples  once  the  pride  of  their  Buddhist  priests,  the  cha- 
otic remains  of  gorgeous  idols  and  war  gods  lay  strewn  about — their  lopped 
limbs  showing  that  they  had  become  the  sport  of  those  Christian  Tai-pings 
whose  chief,  the  Tien-wang.  eight  years  before  at  Nanking,  had  asked  Sii 
George  Bonham  if  the  Virgin  Mary  had  a  pretty  sister  for  him,  the  King  of 
Heaven,  to  marry  !  It  has  been  my  good  fortune  since  to  assist  at  the  wrest- 
ing o;  many  cities  from  these  Tai-pings,  and  in  them  all  I  found,  as  at  Ningpo, 
that  the  same  devilish  hands  had  been  at  work — the  people  expelled  from 
their  houses  and  their  cities  ruined. ' 

Yet  so  speedy  was  the  revival  from  the  ruins,  that  we  are 
told  that  in  one  month  houses  had  been  refurnished  and  shops 
opened  ;  their  owners  had  mostly  fled  across  the  river  into 
the  foreign  settlement.  A  larger  force  was  now  organized — 
MM.  Le  Brethon  and  (iiquel  behig  in  charge  of  a  Franco- 
Chinese  regiment — and  an  advance  made  on  Yiiyau,  wliich  was 
retaken,  and  one  thousand  drilled  Ciiinese  left  to  defend  it. 
Tsz'ki,  Funghwa,  and  Sluuigyii  were  also  cleared  of  rebels,  and 
during  the  month  of  March  they  evacuated  the  prefect  city  of 
Shauhing,  never  again  to  return  to  this  fertile  valley.  Their 
inroad  had  been  an  unmitigated  scourge,  for  they  had  now 
given  up  all  pretense  of  Christianity,  and  had  not  the  least  idea 
of  instituting  a  regular  government ;  to  plunder,  kill,  and  de- 
stroy was  their  only  business.  Their  sense  of  danger  from  the 
liatred  of  the  people  whom  they  had  so  grievously  maltreated 
led  them  at  this  time  to  defend  the  walled  cities  with  a  reckless 
bravery  that  made  their  capture  more  difficult  and  dangerous. 
This  was  shown  in  the  siege  of  Shauhing  fu,  within  whose  walls 
about  forty  thousand  Tai-pings  were  well  led  by  the  Shi  Wang. 
Tlie  possession  of  cannon  enabled  them  to  reply  to  the  balls 
thrown  by  Captain  Dew's  artillery,  while  despair  lent  energy  to 
their  resistance  ;  so  that  the  attack  turned  into  a  regular  siege 
of  a  montlrs  duration,  when,  food  and  amnumition  being  ex- 
hausted, they  retreated  en  ■mas.se  to  llangchau. 

While  this  success  relieved  the  greater  part  of  Chehkiang 
from  the  scourge,  the  failure  of  the  Ever-victorious  force  to 


>  A.  Wilson,  The  ''  Ecer-Vidorious  Armi/,''  p.  U)2,  London,  18G8. 


SUCCESSES   OF   THE   FORCE    UNDER   GOItDON.  611 

retake  Taitsang  and  Fuslian,  under  Holland  and  Brennan, 
had  discouraged  Governor  Li,  who  had  now  come  into  power, 
lie  applied  to  General  Stavely,  who,  with  a  full  appreciation  of 
the  exigencies  of  the  case,  and  concurrence  of  Sir  Frederick 
Bruce,  aided  iti  reorganizing  Ward's  force  and  placing  Colonel 
Gordon  over  it  with  adequate  powers.  There  were  live  or  six 
infantry  regiments  of  about  five  hundred  men  each,  and  a  bat- 
tery of  artillery;  at  times  it  numbered  five  thousand  men.  The 
commissioned  officers  were  all  foreigners,  and  their  national 
rivalries  were  sometimes  a  source  of  trouble  ;  the  non  commis- 
sioned officers  were  Chinese,  many  of  them  repentant  rebels 
or  seafaring  men  from  Canton  and  Fuhkien,  promoted  for  good 
conduct.  The  uniform  was  a  mixture  of  native  and  foreien 
dress,  which  at  first  led  to  the  men  being  ridiculed  as  '  Imita- 
tion Foreign  Devils ; '  after  victory,  however,  had  elevated 
their  esprit  du  corps,  they  became  quite  proud  of  the  costume. 
In  respect  to  camp  equipage,  arms,  commissariat  and  ord- 
nance departments,  and  means  of  transport,  the  natives  soon 
made  themselves  familiar  with  all  details;  while  necessity 
helped  their  foreign  officers  rapidly  to  pick  up  their  language. 
It  is  recorded,  to  the  credit  of  this  motle}^  force,  that  "  there 
was  very  little  crime  and  consequently  very  little  punishment; 
.  .  .  as  drunkenness  was  unknown,  the  services  of  the  pro- 
vost-marshal rarely  came  into  use,  except  after  a  capture, 
when  the  desire  for  loot  was  a  temptation  to  absence  from  the 
ranks." ' 

In  addition,  the  force  had  a  fiotilla  of  four  small  steamers, 
aided  by  a  variety  of  native  boats  to  the  number  of  fifty  to 
seventy-five.  The  plain  is  so  intersected  by  canals  that  the 
troops  could  be  easier  moved  by  water  than  land,  and  these 
boats  enabled  it  to  carry  out  surprises  which  disconcerted  the 
rebels.  Wilson  well  remarks  concerning  Gordon's  force  :  "  Its 
success  was  owing  to  its  compactness,  its  completeness,  the 
quickness  of  its  movements,  its  possession  of  steamers  and  good 
artillery,  the  bravery  of  its  officers,  the  confidence  of  its  men, 
the  inability  of  the  rebels  to  move  large  bodies  of  troops  with 

'  Wilson,  ibid,  p.  133. 


612  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

nqudity,  tlio  nature  of  the  country^  tlie  almost  intuitive  per- 
ception of  the  leader  in  adapting  his  operations  to  the  nature 
of  tlie  country,  and  liis  untiring  energy  in  cai'rying  them  out.*'' 
Tlie  details  of  this  singular  ti-oop  are  worth  telling  with  more 
minuteness  than  s])aee  here  allows,  for  its  management  will  no 
doul)t  form  a  precedent  in  the  future  ;  hut  the  good  its  remark- 
ahle  chief  effected  in  restoring  peace  to  Kiangsu  calls  for  that 
recognition  which  skill,  tact,  and  high  moral  purpose  ever  de- 
serve. Being  formally  put  in  command  on  IMarch  24,  18G3,  he 
promptly  reinstated  the  foreign  ofhcers  helonging  to  the  force, 
paid  their  dues,  and  within  a  few  days  was  in  readiness  to 
march  upon  Fnshan,  a  town  on  the  Yangtsz'  above  Panshan. 
The  fall  of  this  place  on  April  Gth  led  to  the  ca}>tu]"e  of  ("hanzu, 
when  preparations  wei-e  made  for  besieging  Taitsang  fu,  where 
an  army  of  ten  thousand  rebels,  aided  by  foreign  adventurers, 
presented  a  formidable  imdertaking  for  his  force  of  two  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  men,  although  supported  by  a  large  body 
of  imperialists.  In  its  capture  (May  2d)  the  killed  and  wounded 
numbered  one  hundred  and  sixty-two  officers  and  men  ;  the 
boot}-  obtained  was  so  large  that  Colonel  Gordon  led  his  men 
back  to  Sungkiang,  in  order  to  reorganize  them  after  this  ex- 
perience of  their  conduct.  Finding  that  their  former  license 
in  appropriating  the  loot  thus  obtained  tended  to  demoralize 
them  all,  he  accepted  the  resignations  of  some  of  the  discon- 
tented officers,  and  adopted  stringent  measures  to  bring  the 
others  to  render  military  obedience.  Consequently,  when  he 
started  for  Iviunshan  with  about  three  thousand  men,  he  had 
liis  force  in  a  much  better  condition.  This  city  occupied  an 
important  position  between  Shanghai,  Chanzu,  Taitsang,  and 
other  large  towns  on  the  east,  and  Suchau  on  the  Avest.  The 
rebels  had  set  up  a  cannon  foundry  within  its  M-alls,  and  from 
it  obtained  supplies  for  the  last-named  city,  with  which  it  -was 
connected  by  a  causeway.  By  means  of  the  armed  steamer 
Ilyson,  Colonel  Gordon  was  able  to  bi-ing  up  through  one  of 
the  canals  a  comj^any  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  men  and  field 
artillery,  cutting  the  causeway  and  pursuing  its  defenders,  some 

'  Ibul,  p.  138. 


ENVIRONMENT   OF   SUCIIAU.  613 

into  the  town  and  some  toward  Sncliau,  almost  to  its  veiy 
gates.  On  the  return  of  the  steamer  in  the  night,  the  com- 
mander found  the  imperialists  engaged  M'ith  the  garrison  in  a 
sharp  contest,  in  which  the  foreigners  then  aided,  and  com- 
pletely routed  the  rebel  body  of  nearly  eight  thousand  men. 
Fully  four  thousand  of  them  were  killed  outright,  and  otheis 
were  drowned  or  cut  off  by  the  exaspeiated  peasantry  before 
the  day  was  over.  This  was  on  May  30th.  The  captured  town 
was  made  headquarters  by  its  victors,  as  a  more  eligible  loca- 
tion than  Sungkiang,  though  against  the  wishes  of  the  native 
office's,  who  desired  to  go  back  there  with  their  booty.  The 
loss  of  men,  material,  and  position  to  the  rebels  was  very  great, 
and  Colonel  Gordon  could  now  safely  turn  his  whole  thoughts 
to  the  ca])ture  of  Suchau. 

This  city  is  like  Venice  in  its  approaches  by  canals  ;  owing  to 
its  location  it  was  deemed  best,  before  attempting  its  capture,  to 
reduce  certain  towns  in  the  vicinity,  from  which  it  derived  sup- 
plies, so  that  the  Chung  "Wang  should  not  be  able  to  co-operate 
with  its  garrison.  The  district  towns  of  AVukiang  and  Kahpu 
were  both  taken  in  July  M'ith  comparatively  little  loss.  This 
rapid  reduction  of  many  strong  stockades,  stone  forts,  and  walled 
towns,  with  the  panic  exhibited  by  the  men,  pi'oved  how  useless 
to  the  rebels  the  f  oreioi;ners  in  their  service  had  been  in  rendering 
them  really  formidable  enemies,  and  how  incapable  the  wangs 
had  been  to  appreciate  the  nature  and  need  of  discipline. 
After  these  places  had  been  occupied.  Colonel  Gordon  found 
his  position  beset  with  so  many  unexpected  annoyances,  both 
from  his  rather  turbulent  and  incongruous  troops  as  well  as  from 
the  Chinese  authorities,  that  he  went  to  Shanghai  on  August 
8th  for  the  purpose  of  resigning  the  command.  Arriving  here, 
however,  he  ascertained  that  Burgevine  had  just  gone  over  to 
the  Tai-pings  with  about  three  hundred  foreigners,  and  \vas 
then  in  Suchau.  The  power  of  moral  principle,  which  guided 
the  career  of  the  one,  was  then  seen  in  luminous  conti-ast  to  its 
lack  as  shown  in  the  other  of  these  soldiers  of  fortune.  To  his 
lasting  credit  Colonel  Gordon  decided  to  return  at  once  to 
Kiunshan,  and,  in  face  of  the  ingratitude  of  the  Chinese  and 
iealousy  of  his  officers,  to  stand  by  the  imperialist  cause.     lie 


614  THK    MinDLE    KIXODOM. 

uraduallv  restored  his  influence  over  officers  ai\(l  men.  ascer- 
tained  that  Burgevine's  position  in  the  Tai-ping  army  did  not 
allow  him  freedom  enough  to  render  his  presence  dangerous  to 
tiieir  foes,  and  began  to  act  aggressively  against  ISuchau  by 
taking  Patachiau  on  its  southern  side  in  September, 

Emissaries  from  the  foreigners  in  the  city  now  reported  con- 
siderable dissatisfaction  with  their  position,  and  Colonel  Gordon 
was  able  to  arrange  in  a  short  time  their  withdrawal  without 
nmch  danger  to  themselves.  It  is  said  that  Burgevine  even 
then  proposed  to  him  to  join  their  forces,  seize  Suchau,  and  as 
soon  as  possible  march  on  Peking  Avith  a  large  army,  and  do 
to  the  Manchus  what  the  Manchus  had  done,  two  hundred  and 
twenty  years  before,  to  the  Mings,  (\jlonel  Gordon's  own  loy- 
alty was  somewhat  suspected  by  the  imperialist  leaders,  but  his 
integrity  carried  him  safely  through  all  these  temptations  to 
swerve  from  his  duty. 

As  soon  as  these  niercenaries  among  the  rebels  were  out  of  the 
way,  operations  against  Suchau  were  prosecuted  with  vigor,  so 
that  by  Xovember  19th  the  entire  city  was  invested  and  care- 
fully cut  off  from  comnnmication  with  the  north.  The  city 
being  now  hard  pushed,  the  besieging  force  prepared  for  anight 
attack  upon  a  breach  previously  made  in  the  stockade  near  the 
north-east  gate.  It  was  well  planned,  but  the  Muh  Wang, /rtc^/Ai 
j)rince2)s  among  the  Tai-ping  chiefs  in  courage  and  devotion, 
liaving  been  informed  of  it,  opened  such  a  destructive  fire  that 
the  Ever- victorious  force  was  defeated  with  a  loss  of  about  two 
hundred  officers  and  men  killed  and  wounded.  On  the  next 
morning,  however  (November  2Sth),  it  was  reported  that  the 
cowardly  leaders  in  the  city  were  plotting  against  the  Muh 
Wang — the  only  loyal  one  among  their  number — ^and  were  talk- 
ing of  capitulating,  using  the  British  chief  as  their  interme- 
diary. 

This  rumor  proved,  indeed,  to  be  so  far  true,  that  after  some 
further  successful  operations  on  the  part  of  Gordon's  division, 
the  Wangs  made  overtures  to  General  Ghing,  himself  a  foi-mcr 
rebel  commander,  but  long  since  returned  to  the  impei'ial  cause 
and  now  the  chief  over  its  forces  in  Kiangsu.  The  Muh  Wang 
was  publicly  assassinated  on    December  2d  by  his  comrades, 


SURRENDER   AXD    EXECUTION    OF   ITS   GENERALS.     615 

and  on  tlie  5th  tlie  negotiations  liad  proceeded  so  far  that  inter- 
views were  held.  Colonel  Gordon  had  withdrawn  his  troops  a 
short  distance  to  save  the  city  from  pillage,  hut  did  not  succeed 
in  obtaining  a  donation  of  two  months'  pay  for  their  late  bravery 
from  the  parsimonious  Li.  IJe  therefore  proposed  to  lay  down 
his  command  at  tliree  o'clock  i'.m.,  and  meanwhile  went  into  tlie 
city  to  interview  the  Na  Wang,  who  told  him  that  everything  was 
proceeding  in  a  satisfactory  manner.  Upon  learning  this  he 
repaired  to  the  house  of  the  nun-dered  Muh  Wang  in  order  to 
get  his  corpse  decently  buried,  but  failed,  as  no  one  in  the  place 
would  lend  him  the  smallest  assistance.  While  he  was  thus  oc- 
cupied, the  rebel  wangs  and  officers  had  settled  as  to  the  terms 
they  would  accept ;  and  on  reaching  his  own  force,  Gordon  found 
General  Ching  there  with  a  donation  of  one  month's  pay,  which 
his  men  refused. 

The  next  morning  he  returned  into  the  city  and  was  told  by 
Ching  that  the  rebel  leaders  had  all  been  pardoned,  and  would 
deliver  up  the  city  at  noon ;  they  were  preparing  then  to  go  out. 
Colonel  Gordon  shortly  after  started  to  return  to  his  own  camp 
and  met  the  imperialists  coming  into  the  east  gate  in  a  tumul- 
tuous manner,  prepared  for  slaughter  and  pillage.  He  there- 
fore went  back  to  the  Xa  Wang's  house  to  guard  it,  but  found 
the  establishment  already  quite  gutted ;  he,  however,  met  the 
Wang's  uncle  and  went  with  him  to  protect  the  females  of  the 
family  at  the  latter's  residence.  Here  he  was  detained  by 
several  hundred  armed  rebels,  who  would  neither  let  him  go 
nor  send  a  message  by  his  interpreter  till  the  next  morning 
(December  Ttli),  when  they  permitted  him  to  leave  for  his 
boat,  then  waiting  at  the  south  gate ;  narrowly  escaping,  on  his 
way  thither,  an  attack  from  the  imperialists,  he  reached  his 
Ijodyguard  at  daybreak,  and  with  them  was  able  to  pi-event 
any  more  soldiers  entei'ing  the  city.  His  preservation  amid  such 
conflicting  forces  was  providential,  but  his  indignation  was  great 
M-hen  he  learned  that  Governor  Li  had  beheaded  the  eight 
I'ebel  leaders  the  day  before.  It  seems  that  they  had  demanded 
conditions  quite  inadmissible  in  respect  to  the  conti'ol  of  the 
thirty  thousand  men  under  their  orders,  and  were  cut  off  for 
their   insolent    contumacy.      Another    account,    published    a* 


616  THE   .MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

Shanghai  in  1871,  states  that  nearly  twenty  chiefs  were  exe 
cuted,  and  about  two  thousand  privates. 

As  Colonel  Gordon  felttliat  his  good  name  was  compromised 
by  this  cruelty,  he  threw  up  his  command  until  he  could  confer 
with  his  superiors.  On  the  2*Jth  a  reply  came  to  Li  llung- 
chang  from  Prince  Kung,  highly  praising  all  who  had  been 
engaged  in  taking  Suchau,  and  ordering  him  to  send  the  leader 
of  the  Ever-victorious  force  a  medal  and  ten  thousand  taels— 
both  of  w  Inch  he  declined.  The  posture  of  affairs  soon  became 
embarrassing  to  all  pai'tics.  The  rebellion  was  not  suppressed  ; 
the  cities  in  rebel  hands  would  soon  gather  the  desperate  men 
escaped  from  Suchau  ;  Colonel  Gordon  alone  could  lead  his 
troops  to  victory  ;  and  all  his  past  bi-avery  and  skill  might  be 
lost.  He  therefore  resumed  his  command,  and  presently  re- 
commenced operations  by  leading  his  men  against  Ihing  hien, 
west  of  Suchau. 

Concerning  this  wretched  business  of  the  Suchau  slaughter, 
much  was  said  both  in  the  foreign  commimities  in  China  and 
later  in  England.  Mr.  Wilson,  in  his  book  compiled  largely 
from  Colonel  Gordon's  notes  on  this  campaign,  discusses  the 
question  with  as  great  fairness  as  precision,  and  concludes — as 
must  every  well-wisher  of  China  with  him — that  it  was  in  every 
way  fortunate,  both  for  his  reputation  and  the  cause  to  which 
he  had  lent  himself,  that  this  heroic  man  returned  to  his  thank- 
less task.  Summing  up  the  arguments  of  the  Chinese  and  the 
various  attendant  circumstances  that  brought  about  this  execu- 
tion, Mr.  Wilson  points  to  Li's  not  nnnatural  desire  after  re- 
venge for  his  brother's  murder  by  the  rebels  before  Taitsang ; 
to  the  army  still  under  control  of  the  wangs ;  to  the  almost 
absolute  certainty  of  massacre  of  those  imperialists  who  had 
already  entered  the  city  should  he  refuse  compliance  with  their 
demands  ;  as  also  to  the  impossibility  of  arresting  these  chiefs 
without  an  alarm  of  treachery  spreading  among  their  troops 
within  the  walls,  and  thus  giving  them  time  to  close  the  gates, 
cutting  off  the  imperial  soldiers  inside  the  city  from  those  who 
were  without.  "  Li  was  in  a  very  ditficult  and  critical  position," 
he  says,  "  which  imperatively  demanded  sudden,  unprcmedi- 
lated  action  ;  and  though,  no  doubt,  it  would  have  been  more 


COLONEL   OORDON'S   FURTHER   OPERATIONS.  617 

honorable  for  liiin  to  have  made  the  wangs  prisoners,  he  cannot 
in  tlie  circumstances  be  with  justice  severely  censui-ed  for  hav- 
iuij;  ordered  the  Tai-ping  chiefs  who  were  in  liis  power,  but  who 
detied  his  authoi'ity,  to  be  innuediately  killed.  It  is  also  cer- 
tain that  Colonel  Gordon  need  not  liave  been  in  a  hui-ry  to  con- 
sider himself  as  at  all  responsible  for  this  almost  necessary  act, 
because  in  a  letter  to  him  (among  his  correspondence  relating 
to  these  affairs)  from  the  Futai  [Li],  dated  November  2,  18G3, 
I  find  the  following  noteworthy  passage,  wliich  shows  that  the 
governor  did  not  wish  Gordon  to  interfere  at  all  in  regard  to 
the  capitulation  of  the  Suchau  chiefs  :  '  With  respect  to  Moh 
Wang  and  other  rebel  leaders'  proposal,  I  am  quite  satisfied 
that  you  have  determined  in  no  way  to  interfere.  Let  Ching 
look  after  their  treacherous  and  cunning  management.'"  ' 

On  reaching  thing,  the  dreadful  effects  of  the  struggle  going 
on  around  Gordon's  force  were  seen,  and  more  than  reconciled 
him  to  do  all  he  could  to  bring  it  to  an  end.  Utter  destitution 
prevailed  in  and  out  of  the  town  ;  people  were  feeding  on  dead 
bodies,  and  ready  to  perish  from  exposure  while  waiting  for  a 
comrade  to  die.  The  town  of  Liyang  was  surrendered  on  his 
approach,  and  its  iidiabitants,  twenty  thousand  in  number,  sup- 
plied with  a  little  food.  From  this  place  to  Kintan  pi-oved  to 
be  a  slow  and  irksome  march,  owing  to  the  shallow  w^ater  in 
the  canal  and  the  bad  weathei-.  On  March  21st  an  attack  was 
made  on  this  strong  post  by  breaching  the  walls;  but  it  resulted 
in  a  defeat,  the  loss  of  more  than  a  hundred  officers  and  men, 
and  a  severe  wound  which  Colonel  Gordon  received  in  his  leg 
—  oddly  enough  the  oidy  injury  he  sustained,  though  frequently 
compelled  to  lead  his  men  in  person  to  a  charge.  Next  day  he 
retired,  in  order,  to  Liyang,  but  hearing  that  the  son  of  the 
Chung  Wang  had  retaken  Fushan  he  started  with  a  thousand 
men  and  some  artillery  for  Wusih,  which  the  rebels  had  left. 
The  operations  in  this  region  during  the  next  few  weeks  con- 
clusively proved  the  desperate  condition  of  the  rebels,  but  a  hope- 
less cause  seemed  often  but  to  increase  their  bravery  in  defend- 
ing what  strongholds  were  left  them.     At  the  same  time  a 

'Wilson,  The  " Eccr-Victorioiis  Army,"  p.  204. 


618  THE   MIDDLE    KIXGDOM. 

body  of  Franco-Chinese  was  operating,  in  connection  with  Gen^ 
eral  Ching  on  the  south  of  Suchau,  against  Kiahing  fn,  a  large 
city  on  tlie  (4rand  Canal,  held  by  the  Ting  Wang.  This  posi- 
tion was  taken  and  its  defenders  put  to  the  sword  on  March 
20th,  but  with  the  very  serious  loss  of  General  Ching,  one  of 
the  ablest  generals  in  the  Chinese  army.  Ilangchau,  the  capi- 
tal of  Chehkiang,  capitulated  the  next  day,  and  this  was  soon 
followed  by  the  reduction  of  the  entire  province  and  dispersion 
of  the  rebels  among  the  hills. 

Colonel  Gordon  had  recovered  from  his  wound  so  as  to  lead 
an  attack  on  Waisu  April  Cth,  which  town  fell  on  the  11th, 
when  most  of  its  defenders  were  killed  by  the  peasantry  as  they 
attempted  to  escape.  His  force  was  also  much  weakened,  and 
needed  to  be  recruited.  With  about  three  thousand  in  all,  he 
now  went  to  aid  Governor  Li  in  reducing  Chaiigchau  fu,  and 
invested  it  on  the  25th.  The  entire  besieging  force  numbered 
over  ten  thousand  ;  and  as  the  rebels  were  twice  as  many,  on 
the  Mhole  well  provided,  and  knew  that  no  mercy  would  be 
shown,  their  resistance  was  stubborn.  Several  attacks  were  re- 
pulsed with  no  small  loss  to  Gordon's  force,  so  that  slower 
methods  of  approach  were  i-esorted  to  till  a  general  assault  was 
planned  on  May  11th,  when  it  succumbed.  Only  fifteen  hun- 
dred i-ebels  were  slain,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  prisoners 
were  allowed  to  go  home,  the  Xwangsi  men  alone  being  exe- 
cuted. With  this  captui'e  ended  the  operations  of  the  Ever- 
victorious  force  and  its  brave  leader.  Nanking  was  now  the 
only  strong  place  held  by  the  Tai-pings,  and  there  was  nothing 
for  that  army  to  do  there,  as  Tsang  Kwoh-fan,  the  general- 
issimo of  the  imperial  armies,  had  ample  means  for  its  capture. 
Colonel  Gordon,  therefore,  in  conjunction  with  Governor  Li, 
dissolved  this  notable  division  ;  the  latter  rewarded  its  officers 
and  men  with  liberal  gratuities,  and  sent  the  natives  home. 
During  its  existence  of  about  four  years  down  to  June  1,  1804, 
nearly  fifty  places  had  been  taken  (twenty-three  of  them  by 
Gordon),  and  its  higher  discipline  had  served  to  elevate  the 
morale  of  the  imperialists  who  operated  with  them.  It  perhaps 
owed  its  greatest  trium])h  to  the  high-toned  uprightness  of  its 
Christian  cliief,  which  impressed  all  who  served  with  him.    The 


THE    EVHU-VICTOllIOns    FOUCE    DIS;BANDED.  619 

Emperor  conferred  on  liinitlie  bigliest  iiiilitarj-  rank  of  t'l-tuJi,  or 
'  Captain-General,'  and  a  yellow  jacket  {ina-k(ca)  and  other  uni- 
forms, to  indicate  the  sense  of  his  achievements.  Sir  Fredei'ick 
Bruce  admirably  summed  up  his  character  in  a  letter  to  Earl 
Russell  when  sending  the  imperial  rescript : 

Hongkong,  July  12,  1864. 
My  Lord, 

I  enclose  a  translation  of  a  despatch  from  Prince  Kung  containing  the  de- 
cree published  by  the  Emperor,  acknowledging  the  services  of  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Gordon,  R.  E.,  and  requesting  that  her  Majesty's  government  be 
pleased  to  recognize  them.  This  stej)  has  been  spontaneously  taken.  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Gordon  well  deserves  her  Majesty's  favor  ;  for,  independently 
of  the  skill  and  courage  he  has  shown,  his  disinterestedness  lias  elevated  our 
national  character  in  the  eyes  of  the  Clnuese.  Not  only  has  he  refused  any 
pecuniary  reward,  but  he  has  spent  more  than  his  pay  in  contributing  to  the 
comfort  of  the  officers  who  served  under  him,  and  in  assuaging  the  distress  of 
the  starving  population  whom  he  relieved  from  the  yoke  of  their  oppressors. 
Indeed,  tlie  feeling  that  impelled  him  to  resume  operations  after  the  fall  of 
Suchow  was  one  of  the  purest  humanity.  He  sought  to  save  the  people  of 
the  districts  that  had  been  recovered  from  a  repetition  of  the  misery  entailed 
uijon  them  b/this  cruel  civil  war.  I  have,  etc., 

F.  W.  A.  Bruce. 

The  foreign  merchants  at  Shanghai  expressed  their  sense  of 
his  conduct  in  a  letter  dated  November  24th,  written  on  the 
ev^e  of  liis  retui-n  to  England,  in  which  they  truly  remark  :  "  In 
a  position  of  unecpialled  difficulty,  and  surrounded  by  complica- 
tions of  every  possible  nature,  you  have  succeeded  in  offering 
to  the  eyes  of  the  Chinese  nation,  no  less  by  your  loyal  and 
disinterested  line  of  action  than  by  your  conspicuous  gallantry 
and  talent  for  organization  and  command,  the  example  of  a 
foreign  officer  serving  the  government  of  this  country  with 
honorable  tidelity  and  undeviating  self-respect/'  ' 

Such  men  are  not  only  the  choice  jewels  of  their  own  nation 
(and  England  may  justly  be  proud  to  reckon  this  son  among 

'  "  The  rapidity  with  which  the  long-descended  hostility  of  the  Chinese 
government  became  exchanged  for  relations  of  at  least  outward  friendship, 
must  be  ascribed  altogether  to  the  existence  of  the  Tai-ping  Rebellion,  without 
whose  pressure  as  an  auxiliary  we  might  have  crushed,  but  never  conciliated 
the  distrustful  statesmen  at  Peking." — Fraser^s  Magazine,  Vol.  LXXL,p.  145, 
February,  18G5. 


620  THE   MIDDLE    KIXGDOM» 

lier  worthies),  but  leave  beliiiul  them  an  example,  as  in  tlie  case 
of  Colonel  Gordon,  whieli  elevates  (1n-istianity  itself  in  the 
eyes  of  the  Chinese,  and  will  remain  a  legacy  for  good  to  them 
through  coming  years.' 

After  the  dissolution  of  the  Ever-victorious  force,  its  leader 
visited  Nganking  and  Nanking  to  see  the  governor-general, 
Tsiing  Kwoh-fan,  and  liis  brother,  mIio  were  directing  opera- 
tions against  the  i-cbels,  in  order  to  propose  some  improvements 
in  their  future  employment  of  foreign  soldiers  and  military 
appliances.  They  listened  with  respect,  and  took  notes  of  im- 
portant suggestions — knowing  at  the  same  time  that  their  sub- 
oi'dinates  were  uiuible  to  comprehend  or  adojit  many  such 
innovations.  The  work  before' Ts'anking  indicated  the  industry 
of  its  besiegers  in  the  miles  of  walls  connecting  one  hundi'ed 
and  forty  mud  forts  in  their  circumvallations.  and  in  vai'ious 
mines  leading  under  the  city  walls.  The  Tai-pings  at  that 
date  seldom  appeared  on  the  walls,  and  had  recently  sent  out 
thi'ee  thousand  women  and  children  to  be  fed  by  their  enemies, 
proof  enough  of  their  distressed  condition.  The  only  general 
capable  of  relieving  the  Tien  "Wang  was  the  Chung  Wang, 
whose  army  remained  on  the  southern  districts  of  Kiangsu, 
while  he  himself  was  in  the  city  with  the  Ivan  "Wang  (Hung 
Jin),  now  the  ti'usted  agent  of  his  half-brother.  All  egress 
from  the  doomed  city  was  stopped  by  flune  1st,  when  the  ex- 
plosion of  mines  and  bursting  of  shells  foi-ewarned  its  deluded 
defenders  of  their  fate.  Of  the  last  days  of  their  leader  no 
authentic  account  has  been  given,  and  the  declaration  of  the 
Chung  Wang  in  his  autobiography,  that  he  poisoned  himself 
on  June  30th,  "  owing  to  liis  anxiety  and  troul)le  of  mind,"  is 
probably  true.  His  body  was  buried  behind  his  palace  by  one 
of  his  wives,  and  afterward  dug  up  by  the  imperialists. 

On  Julv  19,  1804,  the  wall  was  breaclied  hy  the  explosion  of 
forty  thousand  pounds  of  powder  in  a  mine,  and  the  Chung 
Wang,  faithful  to  the  last,  defended  until  midnight  the  Tien 
Wang's  family  from  the  imperialists.     lie  and  the  Kan  Wang 


'Compare  further  Col.  C.  C.  Chesney's  Essays  on  Modern  Military  Biograpliy 
(from  the  Fjliithnnjh  Rcdeir),  pp.  1G3-213,  London,  1874. 


FALL   OF   NANKING.  621 

then  escoi'ted  Hung  Fu-tien — a  lad  of  sixteen,  who  had  suc- 
ceeded to  the  throne  of  Great  Peace  tliree  weeks  before— with 
a  thousand  followers,  a  short  distance  beyond  the  city.  Tlie 
three  leaders  now  became  separated,  but  all  were  ultimately 
captured  and  executed.  The  Chung  AVang,  during  his  ca])tivity 
before  death,  wrote  an  account  of  his  own  life,  which  fully 
maintains  the  high  estimate  previously  formed  of  his  character 
from  his  public  acts.'  lie  was  the  solitary  ornament  of  the 
^vhole  movement  during  the  fourteen  years  of  its  independent 
existence,  and  his  enemies  would  have  done  well  to  have  spared 
him.  More  than  seven  thousand  Tai-pings  were  put  to  death 
in  Xanking,  the  total  number  found  there  l)eing  hardly  over 
twenty  thousand,  of  whom  probably  very  few  Mere  southern 
Chinese  —this  element  having  gradually  disappeared. 

After  the  recaptui-e  of  Xanking,  two  small  bodies  of  rebels 
remained  in  Chehkiang.  The  largest  of  them,  under  the  Tow 
Wang,  held  Iluchau  fu,  and  made  a  despei'ate  resistance  until 
a  large  force,  provided  with  artillery,  compelled  them  to  evacu- 
ate. During  this  siege  the  sanguinary  conduct  of  the  Tai- 
pings  showed  the  natural  result  of  their  reckless  course  since 
their  last  escape  from  Xanking;  the  narrative  of  an  escaped 
Irishman,  who  had  been  compelled  to  serve  them  in  Iluchau 
for  some  months,  is  terrible  enough  :  "  All  offences  received 
one  puinshment — death.  I  saw  one  hundred  and  sixty  men 
beheaded,  as  I  understood,  for  absence  from  parade  ;  two  boys 
were  beheaded  for  smoking  ;  all  prisoners  of  war  were  executed  ; 
spies,  or  people  accused  as  such,  were  tied  with  their  hands  be- 
hind their  backs  to  a  stake,  brushwood  put  around  them,  and 
they  burned  to  death."  The  rebel  force  nundjered  nearly  a 
hundred  thousand  men,  and  tlieir  vigorous  defence  was  con- 
tinued for  a  fortnight,  till  on  August  14th  their  last  stockade 
was  carried  by  the  imperialists,  and  about  half  their  number 
made  good  tlieir  escape  to  the  neighboring  hills,  leavijig  the 
usual  scene  of  desolation  behind  them.  This  body  undertook 
to  march  south  through  the  hilly  regions  between  Kiangsi  and 


'  Tlie   Autohiofp'dphy  of  tlie  Chung-  Wang,   translated  from  the  Chinese  b^ 
W.  T.  Lay,  Shanghai,  1865. 


022  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

Clielikiaiig.  The  best  disciplined  portion  was  led  by  the  Shi 
Wan*',  who  had  joined  it  witli  his  men  from  the  former  prov- 
ince, and  arranged  an  attack  on  Kwangsin,  near  wliich  they 
were  defeated.  The  remainder  managed  to  march  across  tlio 
intervening  districts  south-westerly  to  the  city  of  Changchau, 
near  Amoy,  where  they  intrenched  themselves  till  the  next 
spring,  subsisting  on  the  supplies  found  in  it  and  the  neighbor- 
hood. The  Shi  Wang  and  Kan  Wang  then  left  it  April  16th, 
in  two  bodies,  unable  to  resist  the  disciplined  force  of  eight 
thousand  men  brought  from  the  north.  Feeling  that  their 
days  were  numbered,  the}'  seem  to  have  scrupled  at  nothing  to 
show  their  savagery — as,  for  example,  when  they  slaughtered 
sixteen  hundred  imperialists  who  had  surrendered  on  a  promise 
of  safe-conduct.  No  mercy  was  therefore  shown  them  by  the 
iidiabitants  ;  at  Clumping  in  Kwangtung  they  even  cut  down 
their  growing  rice  in  order  to  prevent  the  rebels  using  it.  The 
last  straggling  relics  of  the  Tai-ping  Heavenly  King's  adherents 
were  thus  gradually  destroyed,  and  his  ill-advised  enterprise 
brought  to  an  end. 

Fifteen  years  had  elapsed  since  he  had  set  up  his  standard  of 
revolt  in  Kwangsi,  and  now  there  was  nothing  to  show  as  a  re- 
turn for  the  awful  cariuige  and  misery  that  had  ensued  from  his 
efforts.  No  new  ideas  concerning  God  or  his  redemption  for 
mankind  had  been  set  forth  or  illustrated  by  the  teachings  or 
])ractices  of  the  Tai-ping  leader  or  any  of  his  followei's,  nor  did 
they  ever  take  any  practical  measui-es  to  call  in  foreign  aid  to 
assist  in  developing  even  the  Christianity  they  professed.  True 
the  Kan  Wang  called  Mr.  Roberts  to  Nanking,  but  instead  of 
consulting  with  him  as  to  the  establishment  of  schools,  opening 
chapels,  preparing  books,  or  organizing  any  kind  of  religious  or 
benevolent  work  to  further  the  welfare  of  his  adherents,  the 
Tien  AVang  did  not  even  grant  an  interview  to  the  missionary, 
who,  on  his  part,  was  glad  to  escape  with  his  life  to  Shanghai. 

If  this  rebellion  ])ractically  exhibited  no  religious  truth  t(.) 
the  educated  mind  of  China,  it  was  not  for  lack  of  jniblications 
setting  forth  the  beliefs  its  leaders  had  drawn  from  the  Bible, 
or  for  laws  sanctioned  by  severe  peiuilties,  both  of  which  were 
scattered  throuirh  the  land.     Dj-.  Medhurst's  careful  translations 


END    OF   TIIK   TAI-1'IN(J    IlEBELLION.  6^^' 

of  these  tracts  has  preserved  them,  so  that  the  entire  disregard 
manifested  hj  the  new  sect  of  tlieir  plainest  injunctions  may  he 
at  once  seen.'  Tlie  strong  expectations  of  the  friends  of  China 
for  its  regeneration  through  the  success  of  Ilung  Siu-tsuen, 
would  not  have  heen  indulged  if  they  liad  hetter  known  the 
inner  workings  of  liis  own  mind  and  the  flagitious  conduct  of 
liis  lieutenants. 

In  his  political  aspirations  the  Tien  Wang  entertained  no  new 
principle  of  govermnent,  for  he  knew  nothing  of  other  lands, 
their  jurispi'udence  or  their  polity,  and  wisely  enough  held  his 
followers  to  such  legislation  as  they  were  familiar  with.  They 
all  probably  expected  to  alter  affairs  to  their  liking  when  they 
liad  settled  in  Peking.  But  if  this  mysterious  iconoclast  had 
really  any  ideas  above  those  of  an  enthusiast  like  Thomas  Miin- 
zer  and  the  Anabaptists  in  the  early  days  of  the  Reformation — 
whose  course  and  end  offers  many  parallels  to  his  own  —  he 
must  have  lamented  his  folly  as  he  reviewed  its  results  to  his 
country.  The  once  peaceful  and  populous  parts  of  the  nine 
great  provinces  through  which  his  hordes  passed  have  hardly 
yet  begun  to  be  restored  to  their  previous  condition.  Ruined 
cities,  desolated  towns,  and  heaps  of  rubbish  still  mark  their 
course  from  Kwangsi  to  Tientsin,  a  distance  of  two  thousand 
miles,  the  efforts  at  restoration  only  making  the  conti'ast  more 
apparent.  Their  presence  was  an  unmitigated  scourge,  attended 
by  nothing  but  disaster  from  begimiing  to  end,  without  the 
least  effort  on  their  part  to  rebuild  what  had  been  destroyed,  to 
protect  what  was  left,  or  to  repay  what  had  been  stolen.  Wild 
beasts  roamed  at  large  over  the  land  after  their  departure,  and 
made  their  dens  in  the  deserted  towns ;  the  pheasant's  whirr  re- 
sounded where  the  hum  of  busy  populations  had  ceased,  and 
weeds  or  jungle  covered  the  ground  once  tilled  with  ])atient  in- 
dustry. Besides  millions  upon  millions  of  taels  irrecoverably 
lost  and  destroyed,  and  the  misery,  sickness,  and  starvation 

'  Pamphlets  issued  hy  the  Chinese  Tnsnnients  at  JVan-Kinfj  ;  to  whicJi  is  added 
a  histwy  of  the  Kwangsi  liehellion,  etc.,  etc.,  compiled  by  W.  H.  Medhurst, 
Senr.,  Shanghai,  IS"):}.  Coinjjare  II.  J.  Forrest  in  Joirrntd  iV.  C  Br.  R.  A. 
Soc,  No.  IV.,  December,  18G7,  pp.  1«7  ff.  The  China  Mail  for  February  2, 
1854. 


6"24:  TiiK  :midi)Le  kingdom. 

which  were  endured  by  the  survivors,  it  lias  heon  estimated  by 
foreigners  living  at  Shanghai  that,  during-  the  whole  period 
from  1851  to  1S05,  fully  twenty  millions  of  human  beings  were 
destroyed  in  connection  with  the  Tai-ping  Kebellion.' 


V 


'  The  most  complete  authorities  on  this  conflict  are  files  of  the  North  China 
lliruld  (Slianghai)  and  the  Vhina  Mail  (Hongkong)  during  the  years  from  1853 
to  1869 ;  a  careful  summary  of  these  has  been  made  by  M.  Cordier  in  his  Bib- 
liotheat  Sinica,  pp.  273-281,  wliich  will  be  useful  alone  to  those  who  can  gain 
access  to  these  newspapers.  The  number  of  articles  on  various  phases  of  the 
rebellion  contained  in  English  and  American  magazines  is  exceedingly  numer- 
ous, and  can  be  readily  found  by  reference  to  Poole's  Iride.x'.  Among  these 
compare  especially  the  London  Qudrterly,  Vol.  112,  for  October,  1862;  Fmser^s 
Magnzine,  Vol.  71,  February,  1865  ;  Blarktrood's,  Vol.  100,  pp.  604  and  683 ;  W. 
Sargent  in  the  North  Antcrican  Revieir,  Vol.  7v'),  July,  1854,  p.  158.  See  also 
the  various  Blue  Books  relating  to  China ;  Capt.  Fishbourne,  Inijiremons  of 
China  and  the  Present  Berohttion,  London,  1855;  Gallery  and  Yvan,  LTnsnr- 
rertion  en  Chine,  Paris,  1853 — translated  into  English,  London,  1853;  Charles 
Macfarlane,  Tlie  Chinese  Berohttion,  London,  1853 ;  T.  T.  Meadows,  The  Chi- 
nese and  tJieir  Behellions,  London,  1856  ;  J.  M.  Mackie,  Life  of  Tai-piny  Wang, 
N.  Y.,  1857;  Commander  Lindesay  Brine,  Narrative  of  the  Rise  and  Progress 
of  the  Taeping  Rebellion  in  China,  London,  1862;  "Lin-le,"  Ti-Ping  Tien- 
kifoh,  the  History  of  the  Ti-Ping  Berolution,  London,  1866— a  rather  untrust- 
worthy record  ;  Sir  T.  F.  Wade  in  the  Shanghai  Miscellany^  No.  I.  ;  Richtho- 
fan,  Letter  on  the  l^rotince  of  Shensi. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

THE  SECOND   WAR  BETWEEN   GREAT   BRITAIN  AND  CHINA. 

The  particulars  given  in  tlie  last  chapter  respecting  the  Tai- 
ping  Rebellion  did  not  include  those  details  coiniected  with 
foreign  intercourse  during  the  same  period  whieli  have  had 
such  important  results  on  the  Chinese  people  and  government. 
It  is  a  notable  index  of  the  vigor  and  self-poise  of  both,  that 
during  those  thirteen  terrible  years,  the  mass  of  inhabitants  in 
the  ten  eastern  provinces  never  lost  confidence  in  their  own 
government  or  its  ability  to  subdue  the  rebels ;  while  the  lead- 
ing officers  at  Peking  and  in  all  those  provinces  at  no  time  ex- 
pressed doubt  as  to  the  loyalty  of  their  countrymen  when  left 
fi'ee  to  act.  The  narrative  of  foi'eign  intercourse  is  now  re- 
sumed from  the  year  1849,  when  the  British  authorities  waived 
the  right  of  insisting  upon  their  admission  into  the  city  of 
Canton  according  to  the  terms  of  the  convention  with  Iviying 
in  1847.  The  conduct  of  the  Cantonese,  in  view  of  the  forci- 
ble entrance  of  English  troops  into  their  city,  is  an  interesting 
exhibition  of  their  manner  of  arousino;  enthusiasm  and  raisino' 
funds  and  volunteers  to  cope  with  an  emergency.  The  series 
of  papers  found  in  Vol.  XVIII.  of  the  Chinese  Re2)Ository  well 
illustrates  the  curious  mixture  of  a  sense  of  wrong  and  deep  con- 
cern in  public  affairs,  combined  with  profound  ignorance  and 
inaptitude  as  to  the  best  means  for  attaining  their  object. 

A  candid  examination  of  the  real  meaning  of  the  Chinese 
texts  of  the  four  earlier  treaties  makes  clear  the  fact  that  there 
were  some  grounds  for  their  refusal  ;  but  more  attractive  than 
this  appears  the  study  of  an  address  from  the  gentry  of  Can- 
ton, sent  upon  the  same  occasion,  to  Governor  Bonham  at  Hong- 
kong, dissuading  him  from  attempting  the  entry.      Their  con 


626  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

duct  was  naturally  legarded  by  the  British  as  seditious,  and  of 
these  many  urged  their  authorities  to  vindicate  the  national 
honor  and  force  a  way  over  the  walls  into  the  city.  The  prac- 
tice of  an  unwonted  approach  toward  self-government  which 
this  popular  movement  in  defence  of  their  metropolis  gave  the 
citizens,  was  of  real  service  to  them  in  the  year  1855,  when  it 
was  beleaguered  by  the  rebels,  since  they  had  learned  how  to  use 
their  powers  and  resources.  One  result  of  their  fancied  victory 
over  the  British  at  this  time  was  the  erection  of  six  stone  j)ai- 
lau,  or  honorary  portals,  in  various  parts  of  the  city  and  sub- 
urbs, on  each  of  which  was  engraved  the  sentence,  "  Reverently 
to  commemorate  glory  conferred,"  together  with  a  copy  of 
the  edict  ordering  their  establishment,  and  a  list  of  the  w^ards 
and  villages  which  furnished  soldiers  during  their  time  of  need.' 
The  outcome  of  the  working  of  treaty  provisions  between 
foreigners  and  natives  at  the  five  opened  ports  during  the  ten 
years  up  to  1853,  had  been  as  satisfactory  to  both  sides 
as  could  liave  been  reasonably  expected.  The  influx  of  for- 
eigners had  more  than  doubled  their  numbers ;  and  as  almost 
none  of  them  could  talk  the  Chinese  language,  it  happened  that 
natives  of  Canton  became  their  brokers  and  compradores — 
rather  more  by  reason  of  speaking pl(/eon-Migllsh  than  by  their 
wealth  or  capacity.  The  vicious  plan  of  marking  off  a  separate 
plat  of  land  for  the  residence  of  foreigners  at  each  port  was 
adopted,  and  their  development  tended  to  build  up  concessions, 
or  settlements,  which  were  to  be  governed  by  the  various  na- 
tionalities. In  doing  this  the  local  authorities  vacated  their 
rights  over  their  own  territory,  and  these  settlements  have  since 
become  the  germs  of  foreign  cities,  if  not  colonies.  The  Brit- 
ish and  French  consuls  at  Shanghai  claimed  territorial  jurisdic- 
tion over  all  who  settled  within  the  limits  of  their  allotted  dis- 
tricts, and  carried  this  assumption  so  far  as  to  exercise  authority 
over  the  natives  against  their  own  rulers.  The  British  erelong 
gave  up  this  pernicious  system,  which  had  no  legal  basis  by 
treaty  or  conquest,  and  yielded  the  entire  internal  management 

'  The  one  placed  near  the  southern  gate  became  a  target  for  the  British  gun- 
ners in  October,  1856,  its  demolition,  most  unfortunately,  involving  the  de 
Ptruction  and  burning  of  uiiilionii  of  Chinese  books  iu  the  shops  on  that  street 


INFLUENCE   OF   TREATIES    ON   THE   CHINESE.  627 

of  all  consular  communities  to  those  foreigners  which  composed 
them.  There  were  not  enougli  residents  elsewliere  to  raise  this 
question  of  local  government  to  any  importance,  but  the  prog- 
ress of  the  Tai-piiigs  and  the  rapid  growth  of  Shangliai  as  a 
centre  of  trade  for  the  Yangtsz'  basin,  compelled  the  prepara- 
tion and  adoption  of  a  set  of  land  regulations  in  order  to  insti- 
tute some  means  of  governing  the  thousands  of  foreigners  who 
had  flocked  thither.  George  Balfour,  the  first  British  consul 
in  that  port,  had  sanctioned  a  seiies  of  rules  in  1845,  which 
purported  to  be  drawn  up  by  the  tautal,  or  intendant  of  cir- 
cuit, and  which  worked  well  enough  in  peaceful  times. 

In  the  year  1853,  however,  the  civil  war  altered  the  condi- 
tions, when  certain  Cantonese  rebels  captured  Shanghai  and 
killed  some  of  its  magistrates,  driving  others  into  the  British 
settlement,  to  which  ground  the  custom-house  was  shortly  after- 
ward removed.  The  collector  of  the  port,  AVu  Kien-chang,  had 
formerly  been  a  hong  merchant  at  Canton,  and  he  willingl}^ 
entered  into  an  arrangement  for  putting  the  collection  of  for- 
eign duties  into  the  hands  of  a  commission  until  order  was  re- 
stored. The  presence  there  of  the  British,  American,  and 
French  ministers  facilitated  this  arrangement.  Their  respec- 
tive consuls,  R.  Alcock,  R.  C.  Murphy,  and  B,  Edan,  accord- 
ingly met  Wu  on  June  29,  1854,  and  agreed  to  a  set  of  cus- 
tom-house rules  which  in  reality  transferred  the  collection  of 
duties  into  the  hands  of  foreigners.  The  first  rule  contains  the 
reason  for  this  remarkable  step  in  advance  of  all  former  posi- 
tions, and  has  served  to  perpetuate  the  employment  of  foreign- 
ers at  all  the  open  ports,  and  maintain  the  foreign  inspecto- 
rate : 

Rule  I. — The  chief  difficulty  experienced  by  the  superintendent  of  cus- 
toms having  consisted  in  the  impossibility  of  obtaining  custom-house  officials 
with  the  necessary  qualifications  as  to  probity,  vigilance,  and  knowledge  of 
foreign  languages,  required  for  the  enforcement  of  a  close  observance  of  treaty 
and  custom-house  regulations,  the  only  adequate  remedy  appears  to  be  in  the 
introduction  of  a  foreign  element  into  the  custom-house  establishment,  in  the 
persons  of  foreigners  carefully  selected  and  apjjointed  by  the  tantai,  who 
shall  supply  tlie  deficiency  complained  of,  and  give  him  efficient  and  trust- 
worthy instruments  wherewith  to  work.' 


'  McLane's  Cornnpondcixr,  1858.    Senate  Ex.  Doc,  No.  iJ8,  p.  154. 


628  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

In.  carrying  out  the  new  arrangement,  each  consul  nominated 
one  man  to  the  intendant,  viz.,  T.  F.  Wade  for  the  British,  L. 
Carr  for  the  American,  and  Arthur  Smith  for  the  French 
member  of  the  board  of  inspectoi-s,  who  togetlier  were  to  talce 
charo-c  of  the  new  department.  The  chief  responsibility  for  its 
oro-anization  fell  on  Mi-.  Wade,  inasmuch  as  he  alone  of  this 
number  was  familiar  with  the  Chinese  language,  and  possessed 
other  qualifications  fitting  him  for  the  post.  He,  however,  re- 
signed within  a  year,  and  the  intendant  appointed  II.  X.  Lay, 
a  clerk  in  the  British  consulate,  who  completed  the  service  or- 
ganization. This  proceeding  shows  the  readiness  with  which 
the  Chinese  will  shirk  their  own  duties  and  functions  in  gov- 
ernment employ,  and  illustrates  as  well  many  peculiar  traits  in 
their  character. 

The  city  of  Shanghai  had  been  in  possession  of  a  Cantonese 
chief,  Liu  Tsz'-tsai,  and  his  rabble  since  September  T,  1853,  and 
the  position  of  foreigners  at  that  port  in  the  presence  of  such  a 
body  of  outlaws  developed  new  points  of  international  law.  If 
the  foreignei's  had  all  been  of  one  nationalitv  the  consul  would 
probably  have  assumed  temporary  control  of  the  city  and  j^ort 
to  assui'e  their  safety  ;  but  in  this  case  a  naval  force  under  each 
flag  lying  in  the  river  guaranteed  ample  protection  of  life  and 
property.  As  soon  as  the  city  was  occupied  the  difficulty  of 
restraining  the  disorderly  elements,  as  well  among  foreigners 
as  nativ^es,  became  painfully  apparent  to  their  rulers.  Foreign 
rowdies  eagerly  purchased  the  plunder  brought  to  them  and 
supplied  arms  and  other  things  in  return— a  line  of  conduct 
very  naturally  irritating  to  the  officials  in  charge  of  the  siege 
and  inclining  them  at  once  toward  coercive  measures. 

The  fact  that  the  French  settlement  adjoined  the  moat  on 
the  north  side  of  the  city  made  its  authorities  desirous  to  dis- 
lodge the  brigands,  which  they  essayed  to  do  January  6,  1855, 
b}'  joining  the  imperialists  in  breaking  the  walls  ;  they  were 
repulsed,  however,  with  a  loss  of  fifteen  men  killed  and  thii'ty- 
seven  wounded,  out  of  a  rank  and  file  numbering  two  hundred 
and  fifty.  Another  joint  attack,  undertaken  a  month  later,  was 
likewise  unsuccessful,  though  the  attempt  seems  to  have  fright- 
ened the  force  within  the  walls,  since  on  the  night  of  February 


WORK    or   THE   REBELS   AT   SirANGIIAI   AND   AMOY.      629 

JOtli  tliej  retired,  leaving  the  })lace  in  ruins.  A  like  cordiality 
was  nevertheless  not  always  maintained  between  native  and  for- 
eign soldiers,  for  in  the  previous  year  (April  4,  1854)  occurred  a 
collision  with  the  imperialists,  in  consequence  of  their  near  ap- 
proach to  the  foreign  quarter,  in  which  over  three  hundred  Chi- 
nese soldiers  were  killed  by  the  foreigners  who  landed  to  resist 
them.  This  untoward  rencontre  did  not,  however,  interrupt 
amicable  relations  with  the  intendant,  and  was  followed  by  con- 
sular notifications  that  whoever  entered  the  service  of  the  com- 
batants in  or  out  of  the  city  would  forfeit  all  protection. 
These  notices  were  nevertheless  soon  disrefrarded  as  the  strug- 
gle  went  on,  for  the  temptation  to  enjoy  a  lawless  life  was  too 
strong  for  hundreds  of  sailors  then  found  in  that  port.  It  was 
an  anomalous  state  of  affairs,  and  the  exigency  led  to  some  acts 
of  violence  by  consuls  in  control  of  men-of-war. 

The  city  of  Anioy  had  been  captured  by  insurgents  on  May 
IS,  1852,  but  no  contravention  occurred ;  the  number  of  for- 
eigners residing  at  this  port  was  small,  while  the  opposite  island 
of  Kulang  su  afforded  a  refuge  beyond  the  range  of  missiles. 
The  city  was  regained  by  the  imperialists  before  a  jear  had 
passed.  The  districts  north  of  Canton,  whence  Hung  Siu-tsuen 
and  many  of  his  adherents  originated,  began  the  same  year  to 
send  forth  their  bands  of  robbers  to  pillage  the  province.  These 
gangs  had  really  no  affinity  with  the  Tai-pings,  either  in  doc- 
trine or  plans,  and  none  of  them  succeeded  in  gaining  even  a 
temporary  success.  When  the  booty  was  expended  they  usually 
quarrelled,  and  the  impei-ialists  destroyed  them  in  detail.  Every 
part  of  the  province  was  at  one  time  or  another  the  scene  of 
savage  conflict  between  tliese  contestants,  and  it  was  soon  shown 
that  no  regenerating  principle  was  involved  on  either  side.  The 
confidence  of  the  educated  and  wealthy  classes  in  the  just  cause 
and  final  success  of  their  rulers  was  shown  in  raising  men  and 
money  for  the  public  service  and  organizing  bodies  of  local 
police  ;  but  the  want  of  a  sagacious  leader  to  plan  and  execute, 
so  that  all  this  mateiial  and  action  should  not  be  frittered  away, 
was  painfully  apparent. 

In  the  capture  of  banking  by  Tai-pings,  the  restless  leaders 
of  sedition  in  Kwangtung  saw  their  opportunity,  and  gathered 


630  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

their  bands  of  freebooters  in  tlic  southern  prefectures.  In  June, 
185-i,  the  district  town  of  Tungkvvan  neur  the  JJogue  was  taken, 
the  ricli  manufacturing  mart  of  Fuhshan  (or  Fat-slian)  near 
Canton  fell  a  month  later,  followed  by  that  of  Shuntch,  San- 
f-hui,  and  other  lesser  places,  throwing  the  southern  part  of  the 
province  into  a  state  of  anarchy.  The  theory  of  the  Chinese 
govermnent,  that  if  the  capital  is  preserved  the  whole  province 
is  loyal,  and  its  officers  can  use  its  revenue,  enabled  Governor- 
General  Yell  to  concert  measures  to  repress  these  disorders. 
The  City  of  Hams  was  environed  during  August  by  large  bttdies 
of  insurgents,  whose  wants  were  supplied  from  Fuhshan.  In 
this  crisis  about  one  thousand  five  hundred  houses  abutting 
outside  the  city  walls  Mere  destroyed,  and  the  ward  police 
strengthened  for  the  better  protection  of  their  neighborlioods 
against  incendiaries.  In  all  these  proceedings  the  foreigners 
at  Canton  were  ne\er  consulted  or  referred  to  by  the  ofiicials, 
l)ut  their  merchant  steamers  kept  the  Pearl  River  open  to  the 
sea,  while  their  men-of-war  lying  off  the  factories  proved  a 
safeguard  to  the  crowded  city.  The  rebels  had  occupied  a  post 
near  Whampoa,  and  their  gunboats  prowled  through  every 
creek  in  the  delta,  burning,  destroying,  capturing,  and  murder- 
ing without  resti-aint.  They  would  be  followed  by  a  band  of 
imperialists,  whose  excesses  were  sometimes  even  more  dread- 
ful than  those  of  their  enemies.  So  terrible  was  the  plight  of 
the  ^\•retched  countrymen  that  the  headmen  of  ninety-six  vil- 
lages near  Fuhshan  formed  a  league  and  armed  their  people 
to  keep  soldiers  from  either  side  from  entering  their  precincts. 
In  September,  at  a  general  meeting  of  the  gentry  of  Canton, 
a  pi-oposal  to  save  the  city  by  asking  foreign  aid  was  approved 
by  Yell,  but  liappily  the  project  failed  of  fulfilment  and  only 
resulted  in  showing  them  how  nmch  better  was  a  reliance  upon 
their  own  resources.  The  news  of  this  discussion  led  Chin  Uien- 
liang,  the  rebel  leader  near  Whampoa,.  to  circulate  proposals 
aniong  the  foreigners  asking  them  to  help  him  in  capturing  the 
city  and  promising  as  rewai'd  a  portion  of  the  island  of  Ilonan. 
The  condition  of  the  peo])le  at  this  time  was  sad  and  desperate 
indeed,  and  their  only  remedy  was  to  arm  in  self-defence,  in 
doing  which    they  found  out  how  small   a  ]>ro})ortion  of  the  in- 


THE   INSUKRECTION    IN    KWANGTUNG.  631 

habitants  was  disloyal.  Ko  quarter  was  given  on  either  side. 
and  the  carnage  was  appalling  Avhenever  victory  remained  with 
the  imperialists.  During  this  year  the  emigration  to  California 
and  Australia  became  larger  than  ever  before,  while  the  coolie 
trade  waxed  flonrishing,  owing  to  the  multitudes  thi'own  out  of 
employment  who  wci-e  eager  in  accepting  the  offers  of  the 
brokers  to  depart  from  the  country  and  escape  the  evils  they 
saw  everj'where  about  them.  The  terrors  of  famine,  fighting, 
and  plundering  paralyzed  all  industry  and  trade,  and  enal)led 
one  to  better  understand  similar  scenes  described  by  ancient  his- 
torians as  occurring  in  Western  Asia. 

The  exhaustion  and  desperation  consequent  on  these  events 
had  almost  demoralized  society  in  and  around  Canton,  which 
was  overcrowded  M'ith  refugees,  raising  food  to  famine  prices. 
It  was  creditable  to  these  poor  and  sickly  people  that  their  in- 
flux produced  no  other  fear  than  that  of  a  higher  rate  of  liv- 
ing— none  of  pestilence  or  plunder,  even  in  the  extremity  of 
their  sufferings.  In  Fuhshan,  fifteen  miles  away,  no  one  was 
safe.  The  rebels  had  depleted  its  resources,  killed  its  gentry, 
and  oppressed  the  townsfolk  until  a  quarrel  broke  out  in  their 
camp,  and  they  departed  about  the  season  of  Christmas,  leaving 
the  whole  a  smoking  ruin.  One  of  the  insurgent  practices  con- 
sisted in  driving  great  numbers  of  people  into  squares  and  there 
shooting  them  down  by  cannon  placed  in  the  approaching  streets, 
while  the  houses  around  them  were  burning.  The  flames  could 
be  seen  for  two  or  three  days  from  Canton,  and  it  was  estimated 
that  during  this  conflict  fully  two  hundred  thousand  human 
beings  perished.  The  town  was  the  manufacturing  centre  for  the 
foreign  trade,  where  silks,  satins,  shawls,  paper,  fire-crackers, 
pottery,  and  other  staples  were  made,  and  their  workmen  resided. 
After  this  dreadful  act  the  insui-gents  grew  more  and  more  des- 
perate, feeling  that  they  could  not  hold  out  much  longer  for 
want  of  booty  and  supplies  to  keep  their  men  together.  By 
March  the  force  of  fifteen  thousand  men  inside  the  city  was 
ready,  and  on  the  6th  it  went  quietly  down  to  attack  the  fort 
below  Whampoa.  The  onset  and  resistance  were  most  deter- 
mined ;  before  the  position  succumbed,  some  twenty-five  thou-, 
sand  men  must  have  perished  by  battle  or  flood  ;  the  rebel 


632  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

leader  escaped  toward  lliangslmu.  The  insurrection  was,  how- 
ever, scotched,  and  its  victoi-s  celebrated  their  triumph  three 
days  later  in  the  city  to  a  grateful  and  applauding  concourse. 
When  the  city  of  Shanking,  west  of  Canton,  was  retaken  in 
May,  its  victors  boasted  that  thirty  thousand  rebels  were  drowned 
or  beheaded. 

Notwithstanding  these  reverses  the  insurgents  did  not  yet  dis- 
appear, but  maintained  themselves  along  the  watercourses  in 
lai'ge  flotillas  during  many  months.  The  Portuguese  and  British 
also  fitted  out  expeditions  to  pursue  the  pirates,  as  the  same  men 
were  now  called,  desti'oying  them  and  their  haunts  at  Kulan 
Lantao,  and  elsewhere.  In  rooting  out  these  land  and  sea 
brigands,  the  merciless  character  of  the  people  was  made  mani- 
fest ;  every  one  convicted  of  rebellion  was  straightway  executed 
by  the  authorities.  At  Canton,  where  prisoners  were  received 
from  all  such  districts,  the  executions  were  on  a  terribly  huge 
scale,  as  many  as  seven  or  eight  hundred  persons  being  beheaded 
in  a  single  day.  A  count  taken  at  the  city  gate  whence  they 
all  issued  on  their  way  to  the  field  of  blood  near  the  river,  re- 
vealed the  fact  that  fully  eighty  thousand  were  thus  executed 
in  the  year  1855.  This  did  not  include  thousands  who  connnit- 
ted  suicide  in  places  provided  for  them  near  their  homes,  from 
which  their  relatives  could  take  their  bodies  to  the  family  tomb. 
As  might  be  expected,  other  thousands  left  the  province  for  the 
north,  or  escaped  into  distant  lands  as  coolies  and  emigrants. 

I'ublic  attention  abroad  was  at  this  time  so  engrossed  with 
the  greater  rebellion  going  on  along  the  Yangtsz'  Tliver  that  the 
liorrors  of  that  in  Kwangtung  were  overlooked.  There  were 
many  foreigners  at  Whampoa  and  Hongkong  who  sided  with 
the  leading  brigands,  reported  their  successes  in  the  newspapers, 
and  supplied  them  with  munitions  of  war.  The  inefiiciency  of 
a  foreign  consul  to  restrain  his  countrymen  thus  flagrantly  vio- 
lating all  their  treaty  obligations  toward  China,  showed  most 
conclusively  how  easy  it  is  for  the  stronger  party  in  such  cases 
to  demand  their  rights,  and  shirk  their  duties  if  it  suits  their 
convenience. 

During  the  year  1856  affaii'S  between  the  Chinese  govern- 
ment and  foreign  powers  became  more  and  more  hampered,  while 


flELATIUNS   BETWEEN    ENGLAND   AND   CHINA.         633 

all  attempts  to  ai'rangc  difficulties  as  tliey  arose  wore  defeated 
by  the  obstinate  refusal  of  Yeh  Ming-chin,  the  governor-general 
at  Canton,  to  meet  any  foreign  minister.  He  intrenched  him- 
self behind  the  city  gates,  and  would  do  nothing.  Sir  John 
iiowring,  the  British  plenipotentiary  and  governor  of  Jlong- 
kong,  had  most  reason  to  be  dissatisfied  with  this  conduct,  inas- 
much as  there  were  many  questions  which  could  have  been  easily 
ari'anged  in  a  personal  interview.  It  was  ascertained  from  some 
documents '  afterward  found  in  Yeh's  office  that  this  seclusion  was 
a  })art  of  the  system  devised  at  Peking  to  maintain  a  complete 
isolation  and  keep  the  dreaded  foreigners  at  a  distance.  Ko 
coui'se  could  be  more  likely  to  bring  upon  tlie  government  the 
evils  it  feared,  and  at  the  same  time  show  more  conclusively  the 
ignorant  and  inapt  cliaracter  of  those  who  carried  it  on.  This 
state  of  things  could  not  long  continue  when  such  powerful 
agencies  were  at  work  along  the  coast  to  disorganize  legal  trade 
and  thwart  the  utmost  efforts  of  all  officials  to  resti-ain  the 
reckless  conduct  of  their  subjects.  The  ten  years  now  elapsed 
since  the  opening  of  the  five  ports  had  involved  the  Chinese  in 
more  complications,  miseries,  and  disasters  than  had  been  known 
since  the  Mancliu  conquest ;  nevertheless,  neither  rebellion  nor 
foreign  comjdications  seem  to  have  impi'essed  their  lessons  upon 
the  proud  bureaucracy  in  Peking,  which  was  as  unwilling  to 
remedy  as  unable  to  appreciate  the  real  nature  of  the  difficulties 
that  beset  the  country. 

In  the  struggle  between  nations,  as  between  individuals,  the 
agony  and  weakness  of  one  side  becomes  the  opportunity  of  the 
other  ;  and  these  conditions  were  now  open  to  the  British,  who 
speedily  found  their  excuse  for  further  demands.  In  order  to 
develop  the  trade  of  the  free  port  of  Hongkong,  its  laws  en- 
couraged all  classes  of  shipping  to  resort  thither,  by  removing 
all  charges  on  vessels  and  granting  licenses,  with  but  few  and 
unimportant  restrictions,  to  Chinese  craft  to  cany  on  trade 
inider  the  British  flag.  This  freedom  had  developed  an  enor- 
mous snuiggling  trade,  especially  in  opium,  which  the  Chinese 
revenue  service  was  unable  to  restrain  or  unwilling  to  legalize. 

^  Blue  Book,  1857. 


634  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

These  boats  cruised  wlierever  they  might  tiiid  a  trade  to  invite 
or  reward  them,  wholly  indifferent  to  their  own  government, 
which  could  exercise  no  adequate  control  over  them,  and  kept 
from  the  last  excesses  only  on  account  of  the  risk  of  losing 
their  cargoes.  To  the  evils  of  smuggling  were  added  the  worse 
acts  and  dangers  of  kidnapping  natives  to  supply  baracoons  at 
Macao.  The  Poi'tuguese  had  many  of  these  lorchas  to  carry  on 
their  commerce,  and  gradually  a  set  of  desperate  men  had  so 
far  engrossed  them  in  acts  of  daring  and  pillage  that  honest 
native  trade  about  any  part  of  the  coast  south  of  Shanghai 
became  almost  impossible  except  undei"  their  con  vo3\  The  two 
free  ports  of  Macao  and  Hongkong  naturally  became  their  re- 
sorts, where  they  all  took  on  the  aspect  of  legitimate  traders, 
which,  indeed,  most  of  them  were — save  under  great  tempta- 
tions. 

It  was  not  surprising  that  Chinese  rulers  should  confound 
these  two  classes  of  vessels,  nor,  from  the  traders'  side,  was  it  a 
wonder  that  their  crews  should  use  the  flag  which  gave  them 
the  greatest  protection  when  beyond  foreign  inspection  and 
jurisdiction.  Few  nations  have  ever  been  subjected  to  such 
continuous  and  prolonged  irritation  in  respect  to  its  connnercial 
regulations  as  was  the  Canton  government  from  those  two 
alien  communities  during  the  ten  years  ending  with  1850  ;  few 
nations,  on  the  other  hand,  have  acted  more  unwisely  in  exer- 
tions toward  peace  and  the  removal  of  such  difficulties  than 
did  the  unspeakable  Governor-General  Yeh.  That  the  inevita- 
ble collision  between  the  Chinese  and  British  was  now  at  hand, 
follows  almost  as  a  matter  of  course,  when  to  our  knowledge 
of  the  commissioner's  character  we  add  Mr.  Justin  McCarthy's 
very  appropriate  estimate  of  the  two  Englishmen  in  whose 
hands  well-nigh  all  British  affairs  in  China  were  vested :  "  Mr. 
Consul  Parkes,"  says  he,  "  was  fussy.  Sir  John  Bowring  was 
a  man  of  considerable  ability,  but  .  .  .  full  of  self-conceit, 
and  without  any  very  clear  idea  of  political  principles  on  the 
large  scale." ' 

Early  in   the   morning  of   October  8th,  two  boat-loads  of 

'  A  Uintonj  uf  Our  Own  Times,  Chap.  XXX. 


THE   CASE   OF   THE    LOltCllA   AKUOW.  635 

Chinese  sailors,  Avith  their  ofiicers,  put  off  from  a  large  war-junk, 
boarded  the  lorcha  Arrow  lying'  at  anchor  in  the  river  before 
Canton,  pinioned  and  carried  away  twelve  of  the  fourteen  na- 
tives who  composed  her  crew,  and  added  to  this  unexpected 
"  act  of  violence,''  as  Mr.  Tarkes  stated  it,  "  the  significant  in- 
sult of  hauling  down  the  Iji'itish  ensign."  One  Kennedy,  a 
young  Irishman  who  is  described  as  a  very  respectable  man  of 
his  class,  was  master  of  the  lorcha,  but  chanced  at  the  time  to 
be  on  another  boat  lying  in  the  innnediate  neighborhood  of  his 
own,  and  could  in  consequence  offer  no  resistance.  It  is  proba- 
ble, judging  from  testimony  given  at  the  British  consulate,  that 
the  hauling  down  of  the  flag  was  a  mere  bit  of  wantonness  on 
the  part  of  the  junk's  oflicer  upon  his  finding  that  no  foreigner 
was  (ni  board,  and  the  offence  might  readily  have  been  followed 
by  an  apology  had  the  command  of  negotiations  been  in  any 
other  hands  than  those  of  Yeh.  The  Arrow  was  owned  by  a 
Chinese,  Fong  A-ming,  her  nominal  master  being  engaged  by 
Mr.  Block,  the  Danish  consul  at  Hongkong;  his  vessel  was  not, 
however,  entitled  to  protection,  inasmuch  as  her  British  regis- 
ter had  expired  by  its  own  limitation  eleven  days  before  the 
episode  in  Canton  lliver,  and  the  lorcha  was  already  forfeited 
to  the  crown.'  Her  papers  were  then  at  the  consulate,  and  it 
was  contended  by  Mr.  Parkes  that  under  Clause  X.  of  the 
ordinance  she  retained  a  right  to  protection ;  a  mere  quibble, 
since  the  cause  refers  to  the  vessel  when  upon  a  voyage,  and  the 
Arrow  had  confessedly  remained  about  the  ports  of  Macao  and 
Canton  during  a  month. 

Consul  Parkes,  aftei'  ascertaining  the  facts  connected  with 
this  high-handed  outrage,  pushed  off  to  the  war-junk — which 
remained  the  while  quietly  at  anchor — to  claim  the  captured 
sailors  and  "  explain  to  the  officers,  if  it  were  possible  that  they 
had  acted  in  error,  the  gi'oss  insult  and  violation  of  national 


'  Sir  John  Bowring  indeed  conceded  that  "  the  Arrow  had  no  right  to  hoist 
the  British  flag,"  but  alleged  that  the  Chinese  had  no  knowledge  of  the  expiry 
of  the  license,  and  that  this  ignorance  deprived  them  of  the  legal  value  of 
the  truth.  He  quoted,  moreover.  Article  IX.  of  the  Supplementary  Treaty, 
requiring  tliat  '•  all  Chinese  malfaisants  in  British  ships  shall  be  claimed 
throui'h  the  British  authorities." 


636  I'HE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

rights  which  tlicy  had  coininitted."  '  Tliis  was  in  vain.  ^Viiiuiig 
the  men  was  a  notorious  pirate,  he  was  told,  and  tlieir  orders 
wei'e  tliat  the  suspected  crew  should  be  sent  to  the  governor 
for  examination.  Veh  stoutly  upheld  the  act  of  his  subordi- 
nate, and  affii'med  that  the  lorcha  had  no  right  to  fly  the  Brit- 
ish flag,  disclaiming,  however,  any  intention  of  molesting  law- 
ful traders  under  the  emblem.  Katui-ally  enough,  he  would 
not  yield  the  right  of  jurisdiction  over  his  own  subjects,  and  in 
doing  this  was  asserting  precisely  what  Great  Britain  and  every 
other  nation  on  the  globe  knew  to  be  the  first  privilege  of  an  in- 
dependent government.  The  case  was  not  unlike  that  much-dis- 
cussed affair  of  the  American  Commodore  AVilkes,  who  boarded 
the  Trent  in  1863  and  captured  Mason  and  Slidell — performing 
a  right-enough  action,  but  in  a  wrong  and  hasty  fashion. 

In  his  reply  to  Mr.  Parkes,  Yeh  declares  that  he  has  held  an 
examination  of  the  sailors  and  finds  that  three  of  them  M'ere 
implicated  in  a  piracy  of  the  preceding  month  on  St.  John's 
Island,  that  the  officei's  had  good  reasons  for  seizing  these  men, 
that  the  remaining  nine  shall  ])e  sent  back  to  their  vessel  ;  which 
he  straightway  does,  but  they  are  as  promptly  returned  l)y  the 
consul  because  the  entire  crew  is  not  given  up.  Sir  John  Bow- 
ring  now  demands,  through  his  representative  at  Canton  (1),  "  an 
apology  for  what  has  taken  place,  and  an  assurance  that  the 
British  flag  shall  in  future  be  respected  ; "  (2)  "  that  all  pro- 
ceedings against  Chinese  offenders  on  board  British  vessels 
must  take  place  according  to  the  conditions  of  the  treaty ; "  " 
in  case  of  refusal  the  consul  is  to  concert  with  the  naval  au- 
tliorities  the  measures  necessary  for  enforcing  redress.  This 
threat  extracted  from  the  governor-general  a  promise  that 
"  hereafter  Chinese  officers  will  on  no  account,  without  i-eason, 
seize  and  take  into  custody  the  people  belonging  to  foreign 
lorchas;"  adding  very  properly,  "but  when  Chinese  subjects 
build  for  themselves  vessels,  foreigners  should  not  sell  registers 
to  them,  for  if  this  be  done,  it  will  occasion  confusion  between 
native  and  foreign  ships,  and  render  it  difficult  to  distinguish 

^  Blue  Book:  Papers  relatinri  to  tlie  Proceedings  of  her  Majesty^  s  Naval  Forces 
at  Canton,  p.  1. 
'Blue  Book,  Ibid.,  p.  13. 


OPENING    or   HOSTILITIES.  637 

between  them."  '  Twelve  days  afterwuiU  (Octoljer  22d)  the 
entire  crew  were  returned,  but  once  more  refused  by  Mr. 
Parkes,  ostensibly  because  the  apology  was  not  sent  with  them 
— and  this  the  connnissioner  coukl  not  offer  either  in  justice  to 
his  government  or  to  the  cause  of  truth. 

Ensconced  behind,  the  walls  of  Canton  city,  Yeh  resolved  to 
stand  firm  on  his  rights  as  he  understood  them,  even  should  the 
doing  so  involve  the  lives  and  property  of  thousands  of  his 
countrymen.  To  all  foreigners  in  Chiua  this  affair  was  in- 
tinuitely  connected  with  most  important  possibilities  and  con- 
sequences: the  inviolability  of  national  flags,  protection  to 
every  one  whom  they  covered,  personal  intercourse  with  Chi- 
nese officers,  maintenance  of  treaty  rights.  In  upholding  these 
the  British  drew  to  their  side  the  good  wishes  of  all  intelligent 
observers  for  their  success  in  arms,  however  unhappy  their  ex- 
cuse for  a  resort  to  such  means  might  be.  One  more  word 
from  Mr.  McCarthy  before  leaving  the  initial  episode  of  this 
war.  "  The  truth  is,"  he  sums  up,  "  that  there  has  seldom  been 
so  flagrant  and  so  inexcusable  an  example  of  high-handed  law- 
lessness in  the  dealings  of  a  strong  with  a  weak  nation,"  ^  but 
like  many  another  conflict  where  strength  and  justice  have  been 
ranged  on  opposite  sides,  the  latter  was  speedily  pushed  to  the 
wall.  The  incident  of  the  Arrow"  appeared  a  trifling  one  ;  nev- 
ertheless on  so  slight  a  hinge  turned  the  future  welfare  and 
progress  of  the  Chinese  people  in  their  intercourse  with  other 
nations,  a  hinge  which,  opening  outward,  unclosed  the  door  for 
all  parties  to  learn  the  truth  respecting  the  countries  of  each, 
and,  in  the  end,  agree  upon  the  only  grounds  on  which  a  bene- 
ficial and  intelligent  intercourse  could  be  maintained. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  recount  in  detail  the  steps  by  which 
Governor  Bowring  and  Admiral  Seymour  vainly  attempted  to 
bring  Yeh  to  their  terms.  "  Acknowledge  that  you  are  in  the 
wrong,"  was  their  ultimatum,  "  by  merely  sending  the  three 

'Ibid..,  p.  15. 

'^  Ifixtory  of  Our  (hen  Times,  Vol.  III.,  Chap.  XXX.  Lord  Elgin  in  his  jour- 
nal refers  frankly  enough  to  "  that  wretched  question  of  the  Arrow,  which  is 
a  scandal  to  us,  and  is  so  considered,  I  have  reason  to  know,  hy  all  except  the 
few  who  are  personally  compromised." — Letters  and  Journcds  of  Lord  EJlgin, 
edited  by  T.  Walrond,  p.    209. 


638  THE  MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

bUspects  to  the  consulate,  and  ask  that  tliey  be  returned  on 
cliarge  of  piracy."  The  long-continued  national  policy  of  ex- 
clusion could  not,  however,  be  so  easily  ovei'thrown ;  its  reduc- 
tion must  be  by  force.  The  seizure  of  a  military  junk  was  the 
lirst  act  of  the  British,  then  the  capture  of  the  liarrier  forts, 
followed  by  that  of  all  others  on  the  south  of  Canton,  and  lastly 
breaching  the  city  wall  opposite  Yeh's  yamun.  This  was  en- 
tered by  Adnural  Seymour  with  a  snudl  party  of  marines. 

Sir  John  Bowring  had  already  nuide  the  demand  that  the  city 
gates  should  be  opened  to  them  in  accordance  with  the  agree- 
ment entered  into  ten  years  before  between  Governor  Davis 
and  Kiying,  and  expresses  his  gratification  to  the  consul  that  now 
one  great  object  of  hostile  action  had  been  satisfactorily  accom- 
plished— an  object  whicli  Mi'.  Parkes  declares  was  clearly  based 
on  treaty  rights.  However,  they  did  not  see  Yeh,  who  resorted 
to  all  manner  of  petty  annoyances,  the  evils  of  which  mostly  fell 
on  his  own  people,  without  in  the  least  advancing  his  cause. 

On  Xovember  15th,  to  the  complications  with  the  English 
was  added  a  quarrel  with  the  Americans,  whose  boats  had 
been  twice  fired  into  and  one  man  killed  by  the  Chinese  officers 
in  command  of  the  Barrier  forts.  Commodore  J.  Armstrong 
had  under  his  connnand  the  San  Jacinto,  Poi-tsmouth,  and  Le- 
vant, then  lying  at  Whampoa.  He  ordered  the  two  latter  to  go 
as  near  to  these  forts  as  possible,  and  directed  Captain  A.  H. 
Foote  of  the  Portsmouth  to  destroy  them  all.  Foote  accord- 
ingly organized  a  large  force  and  attacked  them  on  the  16th, 
20th,  and  21st,  till  they  were  reduced  and  occupied.  The  re- 
sistance of  the  Chinese  on  this  occasion  was  unusually  brave 
and  ])rolonged,  the  admirable  position  of  the  forts  enabling 
each  of  them  to  lend  assistance  to  the  others.  On  the  part  of 
the  Americans,  seven  were  killed  and  twenty-two  wounded  ; 
perhaps  three  hundred  Cliinese  were  put  hors  de  comhat ;  the 
guns  in  the  forts  (one  hundred  and  seventy-six  in  all)  were  de- 
stroyed, and  the  sea-walls  demolished  with  powder  found  in 
the  magazines.'     This  skirmish  is  the  only  passage  of  arms  ever 

'  One  brass  gun  of  eight-inch  calibre  was  twenty-two  feet  five  inches  long  ; 
the  entire  armament  of  these  forts  was  superior  in  equipment  to  anything 
before  seen  in  China. 


COLLISION    WITH    THE   AMKltlCANS.  639 

engaged  in  by  American  and  Chinese  forces— one  whieli  ^cli 
seemed  to  ix-gard  as  of  slight  moment,  and  for  wliich  he  cared 
neither  to  apologize  nor  sympathize,  llis  unexampled  indif- 
ference in  referring  to  the  affair  less  than  two  days  after  the 
demolishment  of  his  forts  '  was  met  by  an  equal  frankness  on 
the  part  of  Dr.  Parker,  who  at  once  resumed  correspondence 
•witli  the  commissioner,  and,  content  with  the  practical  lesson 
just  administered,  said  no  more  about  "  apologies  and  guaran- 
tees."' This  episode  is  interesting  chiefly  as  an  example  of  the 
American  course  regarding  an  insult  to  the  national  flag,  as  con- 
trasted with  the  English  dealing  with  an  injury  not  very  differ- 
ent either  in  nature  or  degree. 

Relations  between  Great  Britain  and  China  continued  in  this 
constrained  position  until  the  opening  of  another  year,  the  con- 
flict now  being  almost  wholly  restiicted  to  unimportant  colli- 
sions with  village  braves  on  land  and  voluminous  discussions 
with  the  governor-general  on  paper.  In  Xovember  the  French 
minister  withdrew  his  legation  from  Canton,  there  being  by 
that  time  neither  French  citizens  nor  interests  to  watch  over. 
Principal  among  the  events  during  this  interval  was  the  burn- 
ing of  the  foreign  factories  by  order  of  Yeh,  Decend^er  14th. 
They  were  fired  in  the  night  and  were  entirely  consumed  with 
all  their  contents,  as  well,  too,  as  the  contiguous  poi'tion  of  the 
suburbs.  The  offer  of  thirty  taels  head-money  for  every  English- 
man killed  or  captured  resulted  in  a  few  endeavors  on  the  part 
of  natives,  whereby  they  kidnapped  or  slew  two  or  three  sea- 
men when  separated  from  their  ships.  These  attempts  at 
guerilla  warfare  were  so  promptly  met  and  rewarded  on  the 
part  of  the  English,  by  wholesale  punishment  of  offending 
villages,  as  to  cause  little  annoyance  after  the  lesson  of  certain 
retribution  had  been  taken  to  heart  by  the  Chinese.  More  im- 
portant than  all  these  was  a  dastardly  attempt,  on  January  11, 


'  "  There  is  no  matter  of  strife  between  our  respective  nations.  Henceforth 
let  the  fashion  of  the  flag  which  American  ships  employ  be  ck^arly  defined, 
and  inform  me  what  it  is  beforehand.  This  will  be  the  verification  of  the 
friendly  relations  which  exist  between  the  two  countries." — Hoppin,  Life  of 
Admiral  Foote,  pp.  110-140.  CorrcKpondenrc  of  McLdue  and  Parker,  Senate 
Document  No.  2^,  December  20,  1858,  pp.  lOlo'ff.     lUue  Book,  p.  137. 


640  THE  MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

1857,  to  poison  the  foreigners  at  Hongkong,  by  putting  arsenic 
in  the  bread  supplied  from  a  Chinese  baker.  This,  it  was  after- 
ward asce]"tained,  was  at  the  instigation  of  certain  officials  on 
the  mainland,  but  fortunately  even  here  their  villany  was 
foiled,  owing  to  the  overdose  Contained  in  the  dough.  It 
ought  to  be  stated,  in  passing,  that  such  acts  are  not  common 
in  China,  and,  in  this  case,  that  the  baker's  employers  were  pro- 
ven entirely  innocent. 

Duriner  much  of  this  time  Canton  had  been  reminded  of  the 
presence  of  the  British  force  by  intermittent  bombarding  of  the 
city  from  guns  in  Dutch  Folly  Fort.  Sir  John  Bowring  had 
demanded  an  interview  wdth  Yeh  in  Xovember,  but  received  a 
prompt  refusal,  followed  by  a  still  more  vigorous  carrying  on  of 
the  war  in  his  peculiar  fashion,  and  by  raising  the  price  on 
English  heads.  Admiral  Seymour  had  now  less  reason  for  re- 
maining within  the  Bogue,  as  all  trade  was  at  an  end.  Hun- 
dreds of  foreigners  had  already  been  thrown  out  of  employ- 
ment, their  property  destroyed,  their  plans  broken  np,  and  in  a 
few  instances  their  lives  lost  in  consequence  of  tliis  quarrel. 
After  holding  an  intrenched  position  around  the  church  and 
])arracks  of  the  factories  for  the  s])ace  of  a  month,  the  useless- 
ness  of  this  effort  when  sustained  by  so  paltry  a  force  seems  tf 
have  moved  the  admiral  (January  14,  1S5T)  to  retire  from 
Canton,  falling  back  npon  Macao  Fort  nntil  reinforcements 
should  arrive  from  India.  Before  leaving  the  site  of  the  fac- 
tories, however,  he  burned  down  the  warehouses  of  those  na- 
tive merchants  in  the  vicinity,  their  inmates  having  previously 
beeu  warned  to  leave  them.  These  buildings  and  their  contents 
were  private  pi'operty,  and  the  intrenched  position  in  the  fac- 
tory garden  was  not  endangered  by  their  reniaining.  The 
leaders  of  the  British  operations  had  hitherto  professed  to  spare 
private  property  ;  and  even  if  the  performance  was  meant  as  a 
})arting  menace  to  the  governor-general — ''  to  show  him,"  as 
]Mr.  Parkes  remarked,  "  that  we  can  burn  too  " — it  Avas  one  of 
the  few  acts,  on  their  side,  which  has  left  a  stigma  npon  the 
English  name  in  China.  The  hostile  proceedings  of  the  Chi- 
nese authorities  had  been  both  petty  and  nseless,  but  as  Ad- 
miral Seymour's  force  was  inadequate  to  take  and  hold  Canton, 


PUBLIC    SENTIMENT   IN    ENGLAND.  641 

a  more  serious  cannonading  of  the  imperial  quarters  might  have 
been  a  more  honorable  method  of  taking  retribution  for  out- 
rages, and  better  calculated  than  this  cuunter-incendiarism  to  in- 
crease respect  for  British  arms  and  civilization. 

The  news  of  these  operations  in  China  excited  great  interest 
and  speculation  in  Europe,  inasmuch  as  all  its  nations  were  more 
or  less  interested  in  the  China  trade.  Parliament  was  the  scene 
of  animated  argument  as  to  the  policy  of  Sir  John  Bowring  and 
his  colleagues ;  the  moral,  commercial,  and  political  features  of 
British  intercourse  with  China  were  discussed  most  thoroughly 
in  all  their  bearings,  the  arguments  of  both  parties  in  the  de- 
bate being  drawn  from  the  same  despatches.  One  remarkable 
series  of  papers  was  presented  to  the  House  of  Lords  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1857,  entitled  Coi'vespoiulence  resjpecting  Insults  in  China, 
"containing  the  particulars  of  twenty-eight  outrages  committed 
by  the  Chinese  upon  British  and  other  foreigners  between  the 
years  1812  and  1856."  This  publication  M'as  intended  appa- 
rently to  show  how  impracticable  the  Chinese  authorities  were 
in  all  their  intercourse  with  foreigners,  and  its  contents  became 
to  members  of  the  House  so  many  arguments  for  placing  this 
intereourse  on  a  better  basis  at  the  imperial  court.  To  those 
who  had  watched  since  1812  the  results  of  treaty  stipulations 
upon  the  people  of  China  and  their  rulers,  it  was  plain  that  no 
satisfactory  political  intercourse  could  be  hoped  for  so  long  as 
the  governor-general  at  Canton  had  the  power  of  concealing 
and  misrepresenting  to  his  government  everything  that  hap- 
pened between  foreign  representatives  and  himself.  Xeverthe- 
less  such  a  series  of  papers  was  but  one  side  of  the  insults 
endured.  As  long  as  the  British  government  upheld  the 
opium  trade,  and  did  nothing  to  restrain  smuggling  and  the 
awful  atrocities  of  the  coolie  traffic  at  MaccO,  which  were  till- 
ing the  ears  of  all  the  world  with  their  sho  'king  tales,  these 
few  "  outrages  •'  seem  very  petty  if  put  forward  as  a  defence 
of  Lord  Palmerston's  going  to  war  on  account  of  the  lorcha 
Arrow. 

In  the  vote  upon  the  question  of  employing  force  in  China, 
the  better  sense  of  Parliament  protested  against  the  policy 
which  had  directed  recent  events ;    but  the  Premier  knew  his 


642  THE   MIDDLE    KIXGDOM. 

fouiitiynien,  and  in  forty  days  from  the  dissolution  (March 
21st)  England  returned  him  a  House  of  Commons  strongly 
in  his  favor.  He  now  decided  to  complete  what  had  been 
wanting  in  the  treaty  of  Nanking,  and  obtain  a  residence  for 
a  l>ritish  n)inister  at  Peking.  The  governments  of  France, 
liussia,  and  the  United  States  wei'e  invited  to  co-operate  with 
England  so  far  as  they  deemed  proper,  and  their  united  in- 
terests were  those  of  Christendom,  Xo  well-wisher  to  China 
could  j)atiently  look  forward  to  a  continuation  of  the  past  tan- 
talizing senjblance  of  official  intercourse  at  Canton,  and  the 
Aaried  experience  of  twelve  years  at  other  ports  proved  that  the 
Chinese  people  did  not  sympathize  in  this  policy.  The  French 
Emperor  had  a  special  grievance  against  II.  I.  M.  Ilienfung,  on 
account  of  the  judicial  murder  of  Pere  Chapdelaine,  a  mis- 
sionary in  Kwangsi  province,  who  had  been  tortured  and  be- 
headed at  Si-lin  hien  on  February  20,  1856,  by  order  of  the 
district  magistrate.  This  outrage  was  in  direct  violation  of 
the  rescript  of  ISII,  and  some  atonement  and  apology  were 
justly  demanded.  How  totally  unconscious  of  all  these  discus- 
sions and  plans  were  Hienf  ung  and  his  counsellors  at  Peking, 
may  be  guessed  from  their  blind  fright  during  subsequent 
events,  Mdiile  their  inability  to  devise  a  course  of  action  cor- 
responded to  their  childish  ignorance  of  their  position  and 
duties. 

A  j^owerful  though  nnspoken  reflection  among  these  rulers 
}iiust  not  here  be  overlooked  as  a  secret  motive  in  deciding 
many  of  their  short-sighted  counsels.  Pemembering  the  way 
in  Avhich  their  ancestors  had  captured  the  Empire  over  two  cen- 
turies before,  they  felt  that  great  risk  was  run  in  admitting  the 
barbarians  to  the  capital  now,  since  the  same  game  would  prob- 
ably be  ])layed  over  again.  The  visits  of  foreign  ministers  to 
the  insurgents  at  Xanking,  and  their  readiness  at  Canton  to 
quarrel  about  so  trifling  a  point  as  pulling  down  a  flag  and  car- 
rying off  a  few  natives  under  its  protection,  all  indicated,  in 
their  opinion,  nothing  shoi't  of  conquest  and  spoliation.  With 
such  tremendous  ])ower  ari-ayed  against  so  weak  an  adversary, 
they  knew  well  enough  what  would  ensue.  Their  miserable 
policy  of  isolation  liad  left  them  more  helpless  in  their  igno- 


BOMBARDMENT   AND   CAPTURE   OF    CANTON.  643 

ranee  than  diminislied  in  their  resources,  and  thoy  had  to  })ay 
dearly  for  their  instruction. 

Tlie  appointments  of  Lord  Elgin  and  Baron  Gros  as  pleni- 
potentiaries for  Great  Britain  and  France  were  most  foi'tunate 
as  a  selection  of  eminent  diplomatists  and  clear-headed  men. 
The  two  ambassadors  entered  into  most  cordial  relations  as 
soon  as  the  land  and  sea  forces  placed  at  their  disposal  arrived 
on  the  Chinese  coast.  Lord  Elgin  reached  Hongkong  in  July, 
but  learning  the  state  of  affairs  in  that  region,  and  that  no  ad- 
vances had  been  made  from  Peking  to  settle  the  dispute,  con- 
cluded to  take  the  Shannon  to  Calcutta,  to  the  assistance  of  Lord 
Canning  against  the  mutineers  ;  from  this  place  he  proposed 
to  proceed  in  the  cold  weather,  when  the  force  detailed  for  China 
would  all  be  ready.  Returning  to  Hongkong  by  September 
20th,  he  was  obliged  to  tarry  yet  another  mouth  before  the  last 
of  his  reinforcements,  or  those  of  the  French,  had  joined  him. 
By  the  end  of  November  the  American  minister,  W.  B.  Reed, 
in  the  fi-igate  Minr.esota,  and  the  Russian  admiral,  Count 
Poutiatine,  in  the  gunboat  Amerika,  had  likewise  come. 

Early  in  December,  after  a  refusal  on  the  part  of  Yeh  of  their 
ultimatum,  the  allied  forces  advanced  up  the  Canton  River.  An 
extract  from  one  of  Lord  Elgin's  private  letters  illustrates  admi- 
rably the  spirit  in  which  he  entered  upon  the  work  he  had  been 
chosen  to  do.  "  December  22d. — On  the  afternoon  of  the  20th 
I  got  into  a  gunboat  with  Commodore  Elliot,  and  went  a  short 
way  up  toward  the  Barrier  forts,  w^iicli  were  last  winter  de- 
stroyed by  the  Americans.  When  we  reached  this  point,  all 
was  so  quiet  that  we  determined  to  go  on,  and  we  actually 
steamed  past  the  city  of  Canton,  along  the  whole  front,  within 
pistol-shot  of  the  town.  A  line  of  English  men-of-war  are  now 
anchored  there  in  front  of  the  town.  I  never  felt  so  ashamed 
of  mj'self  in  my  life,  and  Elliot  remarked  that  the  trip  seemed 
to  have  made  me  sad.  There  we  were,  accumulating  the  means 
of  destruction  under  the  very  eyes  and  \vithin  the  reach  of  a 
population  of  about  one  million  people,  against  whom  these 
means  of  destruction  were  to  be  employed !  '  Yes,'  I  said  to 
Elliot,  '  I  am  sad,  because,  when  I  look  at  that  town,  I  feel  that 
I  am   earning  for  myself  a  place  in  the  Litany,  immediately 


644  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

after  "plague,  pestilence,  and  famine."'  I  believe,  however, 
that,  as  far  as  1  am  concerned,  it  Mas  impossible  for  me  to  do 
otherwise  than  as  I  have  done.  .  .  .  AVhen  we  steamed  up 
to  Canton  and  saw  the  rich  alluvial  banks  covered  with  the  lux- 
urious evidences  of  nnrivalled  industry  and  natural  fertility 
combined — beyond  them  barren  uplands  sprinkled  Avith  a  soil 
of  reddish  tint  which  gave  them  the  appearance  of  heather 
slopes  in  the  Highlands,  and  beyond  these  again  the  White 
Cloud  mountain  range  standing  out  bold  and  blue  in  the  clear 
sunshine — I  thought  bitterly  of  those  who,  for  the  most  selfish 
objects,  are  trampling  under  foot  this  ancient  civilization." ' 

On  the  2Ttli  the  British  and  French,  about  six  thousand  in 
all,  landed  on  the  east  bank  a  short  distance  below  the  walls. 
During  the  whole  of  the  following  day  a  furious  bombardment 
was  opened  upon  the  city  from  tlie  ships,  driving  thousands  of 
the  frightened  natives  into  the  western  sul)ur])S  and  destroying 
considerable  portions  of  the  town.  By  three  o'clock  of  the  20th 
the  city  was  in  the  hands  of  the  foreigners — almost  exactly  the 
two  hundred  and  seventh  anniversary  of  its  capture  and  entire 
reduction  by  the  Manclnis  (November,  1()50).  The  A'ictory  was 
not  a  brilliant  one,  since  scarcely  any  one  could  be  found  witli 
whom  to  fight ;  tln-ee  or  four  forts  to  l)e  entei'ed,  the  wall  scaled, 
a  loss  of  one  hundred  and  ten  in  killed  and  wounded  to  the  vic- 
tors, perhaps  five  times  as  numy  to  the  vanquished — this  was  alL 
Immediately  upon  their  entry  within  the  hitherto  forbidden 
city  the  chiefs  were  forced  to  turn  their  energy  upon  their  own 
troops  and  prevent  them  fi-om  bullying  and  looting  the  helpless 
Chinese. 

Governor-General  Yeh  was,  after  some  little  search,  found 
and  captured  while  attempting  an  escape  from  his  yamun,°  and 
within  twenty-four  hours  the  lieutenant-governor,  Tartar  gen- 
eral, and  all  others  in  high  authority  came  into  possession  of  the 
invaders.  Yeh  was  carried  forthwith  on  board  II.  B.  M.  S. 
Inflexible,  a  wise  step  which  deprived  him  of  further  power  of 

'  Letters  and  JoitrnaU,  p.  212. 

'  Some  very  cnrions  documents  were  found  among  his  archives  ilhistrating 
the  character  both  of  tlie  man  and  his  government.  See  Oliphant,  Elr/i>i\>t  Mis' 
mn  to  China,  Vol.  I.,  Chap.  VIII.     Reed's  Correspondence,  1858,  pp.  443-488. 


TUE    CITY   OF   CANTON  AND   ADJACENT   ISLANDS. 


646  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

resistance  and  misrepresentation,  and  left  the  plenipotentiaries 
free  to  arrange  some  method  of  temporary  government  for  the 
city.  This  was  a  difficult  problem,  ciiietiy  owing  to  the  lack  of 
competent  interpreters,  but  rendered  mure  so  by  the  natural  ir- 
ritation of  the  conquered  people  at  the  losses  they  had  sustained, 
the  flight  of  the  local  officers,  and  the  alarming  extent  of  rob- 
bery by  natives,  somewhat  countenanced  by  foreign  soldiers. 
The  skill  and  tact  of  Lord  Elgin  were  never  better  shown  than 
in  the  construction  out  of  such  incongruous  materials  of  a  mixed 
government  whose  subsequent  easy  working  abundantly  proved 
the  master  mind  of  the  builder.'  The  two  Manchus,  Governor 
Pihkwei  and  the  connnandant  of  the  garrison- — called  also  the 
Tartar  general — were  now  brought  forward  to  assist  in  saving 
tlieir  capital  from  destruction  and  to  form  with  the  allies  a  joint 
tribunal.  Pihkwei  became  legally  (by  Yeh's  capture)  the  gov- 
ernor-general of  the  Liang  Kwang,  and  his  functions  in  that 
capacity  were  not  interfered  with ;  those  of  his  colleague  had 
always  been  restricted  within  the  city  walls.  On  January  9tli 
they  were  installed  by  Lord  Elgin  and  Baron  Gros  with  all  pos- 
sible ceremony  as  rulers  of  the  city,  under  the  surveillance  of 
three  foreigners.  Colonel  Ilolloway  and  Consul  Harry  Parkes 
for  the  British,  and  Captain  Martineau  for  the  French.  This 
commission  had  its  headquarters  in  the  same  extensive  yanmn 
with  Pihkwei,  in  whom  happily  were  combined  some  estimable 
qualities  for  managing  the  difficult  post  he  filled.  The  orderly 
habits  of  the  literati  and  traders  in  and  around  Canton  afforded 
a  guaranty  that  no  seditious  proceedings  would  be  countenanced 
against  this  joint  authority  if  it  gave  them  the  security  they  had 
asked  from  the  allies.  A  force  of  marines  and  the  Fifty-ninth 
Regiment  were  quartered  on  Pagoda  Hill,  on  the  north  side  of 
the  city,  and  ere  long  the  commandant's  yaniun  was  cleared  of 
its  rubbish  and  put  in  order  for  the  commission,  leaving  the 
other  for  Pihkwei.  The  allied  chiefs  deemed  it  wisest  to  at- 
tempt to  govern  as  little  in  detail  as  possible,  and  their  commis- 
sioners found  enough  to  do  in  adjusting  complaints  brought  by 

'  "You  may  imagine,"  he  writes,  "what  it  Is  to  undertake  to  govern  seme 
millions  of  people  when  we  have  in  nil  two  or  three  people  who  understand 
the  language !     I  never  had  so  difficult  a  matter  to  arrange. " 


JOINT   GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   CITY.  647 

the  Chinese  against  their  own  men.  The  Cantonese  did  not  fail 
to  contrast  the  considerate  treatment  they  received  irunx  their 
foreign  captors  with  the  carnage  and  utter  ruin  which  would 
have  followed  the  occupation  of  the  city  by  the  Tai-pings  or 
other  insurgents,  and  during  the  whole  period  quietly  submitted. 
The  greater  part  of  the  responsible  labor  came  upon  Mr.  Parkes, 
because  of  liis  ability  to  talk  Chinese,  but  before  many  mouths 
he  had  taught  many  natives  how  to  assist  in  carrying  out  the 
necessary  details.  He  showed  much  skill  in  circumventing  the 
designs  of  the  discontented  officials  at  Fuhshan,  giving  Pihkwei 
all  the  native  criminals  to  judge,  restraining  the  thievery  or 
cruelty  of  the  foreign  police,  and  sending  out  proclamations  for 
the  guidance  and  admonition  of  the  people.' 

The  kindness  shown  by  Lord  Elgin  after  the  capture  of  Can- 
ton infused  itself  into  the  minds  of  those  working  with  and 
under  him,  and  the  newly  installed  governor  soon  recovered  his 
composure  as  he  found  himself  in  possession  of  his  own  digni- 
ties and  power.  The  local  and  provincial  officers  under  liim 
kept  themselves  at  Fuhshan,  now  recovering  from  its  destruc- 
tion of  three  years  before.  By  the  end  of  January  affairs  were 
put  in  order,  the  blockade  was  taken  off  the  port,  foreign  mer- 
chants returned  and  settled  in  the  warehouses  still  unharmed 
on  llonam,  while  the  native  dealers  reopened  their  shops  in  the 
vicinity.^  Sixteen  months  had  elapsed  since  the  affair  of  the 
Arrow,  and  every  one  felt  that  a  new  day  had  begun  to  dawn 
on  the  relations  of  China  with  other  lands."    Among  the  papers 

'  Blue  Book:  Lord  Elginls  Correspondence,  July  15,  1859,  Despatches  Nos.  88, 
94,  108,  and  128.      Oliphant,  ^^//w/'.v  ^fimon  to  China,  Vol.  I.,  p.  170. 

'■'  Oddly  enough,  among  the  most  earnest  appeals  for  the  restoration  of  com- 
merce came  one  from  Fihkwei  himself,  who  wrote  to  Lord  Elgin  :  "The 
eagerness  with  which  merchants  will  devote  themselves  to  gain,  ii:  the  trade 
be  now  thrown  well  open,  will  increase  manifold  the  good  understanding  be- 
tween our  nations,  and  the  step  will  thus,  at  the  same  time,  enhance  your 
excellency's  reputation." — Bine  Bonk,  January  24,  1858. 

^  The  letters  of  G.  W.  Cooke,  the  Times'  correspondent  (London,  Routledge, 
1858),  contain  a  fairly  complete  accoiint  of  the  proceedings  of  the  allies  at 
Canton  ;  his  conversations  with  Governor-General  Yeh  on  the  way  to  Calcutta 
are  less  valuable  Compare  an  article  in  the  Revue  des  Devr  Monde;'.  {V  JTiillet. 
1859),  by  C.  Lavallee,  Un  Historiograplie  de  la  Presse  anglaise  dans  la  guerre  d« 
Chiiui. 


648  THK    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

taken  in  Yeh's  yamuu  were  the  ratilied  copies  of  the  treaties 
between  Cliiua  and  Great  Uritriu,  France,  and  the  United  kStatt  l^ 
carefully  preserved  there,  it  was  said,  by  directions  from  Peking, 
m  order  to  serve  for  reference  in  case  of  dispute  as  to  the  text. 
It  was,  however,  one  of  the  indexes  proving  the  desire  of  the 
Emperor  to  keep  liiniself  aloof  from  pergonal  contact  with 
foreigners. 

The  allied  chiefs,  early  in  the  month  of  February,  proposed 
to  their  American  and  llussian  coadjutors  to  join  them  in 
laying  their  demands  before  the  Peking  Court,  and  affording 
it  one  more  opportunity  to  amicably  settle  the  pending  diffi- 
culties by  sending  an  officer  to  Shanghai  with  full  powers 
for  that  end.  Both  Russians  and  Americans  were  cordially  in 
miison  with  the  allies,  and  their  several  despatches  addressed 
to  Yii,  the  first  member  of  the  J^ul  JC/i,  or  "Inner  Council,' 
at  Peking,  were  taken  up  to  Shanghai  and  thence  to  Suchau, 
where  Ho  Ivwei-tsing  received  and  forwarded  them  before  the 
end  of  February.  These  four  letters  simultaneously  sent  to 
the  secluded  court  at  Peking  contained  nothing  which  could 
alarm  its  members  ;  but  such  was  the  ignorance  of  the  highest 
officers  there,  that  they  knew  not  M'hat  to  do — ostrich-like, 
hiding  their  heads  from  the  approaching  danger,  simply  de- 
clining to  answer  any  tmpleasant  communication,  hoping 
thereby  to  put  far  off  the  evil  day.  Their  isolation  would  re- 
main if  left  to  themselves,  and  to  have  sent  Kiying  again  to 
the  south  would  only  have  cherished  their  stupid  pride  and 
worked  their  subjects  ultimate  injury.  Their  old-time  policy 
of  absolute  non-intercourse  lay  like  some  great  frigate  sunk 
athwart  the  mouth  of  a  river ;  the  obstacle  once  removed, 
nothing  remained  to  prevent  the  vast  and  populous  regions 
beyond  the  barrier  from  an  active  and  profitable  communion 
with  the  whole  world.  They  could  no  longer  be  left  in  statu 
quo,  and  few  can  find  fault  with  the  plan  proposed  to  solve  their 
difficulties — a  })lan  which  brought  the  four  most  powerful  na- 
tions of  Christendom  in  joint  consent  to  set  themselves  on  a 
fair  and  advantageous  footing  with  the  most  ancient  and  popu- 
lous nation  of  Asia.  To  those  who  admit  the  direct  government 
of  tiie  Almighty  lluler  in  ordering  the  policy  of  nations  in  accord 


ADVANCE   OF    THE   ALLIES   TOWARD    PEKING.  640 

with  His  wise  plans,  this  simultaneous  approach  to  Peking  will 
always  be  deemed  as  one  of  the  waymarks    f  human  progress. 

The  letfc";  o  presented  to  tlie  Emperor  '  form  in  their  topics 
and  toie  a  pleasant  .  >ntrast  to  the  connnunications  in  past 
years.  That  of  the  ll'issian  minister  was  peculiar  in  bringing 
forwaid  the  desH'ableness  of  ■  llowing  he  profession  of  (Chris- 
tianity to  all  natives  desirous  of  embracing  it ;  but  this  point 
was  made  the  subject  of  an  address  by  the  British  missionaries 
at  Xingpo  and  Shanghai  to  Lord  Elgin,  Avliose  reply  was  a 
happy  exposition  of  the  dangers  and  difficulties  connected  with 
the  toleration  of  Christianity  by  a  government  ignorant  of  its 
precepts.  The  imperial  replies  to  these  advances  were,  as 
everyone  expected,  in  the  strain  of  non 2)0ssumus.  Lord  Elgin 
returned  his  copy  to  Ho  Kwei-tsing  at  Suchau,  and  enclosed 
therewith  another  despatch  to  Yii,  in  which  he  announced  his 
intention  to  proceed  to  Taku,  Mhere  he  would  aw^ait  the  arrival 
of  a  commissioner  qualified  to  treat  upon  the  points  in  dispute. 

The  force  designed  to  accompany  the  allied  chiefs  was  gather- 
ing at  Sha  glial,  and  by  t.^.e  miv, die  vi  April  most  of  the  ships 
and  transports  had  anchored  off  the  Pci  ho,  together  with  the 
American  frigates  Minnesota  and  Mississippi  and  the  Russian 
gunboat  Amerika,  having  the  legations  of  those  nations  on 
board.  Xothing  could  be  more  dreary  than  the  aspect  of  the 
rendezvous  at  this  season.  The  ships  were  obliged  to  anchor 
about  eight  miles  from  shore,  which  M'as  level,  and  would  have 
been  invisible  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  forts  at  the  entrance  of 
the  river.  The  dim,  hazy  horizon  was  lurid  with  the  rays  of 
the  sun  shiniiii;  throu<:;h  the  dust  that  came  in  clouds  from  the 
plains  of  Mongolia  and  Chihli.  Th^  turbid  waters  were  often 
lashed  into  foam  by  the  conflicting  forces  of  tides  and  winds 
which  acted  on  it  from  every  quarter,  and  kept  the  gulf  in  a 
turmoil.  Xo  native  boats  ventured  out  to  traffic,  as  would  have 
been  the  case  in  the  south,  and  the  only  signs  of  life  were  the 
gunboats  and  launches  running  in  and  out  of  the  river,  or  the 
barges  passing  from  ship  to  ship.     Added  to  other  discommodi- 


'  These   are  all  given  in  the  correspondence  of  IVlr.  Reed,  printed  hy  the 
Senate— Despatch  No.  9,  Ex.  Dociuiteitt  No.  30,  March  13,  IbGU,  pp.  122-183. 


650  THE   MIDDLE    KIXGDOM. 

ties,  were  occasional  blasts  of  hut  air  which  swept  over  the 
water,  charged  with  fine  dust  that  settled  on  the  decks  and  rig- 
ffin'^  and  insinuated  itself  into  the  dress  and  faces  in  an  un- 
comfortable  manner. 

As  usual  the  Chinese  had  done  nothing.  The  increasing 
number  and  size  of  the  ships  which  were  anchored  off  the  Pei  ho 
luid,  however,  been  duly  reported  at  Peking,  and  the  llussian 
admiral  had  received  a  reply  to  his  announcement  of  arrival. 
On  April  23d  communications  were  addressed  by  the  four 
ministers  to  Yu-ching  at  Peking,  and  on  the  20th  replies  came 
from  Tan  Ting-siang,  governor-general  of  Chihli,  informing 
them  that  he,  with  Tsunglun  and  Wu,  had  been  deputed  to 
"  receive  their  complaints  and  investigate  and  manage."'  The 
governor-general  was  not  empowered  to  settle  upon  the  terras 
of  a  treaty,  but  he  desired  to  have  a  personal  conference  to 
learn  what  was  demanded.  Upon  the  day  appointed  the  Rus- 
sian and  American  ministers  met  Tan  at  the  Taku  forts  (April 
30th)  at  separate  hours,  when  they  learned  that  he  had  not 
been  invested  with  "  full  powers,"'  like  those  granted  to  Kiying 
and  tlipu  in  18-12,  but  had  authority  to  discuss  all  matters  pre- 
paratory to  signing  a  ti-eaty.  The  truth  was  that  they  were 
(juitc  ignorant  of  the  important  questions  raised  at  Canton  ;  but 
while  willing  to  discuss  them,  they  were  equally  set  on  keeping 
the  foreigners  away  from  the  capital.  Here  the  allied  chiefs 
and  their  two  colleagues  took  issue.  The  former  held  out  for 
commissioners  to  be  sent  with  full  powers  ;  but  the  latter  deem- 
ing that  the  governor-general  had  adequate  authority,  accord- 
ingly presented  him  with  the  main  points  of  their  demands  and 
afterward  with  the  drafts  of  their  treaties.  The  negotiations 
were  delayed  by  the  difficulties  of  the  entrance,  but  they  af- 
forded a  needed  instruction  to  these  conceited  and  ignorant 
men,  who  were  thus  enabled  at  their  leisure  to  prepare  for  the 
struggle.  Not  only  were  the  officers  themselves  brought  face 
to  face  with  their  dreaded  visitors,  and  made  to  perceive  the 
folly  of  resisting  the  armaments  at  their  connuand,  but  with 
the  democratic  habits  usual  in  Chinese  courts,  the  hundreds  of 
attendants  present  at  the  conferences  heard  all  that  passed. 

Ere    the  non-belligerent  powers  had  completed  their  nego- 


CAPTURE   OF   THE   TAKU    FORTS.  651 

tiations,  tlie  allies  turned  over  theirs  into  the  liands  of  the 
two  admirals,  MM.  Seymour  and  liigault  de  Genouilly.  These 
advanced  up  the  river  on  May  20th,  forcing  the  slight  boom 
across  the  stream,  and  capturing  all  the  forts  on  both  banks, 
with  all  their  stores.  Comparatively  few  Chinese  were  killed, 
and  their  defence  of  the  forts  was  creditable  to  their  cour- 
age and  skill.  All  the  troops  fled  or  w^ere  driven  from  their 
intrenched  camps  as  far  as  Taku  town,  and  the  other  de- 
fences, stockades,  and  fire-rafts  having  been  destroyed,  the 
gunboats  proceeded  to  Tientsin.  The  losses  by  shot  on  the 
part  of  the  Allies  were  unhappily  doubled  bj^  the  explosion 
of  a  powder  magazine  in  a  fort  as  a  party  of  Frenchmen  en- 
tered. The  news  that  the  foreigners  had  forced  the  defences 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Pel  ho  was  soon  spread  thi-ough  the  towns 
along  its  banks,  and  myriads  of  unarmed  people  flocked  to  the 
shore  to  see  the  gun-boats,  whose  smoke  and  masts  towering 
above  the  low  land  indicated  their  presence  to  the  amazed  in- 
liabitants. 

A  house  having  been  prepared  at  Tientsin  for  the  allied 
chiefs,  Lord  Elgin  and  Baron  Gros  reached  the  city  at  daylight 
on  May  30th,  followed  by  the  other  two  ministers,  all  of  them 
having  come  np  during  the  night  without  mishap  or  oppo 
siti(m.  The  inhabitants  of  the  city  were  highly  excited  at 
the  presence  of  the  vessels  and  those  of  whom  they  had  lieard 
fiuch  dreadful  stories,  but  their  curiosity  and  fear  kept  them 
quiet  and  civil,  and  they  wei-e  content  with  lining  the  shores  in 
dense  crowds,  to  gaze  and  talk.  The  general  ignorance  of  each 
other's  lansuase  did  not  prevent  a  constant  intercourse  with 

O  O  IT 

the  citizens,  all  the  more  agreeable  after  the  confinement  on 
board  ship.  One  old  man  was  found  managing  a  ferry-boat, 
who  remembered  Lord  Amherst's  visit  in  1816.  After  his  in- 
quiries as  to  the  meaning  of  the  flags  on  board  the  ships  had 
been  answered,  he  exclaimed,  "How  easily  you  and  we  could 
get  along  if  you  but  understood  our  language  " — to  which  the 
crowd  around  reechoed  their  hearty  assent. 

Two  higher  commissioners  now  appeared  on  the  scene  of  ac- 
tion, Kweiliang  and  llwashana,  who  superseded  the  discom- 
fited Tan,  Tsunglun,   and  Wu,  and   presented   their  cards  as 


652  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

having  been  invested  with  full  powers  to  treat.  Negotiations 
were  opened  witli  them,  and  thus,  after  months  of  delay,  tlie 
plan  which  Yeli  had  so  foolishly  adhered  to  at  Canton  in  Octo- 
ber, to  refuse  all  personal  discussion,  was  accomplished  at 
Tientsin  under  far  more  promising  circumstances.  The  Chi- 
nese were  obliged  to  accept  almost  any  terms  offered  them,  for 
negotiations  carried  on  under  such  conditions  were  hardly  those 
of  free  agents.  The  high  commissioners  were  ignorant  beyond 
conception  of  the  gravity  of  their  position  and  the  results 
which  were  to  flow  from  these  treaties,  whose  provisions,  linked 
into  one  compact  by  the  favored  nation  clause,  were,  in  fact,  to 
form  the  future  magna  charta  between  almost  the  two  halves 
of  the  human  race.  It  was  true  that  the  Chinese  commission- 
ers were  not  altogether  their  own  masters  in  making  them,  but 
owing  to  their  perverse  seclusion,  they  had  foolishly  shut  them- 
selves out  from  the  opportunity  of  learning  their  rights.  They 
had,  of  course,  no  desire  to  learn  what  they  knew  nothing 
about,  and  there  was  no  alternative  other  than  the  display  of 
force  to  break  down  the  barriers  which  pride  alone  made 
strong.  They  had  some  grounds  for  fear,  from  their  recent 
occupation  of  Canton,  that  the  British  wished  for  more  territory 
than  Hongkong  ;  and  the  frequent  visits  of  the  national  vessels 
of  Great  Britain,  the  United  States,  and  France  to  the  insur- 
"•ents  at  Xankini;;  indicated  serious  results  in  the  future,  for  the 
latter  owed  all  their  religious  fanaticism  to  foreign  inspiration. 
To  the  persistent  smuggling  of  opium  along  the  whole  coast 
shice  the  treaties  negotiated  by  Kiying  sixteen  years  before, 
and  the  many  social  and  financial  evils  entailed  thereby,  were 
now  added  the  atrocities  of  the  coolie  trade  in  Kwangtung  prov- 
ince. Yet  the  reserve  of  the  officials  upon  these  and  other 
topics  on  which  they  might  be  expected  to  have  expressed  their 
views  or  remonstrances,  was  only  equalled  by  the  politeness  and 
freedom  with  which  they  met  their  enemies  in  consultation. 
Never  again  in  the  history  of  nations  can  functionaries  to 
whom  were  confided  the  settlement  of  questions  of  so  great 
moment,  be  brought  together  in  such  honest  ignorance  of  the 
other's  intentions,  fears,  and  wishes.  It  was  high  time  for 
each  of  the  five  powers,  now  face  to  face,  to  have  the  way 


THE  ALLIES  AT  TIENTSIN — APPEARANCE  OF  KIYING.     t53 

opened  for  the  removal  of  this  ignorance  and  a  better  under- 
standing substituted. 

Tlie  despatches  of  Lord  Elgin  and  Mr.  Reed  contain  transla- 
tions of  many  reports  and  memorials  which  were  found  in 
Yeh's  yamun  at  Canton,  and  give  one  a  good  idea  of  the  sort 
of  information  furnished  to  the  Emperor  by  his  highest  officers. 
It  is  a  wrong  view  of  these  papers  to  regard  their  extraordinary 
misstatements  as  altogether  designed  to  deceive  the  court  and 
screen  the  ill-success  of  the  writers,  for  they  had  had  no  more 
facilities  to  investigate  the  real  condition  of  foreign  lands  and 
the  policy  of  their  rulers  than  had  the  poor  boy  Caspar  Ilauser 
to  learn  about  his  neighbors. 

One  untoward  event  occurred  durino;  the  negotiations.  Tliis 
was  the  sudden  arrival  of  Kiying  (June  8th)  and  his  effort  to 
force  himself  into  the  company  of  the  plenipotentiaries.  Since 
his  departure  from  Canton  in  IS-iT  he  had  filled  the  premier- 
ship before  the  death  of  the  late  Emperor  Taukwang,  after 
which  he  had  been  deprived  of  all  power  and  most  of  his 
honors.  He  seemed  to  have  tried  to  recover  them  by  making 
large  promises  at  court  respecting  his  influence  over  the  har- 
hariatis  /  but  when  he  reached  Tientsin  he  was  without  creden- 
tials enabling  him  to  participate,  and  acted  as  if  his  misfor- 
tunes had  in  a  measure  unsettled  his  reason.  The  British  min- 
ister was  suspicious  of  his  designs,  and  sent  his  two  secretaries, 
on  the  9th,  to  learn  what  they  could  of  or  from  him.  These 
gentletnen  plainly  pointed  out  to  the  old  man  the  difficulties  in 
the  way  of  settling  the  present  troubles  in  any  other  manner 
than  by  acceding  to  the  demands  of  Lord  Elgin.  Kiying  had, 
however,  put  himself  in  a  serious  dilemma.  Finding  very  soon 
that  he  was  powerless  to  change  the  course  of  events  and  get  the 
steamers  away  from  Tientsin  (as  he  no  doubt  had  promised  to 
do,  and  thus  prove  his  influence),  he  returned  to  Peking  on  the 
12th,  though  he  had  announced  the  reception  of  his  full  powers 
only  the  day  before.  His  colleagues  were  not  sorry  to  have 
him  depart,  but  nothing  definite  was  learned  of  his  fate  until 
at  the  end  of  three  weeks,  when  the  Emperor's  rescript  order- 
ing him  to  connnit  suicide  was  received.  His  case  was  deemed 
of  sufficient  importance  to  call  for  a  summation  of  the  principal 


b54  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

features  in  order  to  prove  the  righteousness  of  Iiis  sentence, 
and  manifest  the  Emperor's  extreme  desire  to  be  at  once  just 
and  gracious  in  his  decree.  Kiying's  case  is  rather  an  unusual 
one  auiung  Chinese  otticials,  but  the  real  reasons  for  his  fall  are 
probably  not  all  stated  ;  liis  prominence  abroad,  arising  from  his 
connection  with  the  ]Sanking  treaty,  was  no  criterion  of  liis  in- 
fluence at  liome  or  of  the  loss  to  the  government  by  his  death.' 
Soon  after  his  departure  the  impertinence  of  a  native  crowd 
to  a  party  of  British  officers  while  walking  through  the  city, 
lent  some  strength  to  the  belief  that  Kiying's  counsel  had  been 
warlike,  and  that  a  coup^  similar  to  the  one  made  at  Canton  in 
1841  by  Yihshan,  had  been  suggested,  and  the  destruction  of 
all  the  foreigners  in  Tientsin  was  hoped  for  as  its  result.  Their 
relations  with  the  citizens  thus  far  had  been  amicable  on  the 
whole,  and  the  interruption  in  this  desirable  state  of  things  was 
very  brief.  Negotiations  continued,  therefore,  but  with  an 
undercurrent  of  doubt  as  to  details  on  some  important  points 
among  the  foreign  envoys.  Lord  Elgin  had  the  greatest  respon- 
sibility, indeed,  and  the  task  before  him  was  difficult  and  deli- 
cate, but  he  failed  in  drawing  to  himself  his  colleagues  and 
learning  their  views.  They  hardly  knew  w^iat  to  do,  for  none 
of  them  wished  to  thwart  his  desires  for  complete  and  hon- 
orable intercourse  with  the  central  government,  though  the 
manner  of  reaching  this  end  might  admit  of  discussion.  This 
he  never  invited.  The  position  of  the  American  and  Russian 
envoys,  pledged  to  their  instructions  not  to  fight,  and  having 
the  feeling  that  their  nations  were  to  obtain  the  atlvantages  re- 
sulting from  the  hostilities  of  the  allies,  was  not  a  pleasant  one  ; 
but  it  could  have  been  made  so,  and  he  himself  relieved  of  his 
main  anxiety  as  to  the  result,  by  an  interview.-    In  contrast 

'  Oliphant's  Mission  of  Lord  Elgin  to  China  and  Japan,  pp.  2B8-253  (Ameri- 
can edition),  N.  Y.,  1860.  It  is  interesting  to  note,  before  leaving  this  epi- 
sode, u  Frenchman's  opinion  of  the  character  of  this  statesman:  "  Kiying  a 
ote  de  1842  a.  1844  le  grand  nugociateur  de  la  Chine.  Les  ministres  ctrangers 
ont  vautu  son  habilete,  sa  finesse,  ses  fa(^ons  aimables  et  courtoises. 
Son  nom  sjmbolisait  line  politiqne  nonvelle,  bienveillante  ponr  les  ctrangers, 
tolerante,  liberale  ;  il  representait  nne  sorto  de  'eune  Chine." — M.  C.  Lavalleo 
in  the  Eenie  des  Deux  Mondrs,  If)  Dc'c.  IHni),  p.  (502.  Tlie  same  article  contains 
an  interesting  account  of  the  first  e.\])edilion  up  the  Pei  ho  and  its  results. 


iSai  ijilii 


-"■eN         -r- 


IMPE^RIS'-.    CCN1MIS3I0NER  . 


LORD  Elgin's  perplexities.  65^ 

with  Lord  Elgin's  general  bearing  toward  those  around  him,  as 
detailed  in  his  correspondence,  his  biographer  gives  an  extract 
from  a  private  letter  written  the  day  after  signing  his  treat^■, 
which  describes  his  perplexities  : 

June  29th. — 1  have  not  written  for  some  days,  but  they  have  been  busv 
ones.  We  weut  on  lighting  aud  bullying,  and  getting  the  poor  commissioners 
to  concede  one  point  after  another,  till  Friday  the  2")th,  when  we  had  reason 
to  believe  that  all  was  settled,  and  that  the  signature  was  to  take  place  the  fol- 
lowing day.  On  Friday  afternoon,  however,  Baron  Gros  came  to  me  with  a 
message  from  the  Russian  and  American  ministers  to  induce  me  to  recede  from 
two  of  my  demands — 1,  a  resident  minister  at  Feking,  and,  2,  permission  to 
our  people  to  trade  in  the  interior  of  China  ;  because,  as  they  said,  the  Chinese 
plenipotentiaries  had  told  them  that  they  had  received  a  decree  from  the  Em- 
jieror  stating  that  they  should  infallibly  lose  their  heads  if  they  gave  way  on 
these  points. 

The  resident  minister  at  Peking  I  consider  far  the  most  important  matter 
gained  by  the  treaty  ;  the  power  to  trade  in  the  interior  hardly  less  so.  I  had 
at  stake  not  only  these  important  points  in  my  treaty,  for  which  I  had  fought 
so  hard,  but  I  know  not  what  behind.  For  the  Chinese  are  such  fools  that  it 
was  impossible  to  tell,  if  we  gave  way  on  one  point,  whether  they  would  not 
raise  difficulties  on  every  other.  I  sent  for  the  admiral ;  gave  him  a  hint  that 
there  was  a  great  oppoi-tunity  for  England  ;  that  all  the  powers  were  deserting 
me  on  a  point  which  they  had  aH,  in  their  original  applications  to  Peking,  de- 
manded, and  which  they  all  intended  to  claim  if  I  got  it ;  that,  therefore,  we 
had  it  in  our  power  to  claim  our  place  of  priority  in  the  East  by  obtaining 
this  when  others  would  not  insist  on  it.  Would  he  back  me  V  This  was  the 
forenoon  of  Saturday,  2Gth,  and  the  treaty  was  to  be  signed  in  the  evening. 

I  may  mention,  as  a  proof  of  the  state  of  people's  minds,  tliat  Admiral  Sey- 
nour  told  me  that  the  French  admiral  had  urged  liim  to  dine  with  him,  as- 
suring him  that  no  treaty  would  be  signed  that  day  !  I  sent  Frederick  to  the 
imperial  commissioners  to  tell  them  that  I  was  indignant  beyond  all  expression 
at  their  having  attempted  to  communicate  with  me  through  third  parties  ; 
that  I  was  ready  to  sign  at  once  the  treaty  as  it  stood ;  but  that  if  they  delayed 
or  retreated,  I  should  consider  negotiations  at  an  end,  go  to  Peking  and  de- 
mand a  great  deal  more,  etc.  Frederick  executed  this  most  difficult  task  ad- 
mirably, and  at  six  r.M.  I  signed  the  treaty  of  Tientsin.  I  am  now  anxiously 
awaiting  some  communication  from  Peking.  Till  the  Emperor  accepts  the 
treaty  I  shall  hardly  feel  safe.  Please  God  he  may  ratify  without  delay  !  I  am 
sure  tliat  I  express  the  wish  just  as  much  in  the  interest  of  China  as  in  our  own. 
Though  I  have  been  forced  to  act  almost  brutally,  I  am  China's  friend  in  all  this. ' 

The  importance  of  these  two  provisos  w^as  not  exaggerated  in 
his  mind,  but  lie  might  have  seen  that  the  diflficulties  with  his 
colleagues  were  increased  by  his  own  reticence. 

'  Walrond's  Life  and  Letters  of  Lord  EUjin ,  p.  252. 


656  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

However  much  a  different  course  might  have  liariuouized 
these  discordant  views,  the  pressure  on  the  city  of  Tientsin  was 
too  near  and  severe  upon  tlie  Chinese,  and  they  yielded  from 
fear  of  worse  consequences  wlien  no  other  arguments  coukl  have 
induced  them.  It  was  not  Lord  Elgin  alone  who  felt  very  sen- 
sibly, on  that  occasion,  ''  the  painfulness  of  the  position  of  a 
negotiator  who  has  to  treat  with  persons  who  yield  nothing  tu 
reason  and  everything  to  fear,  and  who  are  at  the  same  time 
profoundly  ignorant  of  the  subjects  under  discussion  and  of 
their  own  real  interests."  Looked  at  in  any  point  of  view,  this 
period  of  negotiation  at  Tientsin  in  1858  was  a  remarkable 
epoch.  The  sole  great  power  of  paganism  was  being  bound  by 
the  obligations  of  a  treaty  extorted  from  its  monarch  by  a 
handful  of  men  in  possession  of  the  entrance  to  its  capital.  As 
one  of  the  British  officers  pithily  stated  it,  two  powers  had  China 
by  the  throat,  while  the  other  two  stood  by  to  egg  them  on,  so 
that  all  could  share  the  spoil.  Yet  the  past  sixteen  years  had 
proven  most  conclusively  that,  unless  this  pressure  was  exerted, 
the  imperial  government  would  make  no  advance,  admit  no 
opening  for  learning  its  real  position  among  the  nations  of  the 
world,  but  mulishly  cherish  its  ignorance,  its  isolation,  its  con- 
ceit, and  its  folly,  until  these  causes  had  worked  out  the  ruin  so 
fondly  hoped  to  be  avoided.  Even  the  necessity  of  coming 
into  personal  official  relations  with  the  foreign  consuls  to  pro- 
mote the  maintenance  of  good  order  between  their  subjects  had 
been  hampered  or  neutralized  by  the  Chinese  authorities  at  all 
the  ports ;  and  there  was  no  hope  of  introducing  a  better  state 
of  things  until  foreign  ministers  were  received  at  Peking.  Hap- 
pily, Lord  Elgin  then  saw  the  question  in  all  its  bearings,  and 
no  one  ever  proved  to  be  a  truer  friend  to  Chhia  than  did  he  in 
forcing  it  upon  her.  He  had  little  idea,  probably,  of  one^'.iOtive 
for  their  resistance,  namely,  the  fear  of  the  Mancliu  rulers,  al- 
ready referred  to,  that  in  admitting  the  enemy  to  the  capital 
they  would  be  as  summarily  ejected  as  liad  been  their  predeces- 
sors in  1644. 

However,  by  the  first  week  in  July  the  four  treaties  had 
been  signed  and  ratified  by  Hienfung,  and  all  the  vessels  had 
left  the  Pei  ho,  which  itself  was  no  doubt  the  greatest  proof  to 


TIIK   TREATIES   SIGNED    AND    RATIFIED.  60? 

liis  Majesty  that  they  were  valid  compacts ;  for  if  tlie  tables  liad 
been  turned  he  would  not  have  let  them  oif  so  easily,  and  per- 
haps wondered  that  Tientsin  had  not  been  ransomed  at  the 
same  rate  that  Elliot  had  spared  Canton  in  1841.  It  is  diffi- 
cult to  fully  appreciate  the  crass  ignorance  and  singular  perver- 
sity of  the  men  in  whose  hands  the  sway  of  the  Chinese  people 
were  now  lodc-ed.  lie  who  is  unwillinci:  to  acknowledije  the 
overruling  hand  of  God  in  this  remarkable  meeting  of  nations, 
would  find  it  very  difficult  to  acknowledge  it  anywhere  in  human 
history. 

The  revision  of  the  tariff  had  been  deferred  for  a  future  dis- 
cussion among  those  qualified  for  the  work.  Five  Chinese 
commissioners  reached  Shanghai  early  in  October  for  this  and 
other  purposes,  of  whom  Kweiliang  and  Ilwashana  were  two. 
In  this  part  of  the  negotiations  the  controlling  power  was 
properly  left  in  the  hands  of  the  British,  for  their  trade  was 
worth  more  than  all  others  combined.  They  used  this  power 
most  selfishly,  and  fastened  on  the  weak  and  distracted  Empire 
a  veritable  remora,  which  has  gone  on  sucking  its  resources 
without  compunction  or  cessation.  By  making  the  tariff  an  in- 
tegral part  of  the  treaty,  they  theoretically  made  every  infrac- 
tion a  casus  Ijelli,  and  as  no  provision  was  left  for  revision,  it 
was  virtually  rendered  impossible,  since  the  original  four  powers 
could  not  again  be  brought  to  unite  on  its  readjustment  with  a 
view  to  the  rights  of  China.  While  particular  provision  was 
made  in  it  for  preventing  the  importation  of  salt  and  the  im- 
plements and  munitions  of  war,  the  trade  in  opium  was  legal- 
ized at  a  lower  rate  than  was  paid  on  tea  and  silk  entering  Eng- 
land, and  the  brand  of  itmnorality  and  smuggling  was  removed 
from  its  diffusion  throughout  China.  The  w^eakness  and  isno- 
ranee  of  the  Chinese  were  such  as  laid  them  open  to  the  power 
and  craft  of  other  nations,  but  the  inherent  wrong  of  the  prin- 
ciple of  ex-territorial ity  was  never  more  unjustly  applied  than 
in  breaking  down  the  moral  sense  of  a  people  by  forcing  them 
to  legalize  this  druc;.  The  evils  of  smug-o-lino:  it  were  insuffer- 
able,  but  a  heavy  duty  was  desirable  as  a  check  and  stigma 
upon  the  traffic.  The  solution  to  a  statesman  in  Lord  Elgin's 
position  was  exceedingly  difficult  in  relation  to  this  point,  and 


658  THE  3riDDLE   KINGDOM. 

he  perliaps  took  the  safest  course  under  the  existing  cii'cum- 
stances,  but  it  has  proved  to  be  fraught  with  evils  to  tlie  Chi- 
nese. One  who  now  reads  his  biography  and  learns  his  nice 
sense  of  right  and  equity  in  national  affairs,  will  not  be  sur- 
prised to  see  his  doubts  as  to  the  best  course  to  take  whei-e  all 
Avere  so  many  moves  in  the  dark. 

The  war  which  arose  about  the  Arrow  was  now  virtnally 
closed,  but  many  things  remained  to  be  enforced  in  can-ying 
out  the  treaty  stipulations  or  restraining  the  irritation  they  pro- 
duced. The  vastness  of  the  Empire  sundered  its  inhabitants  so 
widely  that  each  felt  the  troubles  it  endured  only  when  they 
came  near;  l)ut  to  all  of  them  the  obligations  of  treaty  were  of 
the  most  shadowy  nature.  It  M'ould  require  years  of  patient 
instruction  to  educate  the  mass  of  natives  up  to  the  idea  that 
these  obligations  affected  them  as  individuals.  One  means  of 
this  instruction,  which  subsequent  years  have  shown  to  be  both 
practical  and  profitable,  was  the  extension  and  reoi-ganization 
of  the  administration  of  the  customs  under  foreign  supervision. 
Its  short  service  at  Shanghai  had  proved  it  to  be  easy  and  safe 
of  operation,  and  the  increased  fidelity  everywhere  in  collecting 
the  duties  gratified  the  central  and  provincial  governments  ex- 
ceedingly. It  was  a  startling  proof  of  the  degrading  effects  of 
the  opium  and  smuggling  trade  upon  the  honor  of  the  foreign 
merchants  that  they  generally  resisted  the  transfer  of  collecting 
duties  from  native  to  foreign  hands,  and  endeavored  in  a  thou- 
sand ways  to  thwart  and  ridicule  the  altered  system.  This 
feeling,  however,  disappeared  with  the  incoming  of  a  new  set  of 
merchants,  and  the  Chinese  government  has,  since  the  first, 
found  no  difficulty  in  utilizing  the  skill,  knowledge,  and  power 
of  their  employes,  not  only  in  fiscal  de])artments,  but  where- 
ever  they  felt  the  need  of  such  qualifications.  Beginning  at 
Shanghai,  when  the  local  officers  were  helpless  against  their 
own  subjects,  mandarins  and  people  alike  desired  the  advan- 
tages of  an  honestly  collected  tariff  to  be  extended  to  every 
port  opened  for  foreign  trade. 

The  changes  formulated  in  the  treaties  of  Tientsin  could  re- 
ceive their  accomplishment  only  after  patient  efforts  on  the 
part  of  ministers,  consuls,   and  collectors  to  carry  them   into 


CLOSING   INCIDENTS    OF   THE   WAR,  659 

effect  witli  due  regard  to  the  position  of  the  native  rulers.  In 
order  to  open  the  way  into  the  country,  Lord  Elgin  visited 
Hankow  in  four  ships  in  November,  after  he  had  signed  the 
tariff.  The  rebels  in  possession  of  Naidving  and  other  towns, 
being  unapprised  of  his  cliaracter,  fired  at  liini  from  some  of 
their  forts,  for .  which  "  they  were  pounded  pretty  severely  in 
return."  But  a  few  words  afterward  proved  more  effectual 
than  many  shots,  and  no  further  altercation  occurred.  The 
voyage  to  and  return  from  Hankow  occupied  seven  weeks,  and 
inaugurated  a  commerce  and  intercourse  which  lias  resulted  in 
much  good  to  the  natives  by  making  them  rapidly  acquainted 
with  foreigners.  The  right  of  China  to  the  exclusive  navi- 
gation of  her  internal  waters  was  summarily  set  aside  by 
making  Hankow  a  seaport ;  on  the  other  liand,  the  govern- 
ment derived  many  advantages  in  the  moral  assistance  given 
her  at  the  time  against  the  rebels  by  having  them  restrained, 
and,  up  to  the  present  day,  in  the  stimulus  given  to  internal 
trade  and  rapid  intercourse  between  the  peoples  of  remote 
districts. 

The  year  1858  was  fraught  with  great  events,  involving  the 
welfare  of  the  people  of  China  and  Japan  and  their  future  po- 
sition and  progress.  Much  against  their  will  they  had  been 
forced  into  political  relations  with  Europe  and  America,  and  in 
a  measure  deprived  of  their  independence  nnder  the  guise  of 
treaties  which  erected  an  {77vperiiim  in  iinpeiHO  in  their  borders. 
Their  rulers,  ignorant  of  the  real  meaning  of  these  principles 
of  ex-territoriality,  were  tied  down  to  observe  them,  and  found 
themselves  within  a  few  years  humbled  before  those  of  their 
own  subjects  who  had  begun  to  look  to  foreigners  for  protec- 
tion. The  perplexity  of  the  Chinese  commissioners  at  Shanghai 
in  this  new  position  was  exhibited  in  a  despatch  addressed  on 
November  1,  1858,  to  the  three  envoys.  In  it  they  discuss  the 
right  of  foreigners  who  have  no  treaties  to  go  into  the  inte- 
rior, and  insist  upon  the  absolute  necessity  of  restraining  them, 
which  their  own  mercantile  consuls  could  not  and  would  not  do. 

"  Being  unacquainted,"  they  wrote,  "  with  the  usages  of  for- 
eign nations  in  this  respect,  and  unwilling  of  ourselves  to  lav 
down  preventive  regulations  respecting  issuing  passports,  \\g 


660  THE    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

desire  first  to  receive  the  result  of  your  deliberations  before  we 
act  ill  the  premises/'  They  then  proceed  tu  show  how  neces- 
sary it  will  be  for  the  future  peace  between  contiicting  interests 
and  nationalities  that  consuls  should  not  be  merchants,  for 
"some  of  those  of  your  respective  nations  have  formerly  and 
often  acted  in  a  manner  calculated  to  impede  and  mar  the  har- 
mony that  existed  between  their  nations  and  our  own  ;  wilfully 
disregarding  everything  but  their  own  opinions,  they  have 
carried  out  their  own  high-handed  measures  to  the  ruin  of  all 
cordial  feeling.""  The  writers  had  no  idea  how  this  despatch 
was  an  argument  and  a  proof  of  the  need  of  strong  measures 
to  drag  them  out  of  their  stupid  ignorance  and  childish  desires 
for  isolation,  and  compel  them  to  understand  tlieir  duties. 
The  education  then  begun  was  the  only  means  through  wliicli 
to  raise  the  Chinese  rulers  and  people  to  a  higher  plane  of  civ- 
ilization and  liberty.     One  document  like  this  carries  in  itself 

enouo;li  to  show  how  ignoi-ant  were  its  writei's  and  their  col- 
es o 

leagues  of  their  own  duties,  and  how  hopeless  was  the  prospect 
of  their  emergiiiii;  voluntarilv  from  their  seclusion.  The  trea- 
ties  bound  them  down  to  keep  the  peace,  while  they  opened 
the  channels  through  which  the  people  could  learn  whatever 
was  true  and  useful,  without  fear  of  punishment  or  reproach. 
The  toleration  of  Christianity,  the  residence  of  foreign  minis- 
ters at  Peking,  and  the  freedom  to  travel  through  the  land 
were  three  avenues  heretofore  closed  against  the  welfare  and 
progress  of  China  which  the  treaties  opened,  and  through 
which  she  has  already  made  more  real  advances  than  ever  be- 
fore in  her  historv.' 


'  For  fiill  details  on  these  important  negotiations,  see  the  Blue  Book  pre- 
sented to  Parliament  July  15,  IS")!),  containing  Lord  Elgin's  correspondence; 
f'.  <?.  Senate  Krerutice  Document  No.  30,  read  March  i;},  IHGO,  containing 
correspondence  of  Messrs.  Reed,  Williams,  and  Ward,  from  June,  1857,  to 
September  17,  1859;  Oliphant's  Mmioii  of  Lord  Elrjin  to  China  and  Japan, 
London  and  New  York,  ISfiO  ;  Lieutenant-Colonel  Fisher,  Pers<onal  Narrative  of 
Three  Years'  Serrire  in  (lldna,  London,  1S(>:};  le  Marquis  de  Moges,  liaron.  Groups 
EndxtHny  to  China  and  Japan,  1800;  Walrond's  Letterx  and  JoiirnaU  of  James, 
Earl  of  Elfjin,  London,  1872;  Lieut.  J.  D.  Johnston,  China  and  Japan,  Phila- 
delphia, 18C0  ;  North  American  Reriew,  Vol.  XC,  p.  125;  BlackwoocPii  Maga' 
zine.  Vols.  LXXXVL,  p.  G47,  LXXXVIL,  pp.  430,  535,  audLXXXIX.,  p.  37a 


SENTIMENT   OF    CHINESE   TOWARD   THE    ALLIES.        661 

By  the  end  of  December,  1858,  the  four  envoys  had  left 
China,  as  well  as  most  of  the  small  force  under  their  control. 
Koneof  them  had  reached  Peking,  so  that  the  Emperor  was 
relieved  of  his  fear  that  he  would  be  carried  off  as  was  his 
commissioner,  Yeh,  from  Canton  ;  he  had,  moreover,  another 
year  of  grace  to  learn  what  he  ought  to  do  to  carry  out  the 
treaties.  lie  was  also  relieved  by  the  refusal  of  the  allies  to 
join  their  quarrel  Avith  the  efforts  of  the  Tai-pings  and  march 
together  to  the  conquest  of  the  Empire.  In  Canton  the  pres- 
ence of  the  allies  had  been  an  irritation  chiefly  to  the  provincial 
officers,  who  busied  themselves  in  stimulating  large  bodies  of 
braves  in  its  vicinity  to  assassinate  and  rob  individual  foreigners 
near  or  in  the  city,  keeping  up  in  this  manner  a  lasting  feeling 
of  discontent.  Several  skirmishes  took  place,  and  a  large  dis- 
trict within  the  city  near  the  British  quarters  on  Kwanyin  Shan 
Avas  burned  over  to  insure  protection  against  sudden  attacks. 
The  new  governor-general,  Hwang,  had  formed  a  league  of 
the  gentry  and  braves,  which  chiefly  exhibited  their  power  in 
harassing  their  own  countrymen.  He  was  removed  in  disgrace 
at  Lord  Elgin's  request,  and  all  these  puny  and  useless  attacks 
brought  to  an  end. 

An  incident  which  occurred  near  Canton  about  fifteen  months 
after  the  city  had  been  captured,  strikingly  shows  the  character 
of  the  people :  "  February  11th. — On  the  8th  a  body  of  troops 
about  one  thousand  strong  started  on  an  expedition  which  was 
to  take  three  days.  I  accompanied,  or  rather  preceded  them 
on  the  first  day's  march,  about  twelve  miles  from  Canton.  We 
rode  through  a  very  pretty  country,  passing  by  the  village  of 
Shek-tsing,  where  there  was  a  fight  a  fortnight  ago.  The  peo- 
ple were  veiw  respectful,  and  apparently  not  alarmed  by  our 
visit.  At  the  place  where  the  troops  were  to  encamp  for  the 
night  a  cattle  fair  was  in  progress,  and  our  arrival  did  not  seem 
to  interrupt  the  proceedhigs.  February  13th. — The  military 
expedition  was  entirely  successful.  The  troops  were  every- 
where received  as  friends.  Considering  what  has  been  of  yore 
the  state  of  feeling  in  this  province  toward  us,  I  think  this 
almost  tlie  most  remarkable  thing  which  has  happened  since  I 
came  here.     Would  it  have  happened  if  I  had  given  way  to 


662  THK   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

those  uiio  wished  me  to  carry  tire  and  swoni  through  all  the 
eounti-y  villages  ? ''  ' 

These  same  villages  furnished  thousands  of  volunteers  in  May, 
1841,  to  attack  Sir  Hugh  Gough's  army,  and  liad  heen  engaged 
in  a  desperate  struggle  witli  their  countrymen  only  three  years 
oefore,  so  that  this  change  was  owing  neither  to  cowardice  nor 
Bulkiness.  It  had  been  brought  about  chiefly  througli  consider- 
ate treatment  of  the  ]>cople  by  the  British  gari-ison  in  Canton, 
by  honest  payment  for  supplies,  and  by  regard  for  the  traffic 
and  local  government  of  the  city  ;  the  citizens  conse(|ucntly  had 
no  complaint  to  make  or  revenge  to  satisfy.  Those  who  from 
infancy  had  been  brought  up  to  call  every  foreigner  ^fan-lm^ei^ 
or  '  foreign  devil,'  now  slowly  appreciated  the  fact  that  tliey 
had  been  nustaken — nor  were  the  misconceptions  all  on  their 
side.  During  the  three  years  the  city  was  occupied,  public  opin- 
ion there  underwent  an  entire  change  ;  and  the  Cantonese  are 
now  as  courteous  as  they  before  were  ill-mannered. 

At  this  season  of  i-ebellion  and  foreign  war  under  which 
China  was  now  suffering,  the  province  of  Kwangtung  had  a 
special  cause  for  just  irritation  against  all  foreigners  in  the 
coolie  trade.  The  headquarters  of  this  trade  M'ere  at  Macao,  and 
by  1860  it  had  become  nearly  the  only  business  carried  on  there. 
The  population  of  the  colony  is  perhaps  seventy-odd  thousand, 
of  whom  less  than  five  thousand  M'ear  a  foreign  dress.  Traffic 
and  industry  are  mostly  carried  on  by  Chinese,  who  do  all  the 
work.  When  the  trade  of  hiring  Chinese  as  contract  laborers 
to  go  to  Cuba,  Peru,  and  elsewhere  began,  there  was  no  diffi- 
culty in  obtaining  men  willing  to  try  their  fortunes  abroad.  As 
rumors  of  gold  diggings  open  to  their  labors  in  California  were 
spread  abri)ad  and  confii-med  by  returning  miners,  the  coolie 
ships  were  readily  filled  by  men  whose  ignorance  of  outer  lands 
made  them  easily  believe  that  they  were  bound  to  El  Dorado, 
whatever  countr}^  they  shipped  for.  The  inducement  foi*  hiring 
them  was  the  lo\v  i-ate  of  wages  ($4  a  month)  at  which  they 
were  willing  to  sell  their  labor,  and  the  profits  derived  from  in- 
troducing them  into  westei'u  tropical  regions.     The  temptations 

'  Walrond's  Letters  and  Joxi,rnals  of  Lord  Elgin,  p.  308. 


ATROCITIES    OF   THE   COOLIE   TRADE.  663 

of  this  business  became  so  great  that  withiii  ten  years  tlie  de- 
mand had  far  exceeded  the  supply.  Seldom  has  the  unscrupu- 
lous character  of  trade,  where  its  operations  are  left  free  from 
the  restraints  either  of  competent  authority  or  of  morality,  been 
more  sadly  exhibited  than  in  the  conduct  of  the  agents  who 
filled  these  coolie  ships.  The  details  of  the  manner  in  which 
natives  of  all  classes,  scholars,  travellers,  laborers,  peddlers, 
and  artisans,  M'ere  kidnapped  in  town  and  country  and  sent  to 
Macao,  wei-e  seldom  known,  because  the  victims  were  unable 
to  make  themselves  heard.  When  the  rebels  at  Fuhshan  were 
defeated  in  1855,  thousands  of  their  followers  were  glad  to 
save  their  lives  by  shipping  as  coolies,  but  this  lasted  only  a 
short  time. 

The  allied  commissioners  in  charge  of  Canton  took  cognizance 
of  these  outrages,  and  upon  the  representations  of  Governor- 
General  Lao  took  vigorous  measures  for  breaking  up  the  trade 
at  Wham]x»a.'  The  United  States  minister,  lion.  J.  E.  "Ward, 
lent  his  aid  in  February,  1860,  by  allowing  the  Chinese  author- 
ities to  take  three  hundred  and  seventeen  men  out  of  the  Ameri- 
can ship  Messenger  in  oi'der  to  ascertain  whether  any  of  them 
were  detained  on  board  against  their  will.  Every  one  of  them 
declined  to  go  back  to  the  ship,  but  it  was  not  proved  how 
many  had  been  beguiled  away  on  false  pretences — the  usual 
mode  of  kidnapping.  The  report  of  the  commission  sent  to 
Cuba  a  dozen  ^-ears  later  asserts,  as  the  result  of  careful  inqui- 
ries, that  the  majority  of  the  coolies  in  Cuba  "  were  decoyed 
abroad,  not  legitimately  induced  to  emigrate." 

The  Portuguese  iiilers  of  Macao  "were  unwilling  to  make 
thorough  investigation  into  the  facts  about  this  business  until 
after  the  return  of  the  connnission  sent  to  Cuba  in  1873,  whose 
report  disclosed  the  inevitable  evils  and  wrongs  inherent  in  the 
traffic.  Urged  by  the  British  government,  they  finally  (in  1875) 
closed  the  barracoons,  and  thus  put  an  end  to  it.  During  the 
twenty-five  years  of  its  existence  about  five  hundred  thousand 
coolies  were  taken  away. 

'  Compare  Lieutenant-Colonel  Fisher,  Pfrsomd  Nan-ative  of  Three  Years^  Ser- 
rke  in  Chiiui,  pp.  260-342,  where  the  matter  is  pretty  thoroughly  discussed 
and  Lao's  proclamations  given  in  detail. 


664  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

To  return  to  the  war  :  throughout  tlie  winter  no  event  of  note 
occurred  in  any  part  of  Cliina,  but  the  imperial  government 
was  busily  employed  in  fortifying  the  mouth  of  the  Pei  ho  to 
prevent  the  entrance  of  the  allies.  They  demolished  the  old 
forts  to  rebuild  new  ones  of  niatei-ials  gathered  on  the  spot,  and 
constructed  somewhat  after  the  manner  laid  down  in  foreign 
authorities  on  fortification.  These  books  had  been  translated 
for  them  by  natives  trained  in  mission  schools.  Notwithstand- 
ing all  that  Kweiliang  and  llwashana  may  have  assured  them 
to  the  contrary,  the  Emperor  and  his  officers  could  not  divest 
themselves  of  their  fears  of  serious  reprisals,  if  not  of  con- 
quest, should  they  pennit  the  allied  gunboats  to  anchor  a  second 
time  at  Tientsin  and  their  embassies  to  enter  the  capital.  The 
two  commissioners  awaited  at  Shanghai  the  arrival  of  the  Brit- 
ish, French,  and  American  plenipotentiaries,  for  the  purpose  of 
urging  them  to  exchange  the  ratifications  in  that  city.  Never- 
theless, since  Peking  was  expressly  appointed  in  the  first  two 
treaties  as  the  place  for  signing  them,  Mr.  Bruce  and  M.  Bour- 
boulon,  the  English  and  French  ministers,  determined  to  insist 
upon  this  detail.  The  poor  commissioners,  on  the  other  hand, 
knowing  more  than  they  dared  to  tell  of  the  hostile  prepara- 
tions going  on,  steadily  declined  the  offer  of  a  passage  to  Taku. 
Mr.  Ward  was  not  tied  down  to  anv  place  or  time  for  exchanjrinfr 
the  American  treaty,  but  decided  to  do  so  at  the  same  place  with 
his  colleagues.  The  three  ministers  remained  in  the  south  to 
exchange  views  and  allow  the  British  gunboats  to  collect  off 
Taku  before  their  arrival,  when  they  all  joined  them  on  June 
20th.  The  appearance  of  the  forts  was  entirely  different  from 
last  year,  and  confirmed  the  reports  of  the  great  efforts  making 
to  prevent  foreigners  reaching  the  capital  in  large  numbers.  The 
river  was  found  to  be  barred  by  an  elaborate  boom  of  timber 
and  chains;  but  though  no  soldiers  were  in  sight  on  the  battle- 
ments, it  was  evident  that  a  collision  was  intended.  The  recon- 
noissance  had  been  carefully  made  from  the  ITth  to  the  2tl:th, 
and  the  riiiuese  gcnierul,  S;nig-k()-lin-siii,  felt  confident  of  his 
ability  to  hold  his  own  against  the  shi])s  inside  of  the  bar.  All 
official  intercourse  was  refused  with  Admiral  Hope,  though  he 
had  stated  his  purpose  clearly,  because,  as  was  alleged,  these 


KEPULSE  OF  THE  ALLIES  BEFORE  TAKU.      665 

forts  and  men  were  merely  gathered  by  the  conniion  people  to 
defend  themselves  against  pirates. 

In  order  to  discover  the  real  state  of  feeling  toward  a  neutral, 
Commodore  Tatnall  took  Mr.  AVard,  in  the  United  States  char- 
tered steamer  Toeywan,  into  the  river  on  the  24th,  and  pro- 
ceeded toward  a  jetty  near  the  fort.  The  steamer  ran  aground 
when  about  half  a  mile  short  of  it;  the  minister  then  sent  his 
interpreters  to  the  jetty,  where  they  were  met  by  a  dozen  or 
moi"e  miserably  dressed  fellows  who  had  come  from  the  fort  for 
that  purpose.  On  learning  the  errand  of  the  foreigners,  one  or 
two  of  the  men  spoke  up  in  a  way  which  showed  that  they  were 
officers — probably  disguised  as  coolies — telling  the  deputation 
that  the  passage  to  Tientsin  by  the  Pei  ho  had  been  barred,  but 
that  the  governor-general,  Ilangfuh,  was  then  at  Pehtang,  a 
place  about  ten  miles  up  the  coast,  where  he  was  ready  to  re- 
ceive the  American  minister.  They  added  that  they  had  no 
authority  to  take  any  letter  or  card  for  him  ;  that  they  knew 
very  well  the  nationality  of  the  Toeywan,  which  would  not  be 
harmed  if  she  did  not  attempt  to  break  through  the  boom  laid 
just  above  the  jetty ;  and,  lastly,  that  they  were  not  at  all  em- 
powered to  aid  or  advise  the  Americans  in  getting  up  to  Peh- 
tang. The  whole  episode  was  a  ridiculous  ruse  on  the  part  of 
the  Chinese  to  hide  their  design  of  forcibly  preventing  the 
ministers  from  ascending  the  river;  but  by  so  undignified  a 
behavior  the  general  commandino;  the  works  forfeited  whatever 
moral  advantage  might  otherwise  have  remained  on  his  side. 
After  Admiral  Hope  had  commenced  his  operations  against  the 
barriers,  Ilangfuh  did  indeed  send  a  letter  to  the  British  minis- 
ter— then  lying  nine  miles  off  the  shore — infoi-ming  him  of  the 
arrangements  made  at  Pehtang  to  take  the  allied  envoys  from 
thence  to  the  capital.  These  arrangements  certainly  violated 
no  article  of  the  treaties,  nor  any  promise  made  to  the  foreign- 
ers, though  they  neutralized  entirely  the  journey  to  Peking 
upon  which  the  British  government  had  determined  to  send  its 
plenipotentiary. 

One  may  learn  from  the  letters  of  Mr.  Bruce  to  Lord  Malmes- 
bury  (of  July  5th  and  13th)  many  details  of  the  impertinent 
reception  accorded  to  Admiral  Hope's  messengers  by  the  rabble 


666  THE    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

and  soldiers  near  the  Taku  forts,  all  proving  plainly  enougii 
their  hostile  intentions.  But  the  minister  overlooks  what  we, 
in  reti'acing  the  history  of  these  years,  cannot  too  attentively 
keep  in  mind,  namely,  the  ever-present  fear  of  trickery  and  foul 
play  with  their  unknown  engines  of  war  which  the  Emperors 
counsellors  momentarily  dreaded  from  their  foreign  adversaries. 
On  the  other  hand,  what  could  be  done  with  a  government 
which  would  never  condescend  to  appreciate  its  own  weakness, 
would  never  speak  or  act  the  truth,  would  never  treat  any  other 
nation  as  an  equal  ?  These  and  other  despatches  from  the 
Blue  Book  afford  a  key  to  the  policies  of  both  parties  in  this 
remarkable  contest,  and  convince  the  impartial  student  of  the 
necessity  of  personal  contact  and  acquaintance  before  it  was 
possible  to  reach  a  lasting  understanding  between  the  holders 
of  so  widely  sepai'ated  views. 

During  the  night  of  the  23d,  after  the  Toeywan  had  floated 
at  high  water,  the  British  advanced  and  blew  up  the  first  boom, 
leaving,  how^ever,  the  second  and  stronger  obstruction  untouched. 
The  attempt  to  ascend  the  river  in  force  was  commenced  by  the 
allies  in  the  following  afternoon,  when  the  forts  opened  fire 
upon  them  and  by  evening  had  sunk  or  silenced  almost  every 
vessel.  In  this  Hect  thirteen  small  ii'unboats  were  enji-ased,  one 
of  the  largest  among  them,  a  French  craft,  carrying  six  hundred 
men  ;  besides  these  were  some  six  hundred  nuirines  and  engi- 
neers designed  to  serve  as  an  escort  upon  the  journey  to  the 
capital.  This  guard  was  now  landed  in  the  mud  before  the 
forts  and  an  attempt  made  to  carry  the  works  by  escalade,  but 
the  effort  failed,  and  by  daylight  the  men  were  all  once  more 
afloat.  From  the  gunboats  twenty -five  men  were  killed  and 
ninety-thi-ee  wounded  ;  the  loss  among  tlie  marines  was  natu- 
rally heavier — sixty-four  killed  and  two  hundred  and  fifty-two 
wounded,  while  of  the  boats  four  were  sunk.' 

Thronghout  this  action  the  American  vessel  Toeywan  re- 
mained inside  of  the  Ijar,  being  a  non-combatant.  The  gallant 
energy  of  Commodore  Tatnall,  who  in  the  thick  of  the  fight 
passed   through   the  fleet  to  visit  the  British  admiral  lying 


'  One  of  these  afterward  lloated  of  itself  and  was  preserved. 


Upper  North  Fort 


PLAN  OF  THE  MOUTH  OF  THE    PEI-HO. 

Sheicing  the  Defences 

and  illustrative  of  the  Attack  o/25!»  June,  1859 


668  TUE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

wounded  in  the  Plover,  well-nigh  cost  him  his  life  ;  a  shot  from 
the  Chinese  guns  tore  into  the  stern  of  his  harge,  killing  the 
coxswain,  and  narrowly  missed  sinking  the  boat  with  all  on 
board.  Tatnall's  declaration,  in  extenuation  of  his  technical 
violation  of  international  law  by  towing  boat-loads  of  British 
marines  into  action,  that  ''  blood  is  thicker  than  water,"  has  in- 
dissolubly  associated  his  name  with  this  battle  of  the  Pei  ho.' 

The  American  minister  was  present  as  a  spectator  at  this  re- 
pulse before  the  Taku  forts,  but  this  could  not  be  properly  con- 
sidered as  a  reason  for  not  making  further  attempts  to  reach 
Peking.  He  accordingly,  though  not  without  some  difficulty, 
notified  the  governor-general  at  Pehtang  of  his  arrival,  and  four 
days  later  a  pilot  was  sent  off  and  the  Toeywan  taken  up  to 
Pehtang.  Mr.  A¥ard,  in  his  report  to  Washington,  expresses 
his  belief  that  he  would  not  be  allowed  to  reach  Peking,  while 
the  Chinese  had  no  other  intenti(jn  than  to  escort  him  there 
and  bring  him  safely  back.  On  July  Sth  boats  wei'e  sent  to 
conduct  his  party  to  the  place  of  meeting,  which  they  reached 
through  a  line  of  soldiers  in  uniform  placed  along  the  sides  of 
the  streets,  and  were  ushered  into  a  large  hall  amid  a  crowd 
of  officials.  The  recent  encounter  at  Taku  was  discussed  in  a 
sensible  mannei*,  without  apparent  anxiety  or  bravado,  and  then 
the  arrangements  for  taking  the  whole  party  of  twenty  to  Pe- 
king were  made  known.  Among  other  topics  of  inquiry  brought 
forward  was  the  cost  of  such  vessels  as  had  been  sunk  in  the 
Pei  ho  by  their  guns — as  if  the  officials  had  been  estimating  the 
probable  expense  of  their  victory  when  the  English  brought  in 
their  usual  bill  of  damages.  But  the  offer  of  Commodore  Tat- 
nall  to  place  his  surgeons  at  the  disposal  of  the  Chinese,  to  aid 
in  treating  the  wounded  men  at  the  forts,  was  declined. 

Everything  being  made  read}'  by  July  20th,  the  American 
minister  set  out  under  the  escort  of  Chunghow,  now  first 
bi'ought  into  contact  with  foreigners.  About  forty  miles  of 
flat,  saltish  plain  was  crossed,  until  the  party  reached  Peli- 
tsang,  on  the  Pei  ho,  where  were  lying  the  boats  prepared  for 


'  Lieutenant-Colonel  Fisher's  Personal  Nmrative  of  Three  Tears''  Service  in 
China,  Chaps.  XIII.  and  XIV. 


MIJ.    WAKD's   visit   to   PEKING.  660 

their  reception.  As  they  proceeded  up  tlie  river  the  inhabitants 
flocked  to  the  banks  to  behold  the  dreaded  foreigners,  but  no 
expressions  of  vaunting  or  hostility  were  heard  among  the 
myriads  who  now  gazed  for  the  first  time  upon  them.  The 
vast  crowd  at  Tungchau,  when  the  twenty  Americans  landed, 
comprised  apparently  the  whole  population  of  that  city  ;  clad  in 
white  summer  garments,  and  preserving  a  most  remarkable 
stillness  and  decorum  as  they  lined  the  river  banks  and  high- 
way, this  silent,  gazing  multitude  produced  upon  the  strangers 
an  effect  incomparably  weird.  The  day  was  oppressively  hot, 
and  many  preferred  the  carts  to  the  mules  provided  for  the 
trip  to  Peking,  where  they  all  arrived  on  the  2Ttli.  A  ridicu- 
lous rumor,  illustrated  by  appropriate  pictures,  respecting  this 
journey  was  circulated  in  Paris  about  a  fortnight  afterward, 
stating  that  Mr.  Ward  and  his  party  were  conducted  from  the 
coast  in  an  innriense  "  box  or  travelling  chamber,  drawn  overland 
by  oxen,"  and  then  put  "  on  a  raft  to  be  towed  up  the  river  and 
Imperial  Canal  as  far  as  the  gate  of  the  capital.  They  were 
well  treated,  and  were  taken  back  to  the  coast  in  the  same 
manner."  This  jeux  (Tesjyi'it  ju-obably  expressed  the  popular 
sentiment  in  France  of  what  was  expected  from  the  Chinese, 
and  has  ever  since  been  associated  with  it. 

On  announcing  his  arrival,  a  meeting  was  arranged  for  the 
30th  between  Mr.  Ward  and  Kweiliang  and  Ilwashana,  at 
which  all  the  time  was  occupied  in  discussing  the  question  of 
the  manner  of  audience.  The  minister  had  the  advantage  in 
this  interesting  colloquy,  for  he  had  come  up  at  the  invitation 
of  the  governor-general,  had  no  directions  from  the  Presi- 
dent upon  the  matter,  was  quite  indifferent  as  to  the  result  of 
the  conference,  and  had  no  presents  to  be  rejected  as  Lord 
Amherst's  were  in  181G.  The  nature  of  the  hotow  and  the 
reasons  for  requiring  it  of  all  who  had  audience  of  the  Emperor 
were  fully  discussed  at  several  interviews  in  the  most  amicable 
and  courteous  manner.  The  Chinese  were  anxious  to  bring 
about  an  audience,  and  went  so  far  as  to  waive  the  hotow^  or 
knocking  head,  from  the  first,  and  proposed  instead  that  the 
envoy  should  bend  one  knee  as  he  approached  the  sovereign. 
This  was  even  less  of  an  obeisance  than  English  courtiers  paid 


670  Tin-:  :\m)L)LK  kingdom. 

their  Queen,  and  might  have  been  accepted  without  difficult}'— 
if  any  eouiproinise  were  possible  — had  not  one  of  the  party 
previously  declared  the  religious  nature  of  the  ceremony  by 
saying,  "  If  we  do  not  kneel  before  the  Emperor,  we  do  not 
show  him  any  respect ;  it  is  that  or  nothing,  and  is  the  same 
reverence  which  we  pay  the  gods."  Kweiliang  further  said 
that  he  himself  would  willingly  burn  incense  before  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  if  asked  to  do  so.' 

During  their  whole  national  history  the  Chinese  rulers  and 
people  had  accepted  this  ceremony  as  the  inseparable  preroga- 
tive of  the  Son  of  Heaven  ;  and  as  this  discussion  in  their  capi- 
tal was  in  the  hearing  of  a  great  crowd  of  officials,  who,  doubt- 
less, were  prompt  enough  in  circulating  among  the  populace  a 
report  of  the  disagreement,  one  may  appreciate  the  feelings  of 
the  latter  when  the  American  embassy  was  allowed  quietly  to 
leave  the  city  without  enterhig  into  the  "Great  Interior"  to 
behold  the  Dragon's  Face.  Foreigners  have  been  so  ready  in 
China  to  ridicule  or  depi'eciate  whatever  partakes  of  resistance 
to  their  notions  (unless  it  be  backed  up  by  force  to  make  it  re- 
spected), that  this  remarkable  discussion  on  a  vital  point  in  Chi- 
nese etiquette  and  theology  was  generally  regarded  as  silly  ver- 
biage on  their  part  or  ascribed  to  the  effect  of  fear  on  the  part 
of  the  Americans.  As  the  time  and  phice  for  exchanging  rati- 
fications were  not  mentioned  in  the  treaty,  there  was  no  insu- 
perable difficulty  in  adjourning  the  ceremony  to  another  place  ; 
yet  it  seemed  a  grotesque  ending  to  the  four  days'  discussion 
for  Kweiliang  to  seriously  ask  the  minister  for  what  purpose 
he  had  come  to  Peking,  he  himself  being  quite  at  a  loss  to 
understand  the  reason.  Mr.  Ward  replied  that  it  was  to  deliver 
the  letter  from  the  President,  and  to  exchange  the  ratifications. 
It  would  have  been  better  if  he  had  held  him  to  the  promise 
made  by  the  governor-general  at  Pehtang  to  do  so  in  Peking. 
However,  the  return  trip  was  concluded  by  the  exchange  of 
ratifications  on  August  15th  at  Pehtang,  and  the  departure  of 
the  frigate  for  Shanghai  soon  after. 

'  See  Ward's  despatches,  pp.  594-617,  U.  8.  Senate  Executue  Document  No. 
30,  read  Marcli  1;5,  1800;  American  Eclectic  Magazine,  New  York,  Vol.  51, 
April  and  May,  18G1  •,  North  China  Br.  Ji.  A.  Society,  Vol.  I.,  No.  3,  1859. 


LORD  ELGIX  AND  BARON  GROS  RETURN  TO  CHINA       671 

The  mortification  of  having  been  repulsed  at  Taku  was  not 
concealed  bj  the  British  public  or  press,  when  they  ascribed  it 
to  the  too  hasty  landing  at  sunset  on  a  mud  flat  over  which 
there  was  no  pathway  or  footing.  There  certainly  was  no 
treachery  on  the  part  of  the  Chinese,  as  Mr.  Swinhoe  declares 
in  his  JVorf/i  China  Ca//tj>ai^n,  for  they  plaiidy  told  what  they 
would  do  if  the  passage  were  attempted.'  Yet  it  was  a  grievous 
disappointment  to  find  that  the  exchange  of  ratifications  had 
been  interrupted  from  any  cause ;  and  though  it  will  probably 
always  be  a  debatable  point  whether  it  was  right  foi-  the  allied 
envoys  to  refuse  the  offered  means  of  reaching  Peking  by  way 
of  Pehtang,  there  was  no  debate  now  as  to  the  necessity  of  has- 
tening to  the  capital  at  once. 

The  British  and  French  governments  moved  immediately  in 
the  matter,  and  M'isely  decided  to  place  the  settlement  of  the 
question  in  the  same  hands  that  had  cai'ried  it  thus  far.  In 
April,  1860,  Earl  Kussell  wrote  to  Lord  Elgin  that  "  Her  Ma- 
jesty resolved  to  employ  every  means  calculated  to  establish 
peace  with  the  Emperor  of  China,  and  had  determined  to  call 
upon  him  again  to  give  his  valuable  services  to  promote  this  im- 
portant object."  The  indispensable  conditions  were  three,  viz., 
an  apology  for  the  attack  on  the  allied  forces  at  the  Pei  ho  ;  the 
ratification  and  execution  of  the  treaty  ;  and  payment  for  the  ex- 
penses incurred  by  the  allies.  Lord  Elgin's  colleague  was  Baron 
Gros,  and  the  two  were  ready  to  leave  Europe  in  April.  They 
were  supported  in  making  their  demands  by  an  army  of  about 
ten  thousand  British  troops  of  all  arms,  gathered  from  England, 
Cape  Colony,  and  Lidia,  and  nearly  seven  thousand  French  sent 
from  France.  Their  respective  naval  forces  were  not  largely 
added  to,  but  the  requisite  transports  increased  the  fleets  to 
more  than  two  hundred  vessels  in  all,  of  which   thirty-three 


'  Though  they  told  many  lies  as  well.  These  charges  against  the  Chinese  were 
reiterated  until  they  were  believed  by  all  the  world  ;  but  in  the  effort  to  find 
a  good  reason  for  proceeding  to  Peking  in  order  to  exchange  the  ratifications, 
it  was  not  needful  to  say  that  the  forts  fired  upon  the  British  ships  witliout 
notice.  Mr.  Bruce's  despatches  to  Lord  Malmesbury  (of  Jul}'  i;]th),  together 
with  the  eufilosures  and  translations  of  native  documents,  discuss  this  i^uestion 
with  much  good  sense. 


G72  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

were  French.  The  latter  liad  small  iron  gunboats,  fitted  to 
carry  one  gnn,  brought  from  home  hi  fifteen  pieces  each  ;  when 
screwed  together  each  boat  had  three  compartments,  made 
water-tight  with  layers  of  vulcanized  rubber  at  the  joinings^ 
The  British  forces  gathered  at  Talien-wan  Bay  on  the  south- 
eastern side  of  Prince  llegent's  Sword,  and  the  French  at  Chifu 
on  the  coast  of  Shantung.  The  plenipotentiaries  had  arrived 
iu  July  of  this  year  and  found  the  imperial  government  main- 
taining its  old  attitude  of  conciliation  and  undue  assumption. 
On  March  8th  the  foreignei's^  terms  liad  been  made  known  by 
Mr.  Bruce,  and  a  reply  shortly  afterward  transmitted  to  liim 
through  Ho  Kwei-tsing  at  Shanghai.  In  it  the  lurking  fear  of 
reprisals,  so  largely  actuating  its  conduct,  appears  from  the  con- 
clusion, when  the  council  says :  "  If  Mr.  Bruce  will  come  north 
without  vessels  of  war  and  with  but  a  moderate  retinue,  and 
will  wait  at  Pehtang  to  exchange  the  treaties,  China  will  not 
take  him  to  task  for  what  has  gone  by.  But  if  he  be  resolved 
to  bring  up  a  number  of  war-vessels,  and  if  he  persist  in  pro- 
ceeding by  way  of  Taku,  this  will  show  that  his  true  purpose  is 
not  the  exchange  of  treaties."  '  After  such  a  declaration  there 
was  but  one  way  left  by  which  to  prove  to  the  Empei-or  how 
thoroughly  in  earnest  were  the  allies  in  their  intention  of  ex- 
changing the  treaties.  The  last  bulwark  of  Chinese  seclusion 
was  now  to  be  broken  down — never  more,  we  may  hope,  to  be 
erected  against  the  advancing  influences  of  a  more  enlightened 
civilization. 

After  the  usual  delays  incident  to  moving  large  bodies  of 
troops  with  their  various  equipages,  the  combined  forces  left 
their  anchorages  on  July  26th,  presenting  with  their  long  lines 
of  ships  a  grand  sight  as  they  went  up  the  smooth  waters  of  the 
Gulf  of  Pechele  toward  the  mouth  of  the  Pehtang  River.  This 
assemblage  was  many  times  larger  than  the  armaments  sent  to 
the  same  region  in  the  two  previous  years,  and  the  experiences 
of  those  years  had  pi'epared  both  parties  to  regard  this  third 
attempt  to  reach  the  Court  of  Cambaluc  as  decisive  of  their 
future  relations.     The  forces  found  much  inconvenience  in  ef- 

'  Wolseley's  Narrative,  p.  14.     Fislier's  C/nmi,  Chap.  XXIII. 


LANDING   OF   THE   ALLIES   AT   PEIITANG.  673 

fectiiig  a  landing  at  Pehtang,  where  the  beach  at  low  tide  ex- 
tends over  miles  of  ooze  and  sticky  mnd,  but  met  no  foi'cible 
opposition.  The  towns  in  this  region  are  among  the  most  re- 
pulsive-looking on  the  whole  Chinese  coast.  In  consequence  of 
the  saline  soil  no  trees  or  grass  are  to  be  seen  on  the  wide 
plain ;  the  only  green  things  being  a  few  fruit  trees  near  the 
Jiouses,  or  scattering  patches  of  salsola  and  similar  plants.  The 
houses  are  built  of  mud  and  chopped  straw ;  their  walls  rest  on 
layers  of  sorghum  stalks  spread  on  the  foundation  to  intercept 
the  saline  influences,  while  the  thatched  roofs  also  contain 
much  mud.  These  soon  present  a  scanty  covering  of  grass, 
which,  speedily  withering  in  the  hot  sun,  imparts  to  the  dwell- 
ing a  still  more  forlorn  aspect.  Cheerless  enough  on  a  bright 
day,  the  appearance  of  one  of  these  hamlets  in  wet  weather — 
M'itli  mud  streaming  from  the  roofs,  the  streets  reeking  with 
noisome  filth,  through  which  loaded  carts  and  half-naked  men 
wend  dolefully  their  way — is  certainly  melancholy  beyond  any 
description. 

The  allies  were  on  shore  by  the  evening  of  August  2d,  and 
in  a  most  pitiable  plight  in  their  own  eyes.  The  men  had  been 
obliged  to  wade  through  the  mud  left  by  the  retiring  tide  to 
reach  solid  ground,  and  then  cross  a  moat  that  received  the 
drainings  of  the  town,  a  reeking  mass  much  worse,  of  course, 
than  the  other.  Xo  fresh  water  was  to  be  had,  and  the  time 
which  elapsed  before  the  men  could  be  supplied  from  the  boats 
Avas  spent  in  putting  themselves  up  for  the  night,  Avet,  dirty, 
and  hungry  as  they  were.  In  the  morning  it  was  found  that 
the  few  forts  which  they  were  to  attack  were  merely  for  show, 
and  soon  the  town  was  occupied  by  the  ti'oops,  their  generals 
taking  the  temples  for  quarters.  In  less  than  three  days  every 
house  in  it  had  been  pillaged,  and  whatever  was  worthless  for 
plunder  was  destroyed  as  useless,  "  the  few  natives  that  still 
lingered  by  their  uinisurped  domiciles,"  adds  Mr.  Swinhoe, 
"  quietly  watching  with  the  eye  of  despair  the  destruction  of 
all  the  property  they  possessed  in  the  world,  and  the  ruin  of 
their  hopes  perhaps  forever."  Even  the  poor  wretches  who 
were  trying  to  cany  off  their  goods  in  packs  were  stopped  and 
stripped  by  the  prowling  soldiers. 


074  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

Ill  less  tlian  a  fortnight  the  entire  force  had  been  brought 
ashore  without  accident  or  opposition.  There  were  men,  tents, 
guns,  horses,  provisions,  animals,  stores,  ammunition,  baggage, 
— everything,  in  short,  which  an  army  now  needs  and  which 
steam  easily  brings  to  it.  Besides  these,  two  thousand  live 
hundred  Cantonese  coolies,  each  of  whom  is  estimated  by 
Colonel  Wolseley,  with  supreme  candoi',  to  have  been  of  more 
general  value  than  any  three  baggage  animals.  They  were 
working  constantly  for  ten  days,  carrying  water,  landing  stores, 
and  performing  the  toil  devolving  on  camp  followers,  for  which 
this  author  magnanimously  praises  them  by  saying:  "They 
were  easily  fed,  and  when  properly  treated  most  manageable." 

On  August  12th  the  forces  were  ready  to  move  on  the  Taku 
forts  lying  about  five  miles  distant  across  the  plain,  now  ren- 
dered miry  by  the  constant  rains.  A  single  causeway  three 
miles  long,  flanked  by  deep  ditches,  traversed  it,  and  along  this 
progress,  especially  for  the  heavy  artillery,  was  exceedingly 
slow.  Upon  their  passage  of  this  road  the  Chinese  general, 
Sangkolinsin,  yielded  the  only  vantage-ground  where  he  could 
have  encountered  his  enemy  with  hope  of  success.  This  igno- 
rant blunder  on  the  part  of  so  energetic  a  commander  seems  all 
the  more  unaccountatle,  since  a  week  previously  the  Chinese 
cavalry  had  been  nnich  emboldened  by  some  slight  successes 
over  a  reconnoitring  party  of  the  allies,  and  "  approached  our 
outposts  with  wonderful  courage,  a  few  even  advancing  to  within 
a  few  hundred  yards,  brandishing  the  swords  and  making  gro- 
tesque gesticulations." 

At  last  the  allies  were  ready  to  advance  to  the  attack  of  the 
Chinese.  The  Mongol  horsemen  commenced  the  engagement 
by  rushing  fearlessly  forward  in  several  irregular  lines  of 
skirmishers,  and  bravely  received  the  shot  from  the  Armstrong 
guns,  until  they  charged  with  a  loud,  M'ild  yell  the  Sikh  cavalry, 
with  whom  they  engaged  in  close  conflict.  But  "  in  less  than 
a  minute  the  Tartai's  had  turned  and  were  flying  for  their  lives 
before  our  well-armed  irregulars  supported  b}^  two  squadrons 
of  the  finest  dragoons  in  the  British  army  ;  the  ])ursuit  lasted 
for  five  miles,  and  was  then  only  ended  by  our  horses  being 
pumped  out.     Had  they  been  in  good  working  order  the  vq- 


CAPTURE   OF   SINIIO   AXD   THE   TAKU   FOKTS.  675 

suits  would  liave  been  far  more  satisfactory-,  and  the  worthy 
tax-payers  at  home  would  have  had  the  pleasure  of  gloating 
over  the  account  of  an  immense  Mst  of  slain  enemies." ' 

TliQ  allied  infantry  had  already  reached  the  intrenched  canjp, 
near  the  village  of  Sinho,  and  the  "  beautifully  precise  practice  " 
of  the  Armstrongs,  togetlier  witli  the  accurate  rifled  guns  of 
the  French,  were  brilliantly  successful  in  knocking  over  the 
Chinese  who  served  their  gingalls  at  the  ranges  of  fourteen 
hundred  or  a  thousand  yards. 

The  reader  cannot  desire  further  particulars  of  this  unequal 
contest  as  described  by  Colonel  (now  Lord)  Garnet  "Wolsele^-. 
The  various  forces  of  the  Chinese  M-ere  entirely  routed  by  the 
allies  ;  the  plain  was  speckled  for  miles  l)y  native  corpses,  while 
the  care  of  wounded  men  called  out  the  sympathies  and  skill  of 
their  conquerors.  The  village  of  Sirdio  was  plundered,  and  its 
inhabitants  fled,  glad  to  escape  with  their  lives.^  The  next 
morning  an  advance  was  made  by  the  entire  force  upon  the  five 
forts  and  intrenched  camps  at  Tangku,  three  miles  ofF,  from 
which  the  imperialists  were  dislodged  with  considerable  loss  on 
their  part,  the  rest  retreating  across  the  Pei  ho  toward  Taku. 
Tangku  town  was  occupied  by  the  foreigners,  who  took  under 
their  care  everybody  left  in  it,  and  relieved  the  wounded  and 
starving  while  preparing  for  the  intended  attack  on  the  forts. 
This  kindness,  and  the  consequent  increased  acquaintance  arising 
between  the  contending  parties  in  obtaining  supplies,  did  much 
to  remove  their  ignorance  and  contempt  of  each  other — a  result 
far  more  desirable  and  useful  than  the  capture  of  forts  and 
prisoners. 

The  French  having  already-  encamped  on  the  further  bank 
of  the  Pei  ho,  each  armv  commenced  the  buildino-  of  a  bridge  ^ 
across  the  stream,  completing  the  structui-e  so  speedily  that  by 
the  mornino;  of  August  21st  the  whole  attackino:  force  was  in 
position.  The  twenty-three  pieces  of  artillery  now  began  to 
fire  upon  the  north  fort,  from  which  the  Chinese  i-eplied  with 

'Wolseley,  NniTatiir,  p.  108. 

'  A  great  collection  of  offifial  documents  disclosing  the  views  of  the  court 
upon  the  struggle  was  found  iu  the  yamun. 

'■'■  Lieutenant-Colonel  Fisher,  Personal  Narrative,  pp.  404-409. 


676  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

all  the  alacrity  tliey  could,  although  taken  thus  in  rear.  About 
six  o'clock,  when  the  fire  waxed  hotter  and  hotter,  and  the 
troops  were  anxiously  looking  for  the  signal  to  advance,  "  a  tall 
black  pillar,  as  if  by  magic,  shot  up  from  the  midst  of  the 
nearest  fort,  and  then  bursting  like  a  rocket  after  it  had  obtained 
a  great  height,  was  soon  lost  in  the  vast  shower  of  earth  and 
wood  into  which  it  resolved  itself — a  loud,  bursting,  booming 
sound  marking  the  moment  of  its  short  existence."  But  the 
fire  from  the  fort  only  ceased  for  a  minute  or  two,  and  the 
gunners  served  their  pieces  most  manfully,  though  sometimes 
unprotected  in  any  way  from  the  crushing  shell  fire  opposed  to 
them.  The  attack  Ijegan  about  seven  o'clock,  nearly  four  thou- 
sand men  all  told  forming  the  advance.  A  gallant  defence  was 
made  to  a  still  bi-aver  onset,  but  the  victoiy  naturally  fell  to 
the  disciplined  forces  of  the  allies,  who  had  j^ossessed  them- 
selves of  all  the  defences  before  noon.  A  few  guns  taken  from 
the  ships  destroyed  June  25,  1850,  were  now  recovered  l)y  the 
British,  but  otherwise  the  fort  contained  nothing  of  Aalue.  The 
loss  of  life  on  both  sides  was  coni]):iratively  slight.  The  Jh-it- 
ish  had  seventeen  killed  and  one  hnndred  an<l  eighty-thrc^e 
wounded  ;  the  French,  one  hundred  and  thirty  casualties  in  all ; 
the  Chinese  lay  dead  in  heaps  in  the  fort,  and  their  total  loss 
])robably  exceeded  two  thousand.  The  interior  testified  in 
every  part  the  noble  manner  in  which  it  had  been  defended, 
even  after  the  disastrous  explosion  had  crippled  the  resources 
and  discouruged  the  enthusiasm  of  its  garrison.  From  this 
])Osition  the  allies  moved  on  the  other  n(n-thern  fort  Avith  their 
artillery,  under  a  continual  fire  from  its  Avails  ;  but  befoi-e  the 
guns  could  open  upon  it,  many  white;  flags  appeared  on  the 
parapets;  messengei'S  were  ere  long  seen  to  leave  the  gi'cat 
southern  fort.  They  were  all  given  up  before  sunset,  and  the 
famous  Taku  foi'ts,  Avhieh  had  last  year  witnessed  the  discom- 
fiture of  the  allies,  now  saw  them  enter  as  conquerors' — "  the 
tarnished  honor  of  our  arms  was  <i;loriouslv  vindicated.'' 

'  When  tlio  allied  generals  came  to  carefully  examine  tlie  construction  of 
the  walls,  casemates,  and  internal  arrangements,  with  the  preparation  made 
outside  to  hinder  the  enemy,  they  declared  them  to  be  absolutely  impregnabW 
from  seaward  if  defended  as  well  as  the  north  fort  had  been. 


THE   ADVANCE   TO   TIENTSIN.  077 

Loi-d  Elgin  M-as  quietly  resting  in  Tangkn,  and  refused  to 
jeceive  their  surrender,  or  even  to  liold  intercourse  with  Hang- 
fnh,  the  governor-general  of  Chihli,  then  in  command,  but 
turned  him  over  to  the  commander  of  the  forces.  The  path 
heing  now  open  for  the  troops  to  march  upon  Tientsin,  the 
gunboats  were  sent  forward  to  see  that  the  river  was  clear.  On 
tlie  ^.^th  the  two  ])loiiipotentiaries  wei-e  again  housed  at  Tien- 
tsin, accompanied  by  naval  and  land  forces  amply  strong  to  take 
them  to  Peking.  Xo  opposition  M'as,  howevei",  experienced  in 
i-eaching  that  city,  while  the  pleasing  contrast  in  the  surface  of 
this  country  with  that  of  the  dreary  flats  near  Pehtang  and 
Taku  refreshed  the  men  as  much  as  the  abundant  supplies  and 
})eacefulness  of  the  people  aided  them.  Such  remarkable  con- 
trasts in  China  illustrate  the  inert  character  of  this  extraordi- 
nary people;  and  further,  also  lead  one  to  incpiire  what  is  the 
reason  for  their  loyalty  to  a  government  which  fails  so  com- 
pletely in  protecting  them  from  their  enemies.  Mr.  Swihhoe 
records'  a  conversation  held  with  a  M'ell-to-do  Chinese,  in  which 
this  inquiry  receives  a  partial  answer  in  the  peaceful  education 
of  a  race  M'hicli  lias  no  alternative. 

His  intrenchments  at  Sinho  and  Tangku  being  demolished, 
his  vaunted  defences  upon  the  liver  razed,  his  enemies'  ships 
in  possession  of  Tientsin,  nothing  now  remained  for  Sangkolin- 
siii  save  to  move  his  entire  army  nearer  Peking,  and  there  again 
meeting  the  invaders,  endeavor  to  preserve  the  capital  from 
capture.  He  Avould  not  there  be  able  to  shift  the  odium  of  de- 
feat on  the  difficulties  of  the  river  defences,  while  the  moral 
effect  Avould  be  incomparably  greater  if  he  were  vanquislied  near 
tlie  palace. 

The  aged  Jvweiliang,  the  father-in-law  of  Prince  Kung,  was 
again  directed  to  repair  to  Tientsin,  where  he  arrived  about 
August  2Sth.  He  and  two  others  (all  of  them  Manchus)  endea- 
vored to  negotiate  a  peace  so  as  to  prevent  the  allies  from  ad- 
vancing on  Peking  with  their  armies.  Finding  that  they  were 
trifling,  Lord  Elgin  stopped  the  palaver,  and  started  for  Tung- 
chau  on  September  Stli,  the  British  taking  the  left  bank  and 

'  I^orth  China  Campairjn,  pp.  158-161. 


678  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

tlie  French  keeping  the  southern.  jS^ear  Yangtsun  a  new  cum- 
niission  of  higher  rank  reported  itself,  but  it  M'as  rejected,  and 
the  army  continued  on  its  M'ay.  Further  on,  at  Ilosi-wu  and 
Matau,  signs  of  serious  strife  began  to  appear,  but  tlie  commis- 
sioners assured  their  negotiators,  Messrs.  Wade  and  Parkes,  that 
everything  was  or  would  be  ready  at  Tungchau  to  conclude  the 
convention.  Affairs  were  becoming  critical  in  the  matter  of 
supplies  and  transport,  for  Sangkolinsin's  army  prevented  the 
people  from  safely  bringing  animals  and  making  sales.  The  com- 
missariat, therefore,  was  obliged  to  seize  what  could  be  found 
to  feed  the  advancing  force,  and  this  involved  ransacking  most 
of  the  towns  and  handets  lying  near  the  river  between  Hosi-wu 
and  Tungchau.  The  progress  of  the  force  was,  therefore,  much 
slower  than  below  Tientsin,  though  the  possession  of  sixty  or 
eighty  small  boats  helped  to  bring  on  the  amnumition  and 
other  supplies. 

On  September  1  ith  the  interpreters,  Messrs.AYade  and  Parkes, 
reached  Tungchau,  in  order  to  meet  Prince  I  and  his  colleague 
to  discuss  the  terms  for  stoj^ping  the  army  and  exchanging 
the  ratifications.  This  interview  was  marked  with  apparent 
sincerity,  and  resulted  in  an  order  for  the  army  to  move  for- 
ward to  a  place  designated  near  the  town  of  Changkia-wan, 
about  three  leagues  from  Tungchau,  \vhere  the  troops  were  to 
encamp.  The  camp  broke  up  from  IIosi-wu  early  on  the  17th 
to  carry  this  arrangement  into  effect.  Mr.  Parkes  was  again  sent 
forward  to  Tungchau  (twentj^ -five  miles),  accompanied  by  an  es- 
cort of  twenty-six  Sikh  and  other  soldiers,  to  inform  the  imperial 
connnissioners,  and  finally  arrange  terms.  The  ground  pointed 
out  was  reached,  and  seemed  to  be  well  suited  for  the  j^ui-pose. 
At  Changkia-wan  the  party  met  an  ofiicer  at  the  head  of  some 
cavalry,  who  challenged  them,  but  allowed  all  to  go  on  to  Tung- 
chau. Mr.  Parkes  soon  met  another  high  official  in  charge  of  a 
guard,  who  treated  them  with  marked  courtesy,  informing 
them  that  he  had  been  the  general  at  Sinlio,  and  let  them  pro- 
ceed. They  were  received  at  Tungchau  and  conducted  through 
the  town  to  a  temple  by  a  messenger  sent  from  the  prince.  At 
one  o'clock  the  discussions  began,  but  instead  of  entering  into 
the  details  of  carrying  out  the  agreement,  difficulties  were  made 


OCCUKRENCES   AT   TUNGCIIAU. 


679 


about  Lord  Elgin's  delivering  his  letter  of  credence  to  the  Em- 
peror. The  whole  afternoon  was  consumed  in  this  debate, 
which  probably  was  grounded  not  a  little  on  the  recent  decision 
of  Ilienfung  to  leave  the  capital  for  his  summer  palace  at 
Jeh-ho  while  the  way  was  yet  clear.  At  eventide  the  commis- 
sioners waived  the  settlement  of  the  audience,  and  soon  agreed 
to  all  the  other  points  relating  to  the  encampment  near  Chang- 
kia-wan.  In  the  morning  Mr.  Parkes,  Colonel  Walker,  and 
eleven  others,  leaving  the  rest  of  their  party  in  the  temple  to 
await  the  arrival  of  the  plenipotentiaries  the  next  day,  departed 
to  view  the  designated  encampment.  Their  journey  was  some- 
what eventful.  As  they  reached  Changkia-wan  they  met  bodies 
of  Chinese  infantry  going  south,  but  no  notice  was  taken  of 
them,  and  the  foreigners  rode  on  to  reach  the  appointed  spot. 
In  doing  so  they  came  across  a  body  of  a  thousand  dismounted 
liorsemen  concealed  in  a  dry  watercourse,  or  nullah,  evidently 
placed  there  in  ambush  ;  while  riding  along  in  front  no  inter- 
ruption was  made  to  their  progress.  Further  on,  in  a  small 
village,  they  detected  a  large  force  hidden  behind  the  houses 
and  in  gardens,  but  still  no  hindrance  to  their  advance  was  inter- 
posed by  these  men.  A  short  distance  ahead  they  came  upon 
a  masked  battery  of  twelve  guns  just  placed  in  position,  from 
which  they  were  driven  away.  It  was  now  phiin  that  Sangko- 
linsin  Avas  preparing  an  ainbushment  for  the  allied  forces  to 
enter,  feeling  confident,  no  doubt,  of  his  success. 

Mr.  Loch,  who  accompained  Mr.  Parkes  thus  far,  was  now 
designated  to  force  his  way  through  the  Chinese  troops,  so  as  to 
meet  the  allied  generals  and  tell  them  the  state  of  things.  Sir 
Hope  Grant  had  already  noticed  some  bodies  of  men  on  his 
flanks,  and  was  preparing  for  them  when  he  learned  the  truth  ; 
but  in  order  to  give  Mr.  Parkes  and  the  others  a  chance  to  es- 
cape from  Tungchau,  he  agreed  to  delay  two  hours  before  opening 
upon  the  enemy.  Mr.  Loch  accordingly  started,  in  company 
with  Captain  Brabazon  and  two  horsemeu,to  return  to  Tungchau. 
They  reached  it  in  a  few  hours  and  found  their  friends,  uncon- 
scious of  the  danger,  wandering  through  the  town.  Mr.  Parkes 
had  learned  something  of  it,  and  called  on  Prince  I  at  his 
quarters  to  claim  protection  ;  this  dignitary  was  in  a  state  of 


080  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

much  excitement,  and  said  that  "  mitil  the  question  of  deliver- 
ing the  letter  of  credence  was  settled  there  coiikl  \)c  no  peace  ; 
there  must  be  war."  On  returning  to  their  temple  the  foreign- 
ers immediately  started  off  in  a  body,  but  some  of  their  horses 
were  jaded,  and  the  country  was  filled  with  moving  bodies  of 
troops. 

When  about  five  miles  wei"e  gone  over  they  came  on  a  brigade 
of  matchlock  men,  and  ere  long  an  officer  of  rank  stopped  them 
from  going  further,  but  offered  to  accompany  two  of  them  to 
obtain  from  the  general  a  pass  allowing  the  whole  party  to  ride 
around  the  Chinese  army  on  their  way  back.  Mr.  Parkes  and 
Mr.  Loch  and  a  Sikh  accordingly  M'ent  with  him,  and  he  bravely 
looked  after  their  safety.  Meanwhile  the  battle  had  alreadybcgun, 
as  the  booming  cannon  intimated.  They  had  advanced  only  a 
few  rods  when  the  trio  found  themselves  in  the  midst  of  a  large 
body  of  infantry,  some  of  whom  seized  their  bridles,  but  their 
guide  rushed  in,  striking  i-ight  and  left,  and  thus  cleared  the 
way.  Ten  rods  in  the  rear  they  met  the  Chinese  general,  to 
whom  Mr.  Parkes  addressed  himself,  pointing  to  the  flag  of 
truce  and  asking  for  a  pass  for  the  whole  party  to  return  to  the 
P>ritish  armv.  8aii<rkolinsin  "  irave  a  derisive  lau<2;h,  and  broke 
out  into  a  torrent  of  abuse,  lie  accused  Parkes  of  being  the 
cause  of  all  the  troubles  and  difficulties  that  had  arisen.  Not 
content  with  attempting  to  impose  conditions  which  would  have 
been  derogatory  to  the  dignity  of  the  Empei'or  to  accept,  he 
had  now  brought  the  allied  armies  down  to  attack  the  imperial 
forces."  This  is  only  a  part  of  his  excited  conversation  with  Mi". 
Parkes,  as  reported  by  Mr.  Loch.  They  were  now  imprisoned, 
and  ordered  to  l)e  taken  in  an  open  cart  with  two  French  pris- 
oners to  Tungehau,  and  delivered  over  to  Prince  I.  The  others, 
twenty-three  in  all,  had  also  been  made  prisoners  where  they 
were  waiting,  and  ere  long  conducted  to  Tungehau  in  charge 
of  a  guard. 

The  five  in  the  cart  reached  Tungehau  after  Prince  I  had 
left  his  temple,  and  were  therefore  hurried  on  to  Peking  after 
him,  but  on  the  way  were  turned  off  near  Pa-li-kiau  {i.e., 
'  Eight  Lt  Bridge')  and  taken  to  the  quai'ters  of  Jinlin,  a  gen- 
eral then  in  command  of  the  Peking  gendarmerie,     fie  ques' 


IMPKISONMENT   OF   PARKES   AND   LOCH.  681 

tioned  Mr.  Parkes  upon  the  strength  of  the  allied  foi'ces,  until 
the  latter  ended  this  catechising  under  the  torture  of  kneeling 
with  the  arms  twisted  behind  him,  by  pretending  to  faint. 
In  the  aftei-noon,  MJiile  again  undergoing  examination  by  some 
officials  formerly  with  Prince  1,  they  were  suddenly  inter- 
ru})ted  b}'  a  commotion,  and  everybody  ran  off,  leaving  them 
alone.  Soon  a  number  of  soldiers  rushed  in  and  bound  their 
arms,  while  they  were  led  away  to  be  beheaded  in  an  outer 
court.  But  just  as  they  crossed  the  yard  a  mandarin  hurried 
forward,  and  seizing  liold  of  the  soldier,  then  waving  his 
sword  over  Mr.  Loch,  rescued  them  both  and  hurried  them 
into  a  cart,  where  the  other  three  prisoners  lay,  upon  which 
they  immediately  started  for  Peking  by  the  great  stone  road. 
The  torture  and  jolting  of  this  ride  over  the  rough  causeway 
were  increased  by  their  weariness,  hunger,  and  cramped  posi- 
tion, and  when  they  got  out  of  the  cart  at  the  Iling  Pu,  in 
Peking,  they  were  utterly  prostrated.  Kevertheless,  their 
misery  during  the  ride  of  ten  miles  was  transient  and  light 
compared  with  what  awaited  them  inside  of  the  Board  of  Pun- 
ishments. They  were  there  separated,  heavily  pinioned,  and 
put  with  the  native  prisoners.  Mr.  Loch  justly  commends 
these  wretched  men  for  their  sympathy,  and  mentions  many 
little  acts  of  kindness  to  him  in  dividing  their  cakes  and  giving 
him  a  sj^ecial  bench  to  sit  on  during  the  ten  days  he  M'as  quar- 
tered with  them.  Tie  was  then  tai:en  to  the  I'oom  with  Mr. 
Parkes,  and  they  were  soon  driven  aw^ay  to  a  temple  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  city,  whoi'e  rooms  had  been  fitted  up  for 
them.  As  to  the  party  of  twenty-thi'ee  English  and  thirteen 
Frenchmen  left  by  Parkes  at  his  capture,  they  had  been  taken 
to  Yuen-ming  Yuen  under  a  strong  guard. 

Meanwhile  the  allied  army  had  come  up  to  the  Chinese 
forces.  These,  about  twenty  thousand  men  in  all,  had  been 
posted  with  considerable  skill  betvreen  Changkia-wan  and  the 
Pei  ho,  showing  a  front  of  nearly  four  miles,  nuich  of  which 
w^as  intrenched  and  presenting  a  succession  of  batteries.  The 
battle  on  the  18th  died  away  as  the  allies  i-eached  that  town, 
having  driven  Sangkolinsin's  troops  toward  Peking,  captui'ed 
eighty  guns,  and  burned  all  his  camps.     The  loss  of  life  was 


082  THE    MIDDI.K    KIXUDOM. 

much  less  among  his  men  than  at  the  Taku  fort,  for  here 
none  of  them  were  chained  to  their  guns,  and  were  able  to 
escape  when  their  position  was  untenable.  Changkia-wan  was 
thoroughly  pillaged  that  night  by  those  who  could  get  at  it, 
especially  the  poor  natives  who  followed  the  army. 

On  the  21st  the  Chinese  forces  made  another  stand  near  the 
Eight  Li  Bridge  over  the  Canal,  from  which  the  French  dis- 
lodged them  without  much  difficulty.  The  British  came  up  on 
their  flanks  and  drove  them  in  upon  their  centre,  which  of 
course  soon  resulted  in  a  general  dispersion.  The  artillery 
opened  up  at  long  range ;  the  cavalry  riding  in  upon  the 
Chinese  horsemen,  easily  scattered  them,  often  burning  the 
separate  camps  before  returning.  The  contest  at  the  bridge 
was  the  most  serious,  and  their  loss  here  was  estimated  at  three 
hundred  ;  on  the  whole  field  it  probably  did  not  exceed  five 
hundred,  for  neither  their  cavalry  nor  infantry  often  presented 
a  solid  front.  The  entire  losses  of  the  allies  were  less  than 
fifty  killed  and  wounded.  Nothing  intei'posed  now  between 
them  and  Peking,  but  they  delayed  to  move  until  October 
3d,  when  their  entire  force  had  come  up,  siege  guns  and 
commissary  stoi-es  included.  Full  knowledge  had  been  ob- 
tained of  the  environs  of  Peking,  and  iiegotiations  had  been 
going  on  respecting  the  return  of  the  prisoners  as  a  preliminary 
to  the  close  of  hostilities.  These  were  now  conducted  with 
Prince  Ivung,  the  next  youiiger  brother  of  the  Emperor,  who 
was  himself  by  this  time  safe  at  Jeh-ho. 

On  October  Gtli  Lord  Elgin  and  the  generals  M-ere  settled 
in  the  spacious  quarters  of  the  Hwang  s//,  a  lamasaiy 
near  the  northwest  gate  of  Peking,  and  their  army  occupied 
nuich  of  the  open  spaces  between  it  and  the  city.  On  that  day, 
the  outposts  of  the  French  army  and  some  of  the  ]3ritish  cav- 
alry i-eached  the  great  cantonment  of  Hai-tien  (where  the 
Manchu  garrison  of  Peking  was  quartered)  and  the  palace  of 
Yuen-ming  Yuen  near  by.  This  was  soon  pillaged  under  cir- 
cumstances and  in  a  barbarously  wasteful  manner  which  will 
reflect  lasting  obloquy  upon  General   Montaubon,  who,  moro 


TILLAGE    OF    YUEN-MINU    YUEN.  G88 

than  any  other  person,  could  have  interposed  to  save  the  hn- 
niense  and  precious  collection  of  objects  illustrating  Chinese 
art,  architecture,  and  literature.  Lord  Elgin's  journal  gives  his 
view  of  this  act  in  a  few  words : 

October  7th,  5  o'clock  r.  M. — I  have  just  returned  from  the  Summer  Pal- 
ace. It  is  really  a  line  thing,  like  an  English  park — numberless  buildings 
with  handsome  rooms,  filled  with  Chinese  curios,  handsome  clocks,  bronzes, 
etc.  But  alas !  such  a  scene  of  desolation.  The  French  general  came  up, 
full  of  protestations.  He  had  prevented  looting  in  order  that  all  the  plunder 
might  be  divided  between  the  armies,  etc.  There  was  not  a  room  that  I  saw 
m  which  half  the  things  had  not  been  taken  away  or  broken  to  pieces.  I 
tried  to  get  a  regiment  of  ours  sent  to  guard  the  place,  and  then  sell  the  things 
by  auction  ;  but  it  is  difficult  to  get  things  done  by  system  in  such  a  case,  so 
some  of  the  officers  are  left  [there],  who  are  to  fill  two  or  three  carts  with 
treasures,  which  are  to  be  sold.  Plundering  and  devastating  a  place  like  this 
is  bad  enough,  but  the  waste  and  breakage  are  much  worse.  Out  of  a  million 
pounds'  worth  of  property,  I  daresay  fifty  thousand  pounds  will  not  be  real- 
ized. French  soldiers  were  destroying  in  every  way  the  most  beautiful  silks, 
breaking  the  jade  ornaments  and  porcelain,  etc.  War  is  a  hateful  business. 
The  more  one  sees  of  it  the  more  one  detests  it. ' 

Mr.  Swinhoe's  account  of  one  room  in  this  palace  has  now  a 
historical  interest — but  his  description  must  be  condensed : 

Facing  the  gate  (he  says)  stood  the  grand  reception  hall,  well  adorned  out- 
side, and  netted  with  copper  wire  under  the  fretted  eaves  to  keep  off  the  birds. 
Entering  it  we  found  ourselves  on  a  marble  floor  in  front  of  the  Emperor's 
ebony  throne  ;  tliis  was  adorned  with  carved  dragons  in  various  attitudes  ;  its 
floor  was  covered  with  light  red  cloth,  and  three  low  series  of  steps  led  up  to 
it,  on  the  central  and  widest  of  which  his  subjects  made  the  kotow.  The  left 
side  of  the  hall  was  adorned  with  a  picture  representing  the  grounds  of  the 
palace,  and  the  side  tables  contained  books  in  yellow  binding  and  ornaments. 
There  was  somehow  an  air  of  reverence  throughout  this  simple  but  neat  hall. 
On  an  audience  day  the  Emperor  here  seated  himself  attired  in  a  yellow  robe 
wrought  with  dragons  in  gold  thread,  his  head  surmounted  with  a  spherical 
crown  of  gold  and  precious  stones  with  pearl  drops  suspended  around  b}'  light 
gold  chains.  Eunuchs  and  ministers  in  court  costume  kneel  on  each  side  in 
long  lines,  and  the  guard  and  musicians  are  arranged  in  the  outer  court.  The 
name  of  the  person  to  be  introduced  is  called  out,  and  as  he  approaches  the 
band  strikes  up.  He  draws  near  the  "  Dragon's  Seat"  and  kneels  before  the 
central  steji,  removes  his  hat,  placing  it  on  the  throne  floor  with  the  peacock's 
feather  toward  the  imperial  donor.  His  Ma'esty  moves  his  hand  and  down 
goes  the  head,  striking  on  the  step  three  times  three.  The  head  is  then  raised, 
but  with  downcast  eyes  the  man  hears  the  behests  of  his  great  master.     Wheii 

'  Elgin's  Letters^  p.  361. 


(384  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

the  voice  ceases,  again  the  hciul  niukes  t\w  nine  knocks,  thus  acknowledging 
the  sovereign  right,  and  the  man  withdraws.  How  different  the  scene  now, 
adds  Mr.  Swinhoe.  The  hall  filled  with  crowds  of  a  foreign  soldiery,  and  the 
throne  floor  covered  witli  the  Celestial  Emperor's  choicest  curios,  destined  as 
gifts  for  two  far  more  worthy  monarchs.  "  See  here,"  said  General  Montaubon, 
pointing  to  them,  "  I  have  had  a  few  of  the  most  brilliant  things  selected  to 
be  divided  between  the  Queen  of  Great  Britain  and  the  Emperor  of  the 
French."  ' 

On  tlie  following  daj — October  Sth — the  coniuiaiulers  were 
greatly  relieved  by  the  return  of  Parkes,  Loch,  d'Escayrac  de 
Lauture,  and  five  soldiers ;  the  first  two  of  these  gentlemen  had 
been  comparatively  well  treated  after  their  terrible  experiences 
within  the  lling  Pu.  A  few  days  later  botli  armies  were  horri- 
fied by  the  appearance  in  camp  of  eleven  wretched  men — all  who 
had  survived  from  the  party  of  French  and  English  made  pris- 
oners near  Tungchau ;  Anderson,  Bowlby,  de  Xornian,  and 
others  had  succumbed  to  the  dreadful  tortures  caused  by  the 
cords  which  bound  them.  The  coffined  bodies  were  all  brought 
to  camp  within  a  few  days,  hardly  recognizable  from  the  effects 
of  lime  thrown  upon  them.  On  the  16th  occurred  the  impres- 
sive ceremony  of  theii*  interment  in  the  Russian  cemetery  near 
Peking,  Lord  Elgin,  Sir  Hope  (Jrant,  Parkes,  and  Loch  being 
chief  mourners,  while  a  deputation  from  every  regiment  in  the 
allied  armies  followed  in  the  train. 

Two  days  after  this  Lord  Elgin  ordered  the  destruction  of  the 
palace  of  Yuen-ming  Yuen  ;  a  sudden  though  deliberate  act. 
Feeling  prul)ably  that  such  a  decision  would  be  closely  criticised 
by  those  wlio  were  far  removed  in  time  and  place  from  the  excit- 
ing scenes  around  him,  he  took  occasion  to  review  his  position 
in  a  long  despatch.  It  was  impossible  in  his  situation  to  learn 
whether  the  responsibility  for  the  capture  and  savage  treatment 
of  these  men  rested   with  the  same  Chinese  officials.'      This 


'  Swinhoe,  JVorth  China  Campairin,  pp.  294  fF.  — the  most  detailed  and  inter- 
esting account  of  this  palace  and  its  destruction.  Compare  M.  C.  Lavalloe  in 
the  Reciie  den  Deux  MowUs  for  August  1,  18(io.  Other  French  writers  on  this 
war  are  Lieutenant  de  vaisseau  Pallu,  lirhitioit  (U  I'expeditMn  de  Cliiiic,  Paris, 
1803;  le  Cornte  d'Escayrac  de  Lauture,  Memoirex  sur  hi  Ch/'nc,  Paris,  18(54; 
Sinnebaldo  de  Mas,  Iai  Ghiiie  et  les  ptmsances  chretiennes,  18()1. 

•'  I'robably  not.  The  prisoners  were  in  the  hands  of  lictors  wliosc  habit  it 
was  to  torture  in  the  hope  of  extorting  money  on  their  own   account.     The 


DESTRUCTION    OF   THE   SUMMER    PALACE.  685 

much,  nevcrtlieless,  was  })laiii — that  the  Chinese  were  full^ 
aware  of  the  obligations  of  a  tlag  of  truce,  inasmuch  as  they 
had  ah'eady  often  av'ailed  themselves  of  its  privileges.  Lord 
Elgin  makes  the  Emperor  personallj  responsible  for  the  crimes 
which  had  been  committed,  but  specifies  Sungkolinsin  as  the 
real  culprit,     lie  then  says : 

I  had  reason  to  bolieve  that  it  was  an  act  which  was  calcnlated  to  produce  a 
greater  effect  in  China  and  on  the  Emperor  than  persons  who  look  on  from 
a  distance  may  suppose.  It  was  the  Emperor's  favorite  residence,  and  its 
destruction  could  not  fail  to  be  a  blow  to  his  pride  as  well  as  to  his  feelings. 
To  this  place  he  brought  our  hapless  countrymen,  in  order  that  they  might 
undergo  their  severest  tortures  within  its  precincts.  Here  have  been  found 
the  horses  and  accoutrements  of  the  troopers  seized,  the  decorations  torn  from 
the  breast  of  a  gallant  French  officer,  and  other  effects  belonging  to  the 
prisoners.  As  almost  all  the  valuables  had  ah-eady  been  taken  from  the 
palace,  the  army  would  go  there,  not  to  pillage,  but  to  mark,  by  a  solemn  act 
of  retribution,  the  horror  and  indignation  with  which  we  were  inspired  by  the 
perpetration  of  a  great  crime.  Tlie  punishment  was  one  which  would  fall, 
not  on  the  people,  who  may  be  comparatively  innocent,  but  exclusively  on  the 
Emperor,  whose  direct  personal  responsibility  for  the  crime  committed  is  es- 
tablislied,  not  only  by  the  treatment  of  the  prisoners  at  Ynen-ming  Yuen, 
but  also  by  the  edict  in  which  he  offered  a  pecuniary  reward  for  the 
heads  of  the  foreigners. ' 

The  work  of  destruction  left  hardly  a  trace  of  the  palace  of 
the  "  Round-bright  Garden  ;  "  indeed,  the  provocation  for  this 
act  was  great.  The  despatch  refers  only  to  the  palace  where 
Hienfung  spent  most  of  his  time,  and  it  is  probable  that  Lord 
Elgin  intended  to  burn  that  alone.  He  gave  no  orders  for  the 
destruction  of  the  buildings  on  Wan-shao  shan,  Yuh-tsien  shau, 
the  Imperial  Park  near  Pih-yun  sz',  and  other  places  fiv^e  to  ten 
miles  distant.  All  of  these  residences  or  villas  had  been  erected 
or  enlarged  by  former  Emperors  of  the  present  dynasty  ;  none 
have  since  been  rebuilt.  It  is,  nevertheless,  easy  to  gather  from 
Colonel  Wolseley's  record  that  his  lordship's  satisfaction  in  this 

candid  spirit  of  Loch's  narrative  is  wanting  in  the  more  colored  accounts  of 
Wolseley  and  Swinlioe,  written  in  the  flush  of  victory.  The  charges  they 
make  against  Prince  I  of  treachery  toward  Mr.  Parkes  are  not  borne  out ;  the 
deaths  of  Captain  Brabazon  and  the  Abb;  de  Luc  seem  to  have  been  by  order 
of  Pao,  and  not  from  SSngkolinsin.  Compare  an  article  in  the  Rente  den  Deux 
Mondcn  (If)  juillet,  18G5)  by  C.  Lavallue,  U Expedition  anglo-francaise  en  Chine 
'  Ely  in'' s  Letters  and  Journals,  p.  300. 


686  THE   MIDDLE    KINtiDOM, 

"  retribution"'  was  not  greatly  impaired  by  its  over-zealous  per- 
formance on  the  part  of  the  troops.  In  addition  to  the  loss  of 
the  palaces,  the  Chinese  had  to  pay  £100,000  as  indemnity  to 
be  given  to  the  prisoners  and  their  families,  before  the  victors 
would  consent  to  sign  the  convocation. 

On  the  13tli  the  ultimatum  had  been  accepted  by  Prince 
Kung,  who  about  two  hours  before  noon  opened  the  An-ting  or 
northeast  gate  of  Peking,  wdiich  commanded  the  whole  city. 
Arrangements  were  gradually  completed  for  the  grand  entry  of 
the  plenipotentiaries  into  Peking.  The  L'l  Pu,  or  Board  of 
Rites,  was  selected  as  the  place  for  exchanging  the  ratifications 
of  the  treaty  of  Tientsin  and  signing  the  convention,  while  the 
fa^  or  palace  of  Prince  I,  had  been  chosen  for  Lord  Elgin's  resi- 
dence in  the  city.  On  October  24th  the  latter  was  escorted  to 
both  these  places  by  many  officers,  together  with  a  body  of  four 
hundred  infantry  and  one  hundred  cavalry,  while  in  all  the  streets 
leading  to  them  were  guards  placed.  The  wdiole  city  was  out  to 
witness  the  unusual  parade.  The  procession  passed  slowly  through 
the  wide  avenues,  the  music  of  the  band  heralding  i'ts  approach  to 
the  dignitaries  anxiously  awaiting  the  arrival.  The  utmost  care 
had  been  taken  that  no  excuse  should  be  ever  after  brought  ft»r- 
ward  that  the  Emperor  had  not  assented  to  tlie  two  documents 
signed  that  day ;  but  much  besides  Mas  done  to  show  Prince 
Kung  and  liis  officers  that  they  were  in  the  presence  of  their 
conquerors.' 

The  following  day  Baron  Gros  signed  his  convention  and  ex- 
changed the  ratifications  of  the  French  treaty  under  similar 
fornuilities.  The  principal  points  in  the  l>ritish  convention  of 
nine  articles  were — the  payment  of  eight  million  taels  ;  the  per- 
mission given  by  imperial  sanction  for  the  emigration  at  will  of 
Ciiinese  subjects  as  contract  laborers  or  otherwise  ;  the  cession 
of  Kowlung  to  the  crown  as  part  of  the  colony  of  Hongkong. 

Without  delaying  for  additional  connnent,  the  insertion  here 
of  a  poi'tion  of  Lord  John  Uusseirs  despatch  to  Eord  Elgin  will 

'  The  frontispiece  of  this  volume  is  intended  to  represent  this  ceremony. 
Its  interest  lies  chielly  iu  the  fact  that  it  is  from  the  work  of  one  of  the  ablest 
painters  in  the  capital,  and  represents  from  a  native's  staud-poiut  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  and  important  events  in  the  history  of  modern  China. 


THE  TREATIES    SIGNED    AT   PEKING.  687 

not  be  uninteresting  in  connection  witli  these  treaties.  His 
lordship's  document  reads  like  the  balance-sheet  of  a  London 
merchant  at  the  termination  of  some  successful  adventure: 
"The  Convention  is  entirely  satisfactory  to  Her  Majesty's 
Government,  it  records  the  reparation  made  by  the  Emperor 
of  China  for  his  disregard  in  the  previous  year  of  his  treaty 
engagements  ;  it  sets  Her  Majesty's  government  free  from  an 
implied  engagement  not  to  insist  m  all  particulars  on  the  ful- 
filment of  those  engagements ;  it  imposes  upon  China  a  fine 
in  the  shape  of  an  augmented  rate  of  indemnity  ;  it  affords  an 
additional  opening  for  British  trade ;  it  places  on  a  recognized 
footing  the  emigration  of  Chinese  coolies,  whose  services  are  so 
important  to  Her  Majesty's  colonial  possessions  ;  it  relieves  Her 
Majesty's  colony  of  Hongkong  from  a  source  of  previous 
annoyance." ' 

The  French  convention  of  ten  articles  contained  like  de- 
mands and  rewards,  but  instead  of  a  slice  of  territor}^,  the  sixth 
provided  that  Koman  Catholic  Christians  should  be  indemnified 
for  "  all  such  churches,  schools,  cemeteries,  lands,  and  buildings 
as  were  owned  on  former  occasions  by  persecuted  Christians, 
and  the  money  handed  to  the  French  representative  at  Peking 
for  transmission  to  the  Christians  in  the  localities  concerned." 
The  fulfilment  of  this  article  required  over  ten  years  ;  and  as 
the  injuries  had  been  done  in  some  cases  as  far  back  as  the  reign 
of  Louis  XHL,  great  irritation  was  aroused  in  the  minds  of  the 
natives  who  had  for  generations  been  quietly  in  possession  of 
lands  which  they  had  purchased.^ 


'"The  practical  result  was  not  very  great,"  concludes  Mr.  McCarthy. 
•'  Perhaps  the  most  important  gain  to  Europe  was  the  knowledge  that  Peking 
was  by  no  means  so  large  a  city  as  we  had  all  imagined  it  to  be.  .  .  .  There 
is  some  comfort  in  knowing  that  so  much  blood  was  not  spilt  wholly  in  vain." 
—A  History  of  Our  (km  Times,  Chap.  XLII.,  Vol.  III. 

^'An  instance  is  mentioned  in  No.  IV.  of  the  Journal  of  the  N.  C.  Br.  R.  A. 
Soc,  18G7,  pp.  21-33,  where  a  Roman  Catholic  church  at  Hangchau,  which 
had  been  confiscated  by  the  Emperor  Yungcliing  (about  1730),  was  changed 
into  a  temple  dedicated  to  7Y(7i  JLto,  the  Queen  of  Heaven,  "to  serve  th« 
double  purpose  of  extirpating  a  religion  of  false  gossip  and  obduracy,  and  of 
making  an  offering  to  a  spirit  who  really  has  a  beneficial  influence  over  humaa 
destinies. " 


68S  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

The  i:;reat  objects  of  tlie  expedition  wei'e  now  attnined,  and 
foi-ei*;n  nations  conld  congi-atulate  tl)eniselves  n)M»n  liaving  set- 
tled their  representatives  in  tlie  Chinese  caj)ital  on  terms  of 
equality.  Two /^«,  or  palaces,  were  immediately  occupied  by 
those  from  Great  Britain  and  France.  Subsecjuently,  the  niiii' 
isters  from  other  countries  have  grouped  themselves  around 
these,  and  a  foreign  (piarter  has  gradually  grown  up  in  the 
south-eastern  part  of  the  city.  The  chief  agents  in  this  im])or- 
tant  opening,  Lord  Elgin  and  Baron  Gros,  were  well  fitted  by 
their  urbanity,  phiUiuthropy,  and  moderation  for  the  delicate 
task  assigned  them.  Tlie  terrified  officials  and  citizens  in 
Peking  had  expected  the  worst  consequences  on  the  capture  of 
their  city,  but  besides  the  destruction  of  Yuen-ming  Yuen,  their 
capital  and  national  unity  escaped  uninjured. 

It  was  probably  a  great  aid  to  the  policy  adopted  by  Prince 
Kung  and  his  colleagues  that  the  Emperor  and  his  court  had 
fied  to  Jeh-ho,  for  their  influence,  as  the  sequel  proved,  would 
have  opposed  any  pacification.  It  was  still  more  important  for 
all  future  co-operation  that  he  never  came  back  at  all,  and  thus 
the  real  guidance  of  affaii's  fell  into  better  hands. 

The  24:th  day  of  October  saw  the  ending  of  the  seclusion  of 
the  Chinese  from  their  fellow-men  ;  the  contest  honestly  enough 
begun  in  1839  by  Lin,  to  rescue  his  country  from  the  curse  of 
opium,  was  in  a  manner  completed  on  that  day  by  the  admission 
of  those  regenerating  influences  which  could  alone  effectually  re- 
move that  evil.  The  intermediate  twenty  years  had  done  much 
to  prepare  the  Chinese  for  this  concluding  act ;  and  the  hon- 
orable manner  in  which  they  fulfilled  their  promises  and 
payments  will  stand  as  a  lasting  monument  to,  their  national 
credit. 

The  retirement  of  the  allies  from  Peking  was  accomplished 
without  impediment  from  the  Chinese  army  under  Sangkolin- 
sin  ;  the  money  disbursed  for  boats,  carts,  supplies,  fuel,  etc., 
as  the  troops  went  down  the  river,  compensating  many  natives 
for  their  losses.  By  the  end  of  November  all  had  embarked 
except  the  garrisons  left  at  Tientsin  and  Taku,  which  latter 
were  removed  as  soon  as  the  portion  of  the  indemnity  involving 
their  occupation  was  paid  up.    The  effectual  and  salutary  work- 


OBJECTS    OF    tup:    WAR    AC('0Mri>I8IIEU.  689 

ing  of  tlio  treaty  stipulations  for  the  niutual  welfare  of  all  par- 
ties deiieiided  on  the  di})loiiiatic  and  consular  oflEicers  left  in  the 
capital  and  open  ports.  The  British  fijoverninent  alone  was 
adequately  supplied  in  this  respect,  and  their  consulates  hecaine 
the  expositors  to  the  local  rulers  of  the  manner  in  wliieli  tlie 
treaties  were  to  be  interpreted  and  enforced.  The  great  mass 
of  natives  knew  almost  nothing  of  their  provisions,  and  looked 
upon  the  struggle  chiefly  as  one  between  their  sovereign  and 
the  foreigners.  The  defeat  of  the  latter  was  in  remoter  dis- 
tricts declared  proven  by  their  retirement  from  Peking ;  but 
along  the  coasts  and  up  the  Yangtsz'  the  actual  sight  of  steam- 
ers and  contact  with  foreigners  who  could  talk  with  them  and 
explain  the  new  state  of  things,  really  did  more  than  anything 
else  to  show  them  that  these  strangers  were  by  no  means  over- 
come. What  was  thus  achieved  to  enlighten  the  people  near 
the  trading  marts  only  required  time  and  contact  to  spread  into 
distant  regions  of  the  interior.  As  for  the  citizens  of  Peking, 
they  met  only  those  foreigners  who  could  talk  with  them,  for 
that  city  was  not  open  to  trade ;  and  thus  one  prolific  source  of 
misunderstanding  was  removed.  The  death  of  the  Emperor 
Ilienfung  (August  17,  1861)  relieved  them,  too,  from  any  attempt 
he  might  have  made,  in  his  irritation  on  returning  to  the  Forbid- 
den City  and  seeing  his  ruined  palaces,  to  vent  his  wrath  on  the 
few  foreigners  then  living  near  him.  Christian  missionaries 
also  began  their  work  in  1861,  and  thus  thousands,  who  had  had 
only  vague  ideas  about  the  "  barbarians,"  could  easily  learn  the 
truth  concerning  them.  Most  fortunately,  then,  circumstances 
were  from  the  first  favorable  for  forming  an  intelligent  public 
opinion  in  the  capital. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

NARRATIVES   OF    RECENT    EVENTS  IN   CHINA. 

Twelve  months  elapsed  before  tlie  political  atmosphere  of 
China  was  disturbed  by  any  break  or  change  in  its  condition — a 
period  of  qniet  which  the  government  sorely  needed  for  an 
appreciation  of  its  relations  with  the  foreigners  who  had  forced 
their  way  into  the  capital.  His  Majesty  Ilienfung  having 
ascended  the  Dragon  Throne  on  high,  left  the  Empire  in  the 
hands  of  liis  only  son,  a  child  six  years  old ;  whether  thixxigh 
incapacity  or  disease,  the  debauched  sovereign  had  long  before 
his  death  allowed  his  courtiers  to  engross  the  reins  of  goveriv 
ment,  and  these  now  formed  a  cotei'ie  which  at  Jeh-lio  was  aji- 
powerful.  At  his  death  the  administration  i-csted  in  the  hands 
of  a  council  of  eight,  whose  nominal  head  was  Tsai-yuen,  Prince 
1,  a  member  of  the  imj)erial  family  belonging  to  the  same  gener- 
ation with  the  infant  Emperor.  The  design  of  this  cabal  was  to 
at  once  assume  the  absolute  power  of  a  regency,  to  retain  pos- 
session of  the  young  Emperor's  person  at  Jeh-ho,  to  make  way 
in  secret  with  his  mother  and  the  Empress-dowager,  and  lastly 
to  arrest  and  destroy  his  father's  three  brothers ;  these  initia- 
tory steps  to  sovereignty  being  accomplished,  nothing  would 
interrupt  their  complete  mastery  of  the  government. 

But  in  Prince  Kung,'  the  Emperor's  oldest  surviving  brother. 

'  Kung  Tsin-waiig,  'Prince  Respect' — called  by  the  people  Wu-ako,  'Fifth 
Elder  Rrother  ' — is  the  sixth  son  of  Tauk'.vang,  and  was  born  about  1S;!1. 
'Ihree  older  brothers  died  young  ;  Ilienfung,  the  fourth,  succeeded  his  father, 
wliile  the  fifth,  being  adopted  into  a  branch  of  the  Emperor  Kiaking's  faujily, 
was  dropped  out  of  Tankwang's  household,  leaving  Princa  Kung.  in  18G1  '«> 
be  the  first  prince  during  the  minority  of  Tungchi.  His  persona',  name,  Tih-hii. 
is  never  employed  by  those  outside  his  immediate  family.  He  has  :  roni 
mendable  record  for  an  Asiatic  statesman  trained  in  habits  Ol  autocratic  .1151. 
mand  The  background  in  the  i)ortrait  ou  the  opposite  page  is  a  bit  of  ''oxm 
work  in  the  Foreign  Office  at  Peking. 


PRINCE   KUNG. 


THE   COUP   D'ETAT   OF   PKINCE   KUNG.  691 

the  conspirators  found  an  opponent  of  no  ordinary  ability,  to 
whose  astuteness  in  outwitting  their  machinations  (as  may  he 
safely  affirmed  in  view  of  events  which  followed)  is  doubtless 
owing  the  continuance  of  the  present  reigning  family.  The 
prince  was  in  concealment  during  the  autumn  of  1860,  when 
his  brother  fled  to  Jeh-ho,  but  appearing  when  the  capital  was 
surrendered  to  the  allies,  he  bore  the  brunt  of  that  impleasant 
task,  signing  the  treaties,  and  undertook  almost  alone  the  man- 
agement of  affairs  with  foreigners  while  the  government  was 
recovering  from  its  paralysis  of  defeat.  It  was  a  happy  augury 
for  the  continuance  of  peace  and  friendly  intercourse  that  to  a 
man  so  well  fitted  by  temperament  for  liis  difficult  position 
should  be  joined  the  able  and  experienced  statesman  Kweiliang ; 
though  too  old  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  settlement  of  the 
succession,  this  skilful  diplomatist  lent  the  greatest  aid  to  his 
son-in-law  by  giving  advice  and  a  much  needed  support  to  the 
Empresses-dowager  at  this  critical  period. 

Hastily  quitting  Jeh-ho  with  the  boy — who  had  been  pro- 
claimed Emperor  under  the  reign-name  of  Ki-tsiang,  '  Lucky 
Omen ' — the  two  Empresses  availed  themselves  of  their  right  to 
join  the  first  prince,  and  repaired  to  Peking.  Once  settled  in 
the  Forbidden  City  they  were  able  to  impart  to  Prince  Kung 
the  magnitude  of  the  plot  against  them,  and  concert  measures 
witli  leading  members  of  the  impei'ial  clan  for  the  general 
safety.  The  arrest  and  trial  of  the  traitors  was  promptly  car- 
ried out ;  by  a  decree  of  December  2,  1861,  Prince  1  and  his 
principal  coadjutor,  Prince  Chin,  were  allowed  to  commit 
suicide,  while  their  powerful  and  clever  colleague,  Suhshun,  was 
executed  in  the  market-place,  to  the  unfeigned  delight  of  the 
populace.  This  conspirator  in  his  machinations  and  gross  as- 
sumptions had  acted  like  a  veritable  Tigellinus,  and  earned  for 
himself  a  hatred  and  contempt  which  even  members  of  the  war 
party  could  not  conceal.  Others  of  this  unsuccessful  clique 
were  disgraced  or  banished,  but  the  punishments  were  not 
numerous  or  barbarous.  The  reign-name  was  now  changed 
from  Ki-tsiang  to  Timg-chi,  or  '  Union  Rule,'  to  mark  the  suc- 
cessful demolition  of  this  conspiracy,  while  Prince  Kung  (now 
but  thirty  years  old),  the  shrewd  perpetrator  of  the  couj?  cPetat, 


692  THE   CUDDLE    KINGDOM. 

was  \)roc]'dimed  T-e/ung-ivamj,  or  'licgeiit  I'liiicc,'  mid  with  the 
Empresses  constituted  the  regency  during  the  iniiK^rity.' 

Considerini>-  all  the  circumstances  of  this  ijalace  intriijue,  the 
rank  of  its  leading  members,  and  its  successful  suppression  hy 
tlie  operation  of  legal  methods  alone,  it  may  well  deserve  the 
attention  of  those  interested  in  the  political  and  historical 
development  of  China  as  an  admirable  instance  of  both  the 
strength  and  weakness  of  her  paternal  government.  To  the 
ordinary  outlays  of  the  Empire  were  superadded  the  innuense 
burdens  of  a  foreign  invasion  just  concluded  and  a  terrible 
struggle  with  domestic  enemies;  yet  neither  the  Regent  nor  his 
colleagues  appear  during  this  period  of  stress  to  have  lost  a 
particle  of  their  contidence  in  the  loyalty  of  the  people  ;  through 
loss  and  gain,  failure  of  material  or  resource,  treachery  in  palace 
or  camp,  abuse  or  assistance  frozn  foreigners,  this  faith  in  one 
another  failed  not.  The  face  of  China  in  1865  was  perhaps  as 
wi-etchcd  as  that  of  Central  Europe  after  the  peace  of  AVest» 
phalia;  indeed  a  more  general  desolation  could  hardly  be  imag- 
ined. Xevertheless  the  rapidity  with  which  its  iidiabitants  not 
only  resumed  their  occupations  as  best  they  could  but  rebuilt 
dwellings  and  reorganized  trade,  startled  even  their  habitual 
disparagers  into  praise  and  testified  to  the  marvellous  recuper- 
ative powers  of  this  much-despised  civilization. 

Pleased  with  the  excellent  results  of  the  introduction  of 
western  drill  and  ai-ms  into  their  military  service,  as  against 
the  Tai-pings,  certain  of  the  mandarins  at  the  south  proposed 
utilizing  foreign  war-vessels  to  the  same  end.  To  this  scheme 
as  at  first  suggested  there  was  not,  perhaps,  much  to  say  either 
in  its  behalf  or  otherwise.  Their  purpose  was  to  purchase  three 
or  four  gun  and  despatch  boats,  man  them  with  as  many  scores 
of  native  seamen,  and  impart  to  these  the  necessary  instruction 
by  placing  them  under  foreign  ofiicers.  Mr.  Horatio  X.  Lay 
liad  in  1850  proposed  the  use  of  armed  revenue  vessels  in  the 
customs  service,  a  very  similar  suggestion.  But  innocent  as 
were  these  conce])ti()ns,  they  assumed  the  gravest  proportions 

Wounud  N.  C.  Br.  R.  A.  S.,  December,  1864,  pp.  110-114.  Dr.  Rennie, 
J'ekiitr/  (iiul  the  Pekinfjese,  Vol.  II.,  passim — an  interesting  contemporary  recorcj 
of  this  event. 


THE   LAY-OSBORNE   FLOTILLA.  693 

when  in  1861  Mr.  Lay  was  allowed  to  visit  England  and  there  con- 
tract for  the  construction  of  a  steam  fleet  and  secure  a  number 
of  British  naval  officers  for  three  years''  service.'  The  Peking 
authorities  were  still  laboring  under  the  disadvantages  of  their 
ignorance,  and  nothing  can  illustrate  better  than  this  remarkable 
enterprise  the  good  influence  which  Sir  Frederick  Bruce  had 
acquired  in  their  counsels,  and  their  willingness  to  follow  his 
sufforestions.  Their  secluded  life  in  Pekinii;  had  pi'evented  thera 
from  learning  many  things  in  respect  to  the  conduct  of  affairs 
in  their  new  relations,  but  they  could  hardly  have  had  a  better 
counsellor  than  he.  The  instructions  from  Prince  Ivung  sent  to 
Mr.  Lay  in  England  described  the  kind  of  officers  and  hands 
which  the  vessels  were  to  carry  ;  they  were  to  be  men  able  and 
willing  to  teach  ignorant  sailors  the  practice  of  navigation,  the 
management  of  machinery,  and  the  use  of  guns  of  every  kind. 
Instead  of  these  he  contracted  for  ei<:;ht  gunboats  of  different 
sizes,  one  or  two  of  them  powerful  vessels,  able  to  carry  two 
hundred  and  more  men  ;  they  arrived  in  China  early  in  1863 
under  the  command  of  Capt.  Sherard  Osborne,  H.  X.  Mr. 
Lay's  disappointment  was  great  and  undisguised  when,  on  reach- 
inn;  Pekingr  in  June,  he  found  that  Prince  Kung  and  his  ad- 
visers  were  totally  unprepared  for  such  a  fleet,  and  unwilling  to 
endorse  the  engagements  he  had  entered  into  with  the  Queen's 
officers  ;  nor  were  the  funds  for  their  current  expenses  provided. 
His  ideas  of  his  own  position  were  soon  modified,  for  he  found 
that  the  vessels  must  necessarily  be  placed  under  the  direction 
of  the  provincial  authorities  in  operations  against  the  rebels. 
One  of  the  articles  in  the  agreement  with  Captain  Osborne  stipu- 
lated that  he  should  receive  all  his  orders  on  those  matters  from 
the  Foreign  Office  through  Mr.  Lay,  and  would  follow  his  own 
choice  in  obeying  others.  Mr.  Lay  says  himself  that  he  was 
"ambitious  of  obtaining  the  position  of  middle-man  between 
China  and  the  foreign  powers,  because  I  thought  I  saw  a  way  of 
solving  the  problem  of  placing  pacific  relations  with  China  upon 
a  sure  footing.  .  .  .  My  position  was  that  of  a  foreigner  en- 
gaged by  the  Chinese  government  to  perform  certain  work  for 

•  Blue  Bool;  China,  No.  2  (1864),  p.  7. 


694  THE    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

them,  not  under  them.  I  need  scarcely  observe,  in  passing, 
that  the  notion  of  a  gentleman  acting  under  aw  Asiatic  barbarian 
is  preposterous."  '  Ideas  like  these  quite  unfitted  him  for  work- 
ing with  the  Chinese,  either  under  or  for  them,  lie  could  not 
understand  that  the  former  days  of  coercion  and  bullying  had 
passed  awa}',  and  that  time  must  be  allowed  for  them  to  gradu- 
allv  learn  in  their  own  way  how  to  rise  in  the  scale  of  nations, 
and  adopt  such  improvements  as  they  pleased. 

In  his  perplexity  and  chagrin,  he  began  to  blame  the  British 
minister  for  lukewarmness  in  supporting  his  schemes,  and  to 
weary  the  members  of  the  Tsung-li  Yamun  by  his  demands. 
The  controversy  continued  to  grow  warmer  after  Captain 
Osborne's  arrival  at  Peking  in  September,  where  he  first  learned 
its  real  nature.  Finally,  in  October,  Prince  Kung  refused  to 
ratify  Mr.  Lay's  agreement  made  in  England,  very  properly 
remarking  upon  the  obnoxious  article  which  required  the  com- 
mander of  the  flotilla  to  act  only  under  orders  from  Peking. 
Happily  for  China,  the  dissolution  of  the  force  was  decided  on. 
The  ships  were  to  be  sent  back,  for  it  was  impossible  to  pre- 
vent the  native  officials  from  selling  them  after  they  had  full 
control,  and  persons  were  already  looking  at  them  for  their  own 
lawless  designs.  At  this  juncture  Sir  F.  Bruce  came  to  the  re- 
lief of  the  Chinese,  and  took  the  ships  off  their  hands  on 
account  of  the  British  government,  paying  back  from  the  in- 
demnity fund  due  to  England  all  claims  for  wages,  salary,  and 
other  expenses  to  officers  and  men  till  their  arrival  in  London. 
This  settlement  involved  an  outlay  of  about  $525,000,  but  the 
total  cost  of  the  vessels,  crews,  and  outfit  from  first  to  last  was 
not  nnu'h  less  than  a  million  sterling.  The  Peking  govern- 
ment had,  therefore,  by  this  arrangement  escaped  a  serious 
imbroglicj  with  the  provincial  governors  and  generals — one 
which  would  have  soon  neutralized  all  responsibility,  and  per- 
chance, even  at  that  late  date,  entailed  the  success  of  the 
Tai-pings. 

Mr.  Lay,  blinded  by  his  own  egotism  and  ambition,  ascribes 
his  failure  to  the  negligence,  treachery,  ignorance,  and  ill-will 

'  Our  Interests  in  China :  A  Letter  to  Earl  Russell,  p.  19. 


COLLAPSE   OF   THE   SCHEME.  695 

of  Sir  F.  Bruce,  whose  performances  in  these  lines  are  fully 
detailed  in  his  Letter  to  Earl  RusselV  of  November  26,  1864. 
This  statement  of  wliat  occurred  in  relation  to  the  Lay-Osborne 
flotilla  exhibits  the  difficulties  in  the  progress  of  Asiatic  nations 
in  the  path  of  what  we  call  civilization^  and  the  ideas  which 
such  men  have  as  to  the  way  in  which  they  are  to  be  forced 
into  this  desirable  condition.  This  extraordinary  paper  is  an 
instructive  exhibition  of  British  interference  in  tlie  administra- 
tion of  Asiatic  countries,  and  how  totally  alien  "  the  spirit  of 
trade  and  progress"  is  to  the  independence  and  elevation  of  a 
pagan  people  when  it  alone  is  the  chief  agency  depended  on. 
In  no  case,  nor  under  the  best  control,  could  Mr.  Lay's  plan 
liave  worked  real  benefit  to  China ;  but  carried  out  under  the 
domineering  leadership  of  such  a  man,  the  scheme  would  have 
not  only  been  humiliating  in  the  last  degree  to  those  whom  it 
was  designed  to  assist,  but  would  have  inevitably  resulted  in 
the  restoration  of  the  conservative  party  to  power  and  another 
profitless  struggle  with  the  foreigners. 

Upon  the  dismissal  of  Mr.  Lay  the  management  of  the  Lnpe- 
rial  Maritime  Customs  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  Robert  Hart, 
Esq.,  who  for  a  period  of  two  years  had  given  proof  of  his  dis- 
cretion in  this  position,  and  (in  the  words  of  Mr.  Burlingame) 
had  "  by  his  tact  and  ability  w^on  the  regard  of  every  one." 
Already  the  imperial  officers  began  to  appreciate  the  immense 
material  advantages  of  a  regular  income  from  the  open  ports, 
especially  in  the  practical  help  it  furnished  toward  the  expenses 
of  the  dviui'  i-ebellion.  The  contact  of  native  and  foreisrn 
rule  in  the  same  territory  necessarily  involved  much  assumption 
of  power  and  friction  of  authority  growing  out  of  the  undefined 
limits  of  the  laws  of  ex-territorial ity ;  but  the  legitimate  work- 
ing of  treaty  provisions — the  prompt  reference  of  grievances 
from  complainant  to  consul,  from  the  consul  to  his  minister  at 
Peking — served  to  enlighten  court  and  country  as  to  the  gen- 

^  Our  Interests  in  China,  by  H.  X.  Lay,  C.B.,  London,  1864,  pp.  66.  See 
also  correspondence  in  Blue  Gjok,  and  letter  of  Sir  F.  Bruce,  of  November  19, 
1863.  U.  S.  Diplomatic  Coi^respond^iwe  for  1864,  Part  III.,  pp.  348-378  ;  and 
for  1865,  Part  I.,  p.  670.  A.  Wilson,  The  "  Erer- Victorious  Army,"  pp.  260- 
266.     Fraser's  Magazine,  February,  1865,  p.  147. 


696  TIIIO   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

eral  honesty  of  their  quoiulaiii  enemies,  in  a  fashion  whicli 
neither  preaching  nor  fighting  conld  ever  have  accomplished.' 
In  the  year  1866  the  arsenals  at  Fnhchau,  Nanking,  and  Shang- 
liai  were  reorganized  and  made  to  inclnde  schools  for  naval  and 
military  instruction  as  well  as  engine  and  gun  works  ;  the  value 
of  such  works  was  promptly  nndei'stood  by  the  Chinese,  and 
has  been  already  the  source  of  a  creditable  navy." 

The  retirement  of  the  Hon.  Anson  Bnrlingame  from  the  posi- 
tion of  United  States  minister  in  November,  1867,  furnished  to 
the  Chinese  government  both  an  admirable  agent  and  opportu- 
nitv  for  an  initial  step  in  establishing  diplomatic  intercourse 
M-ith  the  treaty  powers.  Into  the  hands  of  this  gentleman  was 
placed  the  charge  of  a  general  mission  to  those  governments, 
there  being  added  two  co-ordinate  Chinese  ministers,  an  English 
and  French  secretary,  and  six  students  from  the  Tung-wiin 
Kwan  at  Peking.  The  three  ministers  were  appointed  Impe- 
rial Envoys  and  furnished  with  a  letter  of  credence  to  eleven 
governments.  The  party  left  Shanghai  February-  25,  1868, 
for  San  Francisco,  which  ])ort  they  reached  about  a  month 
later.  Few  persons  can  now  appreciate  the  excitement  and 
discussion  in  China  and  elsewhere  caused  by  this  first  diplo- 
matic effort  of  the  imperial  government  to  take  its  place  among 
the  family  of  nations.  Mr.  Bnrlingame,  naturally  hopeful  and 
enthusiastic,  described  his  mission  as  an  earnest  of  future  peace- 
ful relations  with  the  Middle  Kingdom.  AVherever  he  went  he 
elevated  the  estimate  held  of  that  ancient  land  by  his  hearers, 
and  urged  the  European  courts  to  l)ut  wait  in  patience  until  its 
backward  people  might  be  pi-epared  for  the  changes  it  wished 
to  adopt.     Those  changes  and  improvements  were  only  to  be 

'  The  trial  and  condemnation  of  an  American,  who  was  hung  at  Shanghai  in 
1804  for  the  murder  of  two  Chinese,  tended  to  repress  lawlessness  on  the  part 
of  foreigners  and  assure  the  native  rulers  of  theirearnest  co-operation  in  bring- 
ing tlic  guilty  to  punishment.  Tlie  enlightened  and  friendly  action  of  Prince 
Kiing  in  issuing  a  proclamation,  at  re(iuest  of  Mr.  Burlinganie,  against  allowing 
any  American  Confederate  cruisers  to  enter  Chinese  waters,  was  warmly  ap- 
preciated by  this  and  the  other  treaty  powers  as  an  interesting  testimonial  of 
tlie  genuine  friendsliip  which  was  already  disarming  fear. 

'Compare  Captain  Bridge,  77w;  Warlike  Power  of  China,  iu  Franer^s  Magazine, 
Vol.  90,  pp.  778  ir. 


THE   BI^RLINGAME   MISSION.  697 

adopted  when  China  liad  become  convinced  of  their  need  and 
practicability  ;  but  many  of  Mr.  Bnrlingame's  hearers  were 
botli  more  eager  and  more  ambitions  than  he,  regarding  the 
introduction  of  raih'oads,  telegraphs,  and  steamers  as  opening 
an  enormous  field  for  their  own  innnediate  activity  and  gain. 
The  consequent  indignation  among  foreign  merchants  in  Cliina 
and  at  hojue  upon  learning  the  extent  of  his  exaggeration  was 
universal ;  the  British  merchants  especially  representing  in 
strong  terms  the  evil  consequences  of  such  "  baseless  expecta- 
tions." The  different  points  of  view  of  the  two  parties  will  ac- 
count for  their  opposite  opinions.  On  the  one  side,  the  mer- 
chants Avere  vexed  that  their  hopes  of  a  general  trade  arising 
all  over  China,  as  a  result  of  the  treaties  of  Tientsin,  were  likely 
to  be  disappointed,  owing  to  the  increasing  attention  of  native 
traders  in  their  own  internal  and  external  commerce  to  the  ex- 
clusion of  foreigners  ;  while  on  the  other,  Mr.  Burlingame  laid 
great  stress  on  those  things  which  the  Chinese  government  de- 
sired and  intended  to  do  as  they  became  more  and  more  quali- 
fied to  act  for  themselves,  through  the  agencies  and  institutions 
which  they  were  inaugm-ating.  The  merchants  seemed  to 
think  that  nothing  had  as  yet  been  accomplished  in  the  direction 
of  "  progress,"  inasmuch  as  their  personal  expectations  of  an 
instant  and  lucrative  trade  were  not  realized  ;  in  reply  to  Mr. 
Burlingame's  " enthusiastic  fictions,"  they  called  for  "tangible 
evidence  of  the  existence  of  this  spirit  M'hich  he  celebrates  so 
loudly — some  tittle  of  proof  to  support  his  sweeping  theory."  ' 
Without  dw^elling  further  upon  these  discussions,  it  pertains 
to  the  present  narrative  to  briefly  point  out  the  two  salient 
features  of    China's  initial  attempt  to  knock  at  the  doors  of 

'  See  the  letters  to  the  Daily  News  of  J.  Barr  Robertson,  of  Shanghai, 
which  have  been  taken  as  a  fairly  characteristic  specimen  of  the  mercantile 
and  political  view.  An  article  by  the  same  gentleman  in  the  Wedminster 
Revkic  for  January,  1870,  is  rather  calmer  in  language.  Other  data  and 
opinions  may  be  gathered  from  a  work  filling  890  pages,  by  the  late  J.  von 
Gumpach,  entitled  The  Biirlinf/ir/ne  Miaxion :  A  Political  Disrlostire,  etc., 
1872.  Compare  also  the  English  newspapers  issued  in  Shanghai  and  Hong- 
kong in  1867-70;  Bntish  ParUamentay  Papers ;  U.  S.  Ex.  Doc.,  Foreign 
IMitions,  1868-71;  Harper's  Monthly  Maaazine,  Vol.  XXXVII.,  p.  592; 
The  Galaxy,  Vol.  VI.,  p.  613- 


698  THE   MIDDLE    KIXGDOM. 

Other  nations.  Of  these  the  first  may  be  described  as  wholly 
sentimental ;  but  it  was  the  healthy  sentiment  of  justice  and 
good  feeling  towai'd  a  distant  and  unknown  community,  which 
Mr.  Burlingame's  tact  and  ability  called  forth  in  behalf  of  his 
clients'  cause  from  their  recent  conquerors.  Dui'ing  the  years 
1SG8  and  1869  he  spoke  for  the  right  and  privilege  of  the 
Chinese  to  manage  their  om'ii  affairs,  and  in  America,  England, 
France,  Prussia,  and  other  countries  had  already  created  a  more 
healthy  feeling  of  forbearance  toward  them,  when  his  sudden 
death  at  St.  Petei-sburg  (February,  1870)  cut  short  the  complete 
achievement  of  his  mission.' 

In  the  United  States  the  passage  of  this  embassy  might  have 
made  but  a  transient  impression  had  it  not  negotiated  a  treaty 
of  eight  articles  (July  28,  1868),  regarded  as  an  integral  part 
of  the  Reed,  treaty  of  ten  years  previous.  This,  the  second 
feature  of  the  mission,  has  been  attended  with  consequences 
whose  influence  does  not  yet  appear  to  have  ceased.  Owing  to 
the  surprise  of  the  Chinese  government,  which  had  given  no 
express  instructions  as  to  treaty-making,  the  Foreign  Office  was 
somewhat  tardy  in  ratifying  this  com})act.  This  was,  however, 
done  in  the  following  year.  Its  fifth  article  provides  that  the 
contracting  })Owers  "cordially  recognize  the  inherent  and  in- 
alienable i-ight  of  man  to  change  his  home  and  allegiance,  and 
also  the  nuitual  advantage  of  the  free  migration  and  emigration 
of  their  citizens  and  subjects  respectively  from  the  one  country 
to  the  other  for  the  purposes  of  curiosity,  or  trade,  or  as  per- 
manent residents.  The  high  contracting  parties  therefore  join 
in  reprobating  any  other  than  an  entirelv  voluntary  emigration 
for  these  purposes."  At  this  time  the  British  and  French 
ministers  had  recently  agreed  to  a  convention  with  Prince  Kung 
resj^ecting  the  conduct  of  the  coolie  trade  in  accordance  with  the 
stipulations  made  at  Peking  in  October,  1860.  The  draft  of 
those  regulations  had  been  submitted  to  the  American  as  well  as 
all  other  foreign  legations,  but  only  the  Spanish  treaty  contained 


'  His  colleagues,  Chi-kaiig  and  Sun  Kia-kii,  afterward  visited  Italy,  Spain, 
and  other  countries,  returning  to  ('liina  witliin  the  same  year.  Neither  of 
them  was,  however,  brought  forward  at  the  capital  as  an  adviser  in  relation  to 
foreign  ailairs. 


ITS   TKEATY    BETWEEN    CHINA   AND   AMERICA.         699 

an  article  allowing  the  engageinent  of  Chinese  laborej's  in  their 
own  country  for  service  abroad.  This  traffic  had  become  so  in- 
famous from  the  cruelties  and  wrongs  perpetrated  on  the  coolies, 
both  in  China  before  they  embarked  and  in  Cuba  and  Peru 
after  they  had  landed,  that  the  American  Congress  had  already 
passed  laws  against  it ;  and  this  article  was  drawn  up  almost 
wholly  with  reference  to  that  trade,  and  to  show  the  abhorrence 
with  which  it  was  regarded.  Chinese  immigrants  had  come 
to  San  Francisco  to  the  number  of  Hfty-three  thousand  since 
1855,  and  had  been  harshly  treated  by  the  miners  and  others 
in  their  common  struggle  for  gold ;  the  Burlingame  treaty 
simply  acknowledged  their  right  to  immigrate  like  other 
foreigners.' 

Meantime  at  Peking  the  foreign  ambassadors  were  in  the  way 
of  learniny;  that  in  their  relations  with  the  government  to  which 
they  were  accredited  they  had  to  deal  with  men  of  acute  minds, 
whose  prejudices  and  conservatism  only  needed  enlightening  to 
bring  them  quite  upon  a  level  with  any  other  body  of  intelli- 
gent diplomatists.  It  was  indeed  a  crucial  period  with  Prince 
Kung  and  his  coadjutors  of  the  Tsung-li  Yamun — Wansiang, 
Tung  Sinn,  Tan  Ting-siang,  llung-ki — who  were  placed  between 
the  two  great  pressures  of  a  warped  and  bigoted  nuiltitude  of 
literati  wedded  to  the  old  regime  and  the  ministers  of  the  out- 
side powers,  themselves  dwelling  complacently  in  the  imperial 
city  and  representing  armies  and  navies  which  had  been  found 
invincible.  Tlie  pride  of  the  "  Celestial "  was  necessarily 
brought  low,  but  the  situation  was  accepted,  on  the  whole, 
both  wisely  and  cautiously ;  the  good  fortune  of  having  men  of 
the  kindness  and  honor  of  Bruce,  Ylangali,  P>erthemy,  and  Bur- 
lingame as  heads  of  the  four  chief  legations,  can  hardly  be  ex- 
aggerated in  its  encouraging  and  healthful  effects  upon  the  im- 
pression taking  root  in  the  minds  of  Chinese  officers. 

At  this  juncture  occurred  the  massacre  at  Tientsin  of  twenty 

'  But  notwithstanding  its  acceptance  of  their  "inalienable  right  "  to  freely 
change  their  residence,  the  clamor  against  this  admission  was  afterward  so 
great  among  the  people  on  the  Pacific  coast  that  a  special  embassy  of  three 
commissioners  was  sent  to  Peking  in  1880,  which  relegated  the  right  of  ad- 
mitting Chinese  as  immigrants  into  American  territory  entirely  to  Congress. 


700  THE    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

French  and  Eussiaus  and  destruction  ui'  the  French  consuhite 
L'Uthedral,  and  uj'phanage,  by  a  niub  on  June  21,  l:?i7U,  attended 
by  circumstances  of  great  atrocity.  Tlie  event  was  a  severe 
blow  as  well  to  the  anxious  mandarins  at  the  capital  as  to 
every  honest  friend  of  the  new  order  of  things  thioughout  the 
Empire.  The  Peking  authorities  were  slow  at  lirst  in  opening 
an  investigation,  but  testified  to  their  earnestness  and  righteous 
indignation  at  the  enormity  in  disposing  troops  about  the  capi- 
tal and  summarily  examining  the  criminals,  so  that  by  the  end 
of  a  month  every  fear  of  a  general  emeute  had  vanished. 

The  causes  which  led  to  this  outbreak  appear  to  have  been 
almost  wholly  local,  taking  their  rise  in  the  year  1861,  w'hen 
the  French  occupied  as  their  consvdate  a  temple  in  Tientsin, 
where  in  former  times  the  citizens  nsed  to  promenade  ;  this  and 
other  unpopular  acts  kept  the  natives  at  enmity  with  theni. 
A  more  especial  account  of  the  most  important  of  these  is 
contained  in  Mr.  Low's  despatch  of  June  27th:  ''At  many 
of  the  principal  places  in  China  open  to  foi-eign  residence,  the 
Sisters  of  Charity  have  established  institutions,  each  of  which 
appears  to  combine  in  itself  a  foundling  lu)spital  and  orphan 
asylum.  Finding  that  tlie  Chinese  were  averse  to  placing  chil- 
dren in  their  charge,  the  managers  of  these  institutions  offered 
a  certain  sum  per  head  for  all  the  children  })l;iced  nnder  their 
control  given  to  them,  it  being  understood  that  a  child  once  in 
their  asylum  no  parent,  relative,  or  guardian  could  claim  or  ex- 
ercise any  control  over  it.  It  has  been  for  some  time  asserted 
by  the  Chinese,  and  believed  by  most  of  the  non-Catholic  for- 
eigners residing  here,  that  the  system  of  paying  bounties  in- 
duced the  kidnapping  of  children  for  these  institutions  for  the 
sake  of  the  reward.  It  is  also  asserted  that  the  priests  or  Sis- 
ters, or  both,  have  been  in  the  habit  of  holding  out  induce- 
ments to  have  children  brought  to  them  in  the  last  staii^es  of  ill- 
ness,  for  the  purpose  of  being  baptized  in  aiilealo  /jwrtis.  In 
this  way  many  children  have  been  taken  to  these  establish- 
ments in  the  last  stages  of  disease,  baptized  there,  and  soon 
after  taken  away  dead.  All  these  acts,  together  M'ith  the 
secrecy  and  seclusion  which  ap]')ear  to  be  a  part  and  parcel  of 
the   regulations   which   govern  institutions   of   this   character 


THE  TIENTSIN   MASSACRE.  701 

everywhere,  have  created  suspicions  in  the  minds  of  tlie  Chi- 
nese, and  these  suspicions  have  engendered  an  intense  hatred 
agahist  tlie  Sisters  on  tlie  pai-t  of  all  the  common  ])e(»ple  who 
live  anywhere  near  a  mission ;  and  any  rumor  concei'ning  tlie 
Sisters  or  their  acts,  however  improbable  or  absuixl,  found  thou- 
sands of  willing  and  honest  believers  among  the  ignorant  and 
superstitious  people.  Some  time  about  the  end  of  May  or  be« 
ginning  of  June  an  epidemic  prevailed  at  the  Sisters'  institution 
at  Tientsin,  and  a  considerable  number  of  the  children  died. 
In  some  way  the  report  got  abroad  that  the  Sisters  were  killing 
the  children  to  get  their  eyes  and  hearts  for  the  purpose  of 
manufacturing  some  sort  of  a  medical  specific  much  sought 
after  in  Europe  and  connnanding  a  fabulous  price.  This  re- 
port spread  from  one  to  another,  and  soon  the  belief  became 
general.  Crowds  of  people  assembled  from  time  to  time  near 
the  mission  buildings,  demanding  the  liberation  of  the  children, 
and  on  one  occasion  they  became  so  noisy  that  the  Sisters,  fear- 
ing violence  from  the  mob,  consented  that  an  examination 
should  be  made  by  a  connnittee  of  five.  The  consul,  hearing 
of  the  disturbance,  made  his  appearance  about  this  time,  and 
although  the  connnittee  had  been  selected  and  were  then  in  the 
building,  he  stopped  the  whole  proceeding  and  drove  away  the 
committee  Nvith  angry  w^ords.  Subsequently  the  district  magis- 
trate took  a  man  who  had  been  industriously  spreading  the  re- 
ports, who  said  he  could  ])oint  out  the  persons  who  were  guilty 
of  acts  of  sorcery  and  o^her  crimes,  to  question  him  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Sisters,  and  when  confronted  by  them  admitted  that 
all  his  stories  were  without  foundation  and  false.  The  day 
prior  to  the  outbreak  the  district  magistrate  {ch'iJilen)  called 
upon  the  French  consul,  and  stated  that  unless  permission  be 
given  for  a  thorough  examination  of  the  Sisters'  establishment, 
it  was  difficult  to  foretell  the  result.  The  consul,  construing 
the  language  into  a  threat,  replied  that  the  magistrate  being  in- 
ferior in  rank  to  the  consul,  no  negotiation  could  take  place 
between  them  for  the  purpose  indicated  or  any  other.'' ' 

'  Foreign  Relations  of  the  United  States,  1870,  p.  355.  A  private  letter  quoted 
in  the  Westminster  Beview  for  April,  1871,  says  :  "  Even  then  (on  the  I9th)  I 
think  the  riot  could  have  been  prevented  if  the  consul  had  earnestly  joined 


702  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

This  very  unwise  answer  turned  the  popuLir  rage  against  the 
French  consuLate  as  well  as  the  cathedi-al  and  orphanage,  and 
the  21st  saw  a  surging  multitude  assembled  in  their  vicinity 
ready  for  any  violence.  M.  Foutanier,  the  Frent-h  ct)nsul,  now 
thoroughly  alarmed,  hurried  off  to  the  yannm  of  Chuughow  (the 
superintendent  of  customs),  while  stones  Hew  about  the  building 
he  was  quitting.  For  the  rest,  this  poor  man's  fate  is  involved 
in  uncertainty.  Eeaching  Chunghow's  office  in  a  "  state  of  ex- 
citement bordering  upon  insanity,"  he  failed,  either  by  persuasion 
or  menace,  in  getting  that  dignitary  to  promise  the  impossible — ■ 
to  quell  at  once  the  angry  }nob.  The  officials,  indeed,  by  this 
time  were  as  helpless  as  he,  and  coidd  only  urge  his  renuiining 
in  the  compound  until  the  streets  were  clear.  But  the  French- 
man and  his  clerk  heeded  nothing  ;  how  they  were  cut  down  in 
the  way,  after  firing  into  the  angry  mob,  hoM*  the  rampant  popu- 
lace now  attacked  and  pillaged  the  three  or  four  French  l)uild- 
ino-s,  how  the  defenceless  Sisters  were  butchered  in  their  or- 
phanaire  after  sufferini^;  nameless  barbarities,  and  how  the  fren- 
zied  host  left  the  burning  ruins  to  glut  their  passions  upon  the 
neighboring  houses,  has  come  to  the  wt)rld  solely  on  Chinese 
authoi-ity,  and  nnist  renuiin  always  in  the  obscurity  resulting 
from  greatly  contiicting  testimony.  The  children  of  the  or- 
phanage, however,  were  taken  off,  and  tht)ugh  attenq^ts  upon 
some  of  the  Protestant  buildings  were  made,  nothing  serious 
resulted.  Among  the  saddest  casualties  of  this  bloody  day  was 
the  death  of  a  Russian,  his  young  bride,  and  a  friend,  who  in 
esca|)ing  toward  the  foreign  settlement  of  Tsz'-chuh-lin,  two 
miles  away,  were  mistaken  for  Frenchmen  and  pronq^tly  hacked 
to  pieces  on  the  road.  The  total  number  of  victims  in  the 
massacre  amounted  to  twenty  foreigners  and  as  many  more 
Chinese  servants,  acolytes,  and  others. 

To  the  joint  note  of  the  seven  foreign  ministers  in  'Peking, 
calling* for  immediate  and  vigorous  measures  in  the  face  of  this 
terrible  news,  Prince  Kung  replied  (on  the  25th)  that  in  vindica- 
tion of  the  honor  and  justice  of  the  inq3erial  government  toward 

with  the  local  authorities  in  raakinq  a  full  inquiry,  with  a  number  of  the 
gentry,  inside  of  the  infirmary  and  church,  to  show  them  again  that  the  rumors 
of  foul  deeds  therein  were  groundless." 


ACTION    OF    THE    PEKING    GOVEllNMENT.  703 

foreigners,  Tsang  Ivvvoli-faii  (governor-general  of  the  prov- 
ince) and  Cliunghow  luiJ  already  been  directed  to  do  every- 
thing in  their  power  to  suppress  tlie  spirit  of  riot  and  arrest  law- 
less men.  An  imperial  edict  was  issued  for  the  appiehension 
of  Chau,  Chang,  and  Lin,  the  intendant,  prefect,  and  magistrate 
of  Tientsin,  for  their  remissness  and  complicity  in  the  riot. 
The  fact  that  no  foreign  armed  vessel  was  there  on  the  21st 
doubtless  had  its  weight  with  these  officials  in  carrying  ont 
their  plans  at  the  moment.  They  now  saw  that  they  had  pur- 
sued their  ill-will  too  far,  and  that  retribution  was  sure  to  follow 
for  their  atrocities.  Exaggerated  reports  of  their  doings  had 
rapidly  gone  over  the  world,  and  as  the  extent  and  strength  of 
the  disaffection  in  other  provinces  could  not  be  ascertained,  the 
inference  was  made  that  all  foreigners  in  China  were  in  tmmi- 
nent  jeopardy,  and  that  the  people  had  at  last  risen  in  their 
streno;th  to  aid  their  sovereii^n  to  drive  them  out  of  the  land. 
When  the  storm  had  passed  over,  and  those  in  authority  had 
examined  the  criminals  and  given  such  justice  as  they  could, 
the  opinions  of  the  best  informed  observers  as  to  the  inmiediate 
causes  were  found  to  be  sustained. 

In  a  few  weeks  the  naval  forces  of  the  leading  powers  had 
assembled  at  Tientsin.  The  French  charge  d'affairs,  Count 
E-ochechouart,  took  the  lead  and  demanded  the  execution  of 
the  prefect  and  magistrate  for  having  instigated  the  riot.  The 
Chinese  refused  to  do  this  until  a  trial  had  proved  their  guilt — 
liaving,  perhaps,  in  some  measure  recovered  their  composure 
upon  learning  of  the  commencement  of  hostilities  between 
France  and  Germany,  The  imperial  government  was  unable 
itself  to  coerce  the  turbulent  populace  of  Tientsin,  for  it  had  no 
troops  who  could  be  depended  on  to  punish  the  rioters,  with 
whom  the  soldiers  sympathized.  The  extravagant  statements 
and  demands  continually  put  forth  in  the  Shanghai  and  Hong- 
kong newspapers  tended  to  irritate  and  disconcert  those  high 
officials,  who  w^ere  already  at  their  wits'  end  and  were  anxious 
to  prevent  a  worse  disaster.  The  foreigners  seemed  to  think 
that  they  could  utter  hard  charges  indiscriminately  against  the 
Chinese  rulers  and  people,  who  on  their  part  were  not  to  say  a 
word.     Minister  Low,  in  his  despatch  of  August  24th,  when 


704  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

speaking  of  tlie  thousands  of  fans  sold  at  Tientsin  containing 
luc-turco  of  the  riot  and  murdering  of  foreigners,  sajs  :  ''These 
fans  are  made  to  suit  the  taste  of  the  people,  and  the  fact  that 
such  engravings  Mill  cause  a  better  sale  for  the  fans  is  a  con- 
clusive argument  that  there  is  no  sentiment  of  regret  or  sorrow 
among  the  people  over  the  result  of  the  riot.  There  is,  un- 
doubtedly, greater  unanimity  of  opinion  in  Tientsin  in  favor  of 
the  rioters  than  in  Ireland  among  the  peasantry  in  favor  of  one 
of  their  number  who  shoots  his  landlord.  If  this  feelinij  in 
Ireland  is  strong  enough  to  baffle  all  attempts  of  the  English 
government  to  bring  to  justice  by  the  ordinary  forms  of  laM'  a 
peasant  accused  of  injuring  the  person  or  property  of  his  land- 
lord, is  it  surprising  that  this  feeble  central  government  should 
find  it  difficult  to  ascertain  and  punish  the  rioters  in  a  city  of 
four  hundred  thousand  inhabitants,  all  of  whom  either  aided 
in  the  massacre  or  sympathized  with  the  rioters?" ' 

The  judicial  investigations  in  Tientsin  were  conducted  in  a 
dilatory  manner,  but  the  above  indicates  some  of  the  difficulties 
in  the  way  of  the  presiding  judges.  However,  on  October  5th 
and  10th  II.  I.  Majesty's  decrees  were  made  known  to  the  for- 
eign ministers,  stating  that  the  prefect  and  magistrate  had  been 
banished  to  Manchuria,  twenty  criminals  who  had  killed  the 
foreigners  sentenced  to  death,  and  twenty-one  others  actively 
aiding  in  the  riot  banished.  On  the  morning  of  October  I8th 
sixteen  were  decapitated  in  the  presence  of  the  foreign  consuls 
and  others  assembled  as  witnesses.  This  closing  act  of  the 
tragedy,  as  a  condign  punishment  of  guilt,  was,  however,  un- 
fortunate ;  it  was  made  rather  an  occasion  of  showinic  to  the 
people  that  the  sufferers  had  the  sympathy  of  their  rulers,  while 
many  foreigners  looked  upon  the  execution  as  a  ghastly  farce — 
"  a  cold-blooded  nuu'der."  Many  believed  that  the  sixteen  men 
M-ere  purchased  victims;  the  proofs  were  ample,  however,  of 
the  complicity  of  all ;  indeed,  some  of  them  gloried  in  what  they 
Iiad  done,  and  were  escorted  by  admiring  friends  to  the  block." 

^Foreifin  Jirlntiov!^  of  the  UnHed  StatcK- China,  1871,  p.  380. 

'  As  an  instance  of  some  of  the  bitter  sentiment  rampant  upon  this  occasion, 
may  he  quoted  tlie  open  proposition  of  a  British  missionary,  who  insisted  that 
one-half  of  the  city  of  Tieutsiu  be  razed  by  a  detachment  of  foreign  troops  of 


PUNISHMENT   OF   THE   RIOTERS.  705 

It  is  a  pal})al)le  exaggeration  of  the  power  or  desires  of  a 
Chinese  official  to  affirm  that  he  is  capable  of  buying  up  candi- 
dates for  ini mediate  execution. 

As  to  the  remaining  four  condemned  culprits,  M.  Ylangali,  the 
Tvussian  minister,  judiciously  refused  to  accept  their  deaths  as  a 
proper  satisfaction  foi-  the  murder  of  the  three  Ilussians  until  sat- 
isfied personally  of  their  direct  complicity  in  the  deed.  A  careful 
examination  of  their  case  having  been  made  before  the  consul- 
general  of  the  Czar  at  Tientsin,  revealed  the  fact  that  only  two 
were  guilt v  of  the  actual  crime ;  the  minister  consented  then 
that  the  punishment  of  the  other  two  should  be  commuted  to 
banishment.  The  sum  of  Tls.  400,000  was  paid  to  the  French 
for  loss  of  life  and  property  ;  in  addition  to  this  the  loss  done 
to  Protestant  mission  premises  was  also  made  good.  Chung- 
how  was  appointed  imperial  commissioner  to  proceed  to  France 
and  present  to  that  government  a  formal  apology  for  the  affair. 
This  mission  left  Peking  early  in  1871  and  returned  the  follow- 
ing year.  The  American  missionaries  who  had  in  August  been 
frightened  away  from  their  post  in  Tangchau'  by  the  warnings 
and  threats  of  certain  evil  disposed  persons,  were  taken  back  from 
their  asylum  in  Chifu  two  months  later  in  the  U.  S.  S.  Benicia, 
and  publicly  received  by  the  prefect.  This  was  the  only  in- 
stance throughout  the  Empire,  connected  with  the  riot  of  June, 
in  which  foreigners  were  interfered  with,  and  here  grave  doubts 
exist  as  to  the  i-eality  of  danger  and  need  of  flight  from  Tang- 
chau. 

In  estimating  the  conduct  of  the  Chinese  in  dealing  with  this 
eruption,  the  foreign  press  habitually  spoke  of  them  as  if  they 
were  unwilling  to  grant  any  redress  or  take  any  measures  for 
the  future  safety  of  those  living  among  their  sul)jects.  Little 
consideration  was  made  for  the  enormous  difficulties  of  their 
position.  They  had  been  reared  in  ignorance  of  the  multiplied 
questions  and  responsibilities  involved  in  the  recent  treaties 
with  other   nations ;    and  though  the  foreign  ministers  were 

various  nationalities,  and  that  a  pillar  be  erected  upon  the  open  space  thus 
made,  with  a  suitable  inscription  as  to  the  occasion  and  authors  of  the  monu- 
ment. 

'  On  the  promontory  of  Shantung. 


706  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

really  acting  most  kindly  toward  them  in  forcing  them  to  can-v 
out  every  plain  treaty  obligation,  the  fair-minded  observer  can 
find  small  excuse  for  the  harsh  criticism,  not  to  add  abuse, 
which  was  hurled  at  everything  said  or  done  by  Prince  Kung 
and  his  colleagues  in  their  peril  and  perplexity.  The  writers  in 
newspapers  seemed  to  look  upon  China  as  an  appanage  of 
Europe — one  Englishman  even  going  so  far  as  to  urge  the  most 
reckless  employment  of  force  to  compel  her  rulers  to  give  up 
the  three  odious  officials  to  be  dealt  with  and  publicly  executed. 
Another  says  that  the  execution  of  the  sixteen  criminals  could 
"hardly  be  viewed  as  other  than  cold-blooded  murder  while 
those  men  are  shielded  from  the  demands  of  justice."  Yet 
these  writers  forgot  that  all  the  treaties  required  that  "  Chinese 
subjects  guilty  of  criminal  acts  toward  foreigners  shall  be  ar- 
rested and  punished  by  the  Chinese  authorities  according  to 
the  laws  of  China ;"  and  each  nation  obliged  itself  to  try  and 
punish  its  own  criminals.  Chunghow  was  the  object  of  much 
abuse  because  he  had  not  prevented  or  put  down  the  mob, 
though  he  was  merely  a  revenue  officer  and  had  neither  terri- 
torial nor  military  jurisdiction  at  Tientsin.  Even  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Tsung-li  Yamun  were  freely  charged  with  complicity 
in  the  tragedy,  if  not  knowledge  or  approval.  In  short,  the 
whole  history  of  the  riot — its  causes,  growth,  culmination,  re- 
sults, and  repression — combine  as  many  of  the  serious  obstacles 
in  the  way  of  harmonizing  Chinese  and  European  civilizations 
as  anything  which  ever  occurred.' 

As  a  natural  sequence  to  the  judicial  proceedings  which  ter- 


'  The  records  of  this  event  are  widely  scattered  in  the  local  papers  published 
in  China  and  in  diplomatic  correspondence.  See  the  ^fi'ssio^l(l)•l/  Recorder^ 
November,  1870,  and  Jannary,  1871  ;  Jouriuil  of  N.  C.  Bnntch  of  li.  A.  Soc, 
No.  VI.,  pp.  18()-1!)0;  Eiliiihiir(]h  Iier/nr,  Jannary,  1871;  ]\'(!<tiitiii!itcr  Reriew, 
April,  1871,  Art.  VI.  ;  T/te  Tiod^in  Massacre,  kc,  by  Geo.  Thin,  M.D.,  Edin- 
burgh, 1870;  Foreitpi  Relations  of  the  United  States  for  1870  and  1871  ;  Ij^ga- 
tion  to  China  ;  ParUamentanj  Elite  Book,  1871 ;  H.  Blerzy,  Les  affaires  de 
Chine  en  1871,  Revue  des  Deu.r  Mondes,  1  juillet,  1871  ;  North  Cliina  Daily 
News  and  North  China  lTer(dd  for  1870.  One  of  the  most  carefully  prepared 
and  interesting  accounts  of  the  massacre  is  contained  in  Baron  Iliibner's  Rani' 
hie  Jionnd  the  World,  translated  by  Lady  Herbert,  New  York,  1875,  pp.  526- 
573. 


KULES  SUGGESTED  FOR  CONTROL  OF  MISSIONARIES.       707 

minated  the  Tientsin  tragedy,  came  the  inquiry  of  tlie  imperial 
counsel  into  what  was  briefly  summed  upas  the  "missionary 
question."  More  than  ten  years  had  now  elapsed  since  the  gen- 
eral repeal  of  all  pre-existing  edicts  against  Christianity  in  the 
Empire,  and  the  officials  were  already  concerned  as  to  the  move- 
ments and  rumors  respecting  the  new  sect  which  had  come  to 
their  ears  since  that  time.  Accordingly  in  February,  1871,  after 
an  earnest  study  of  the  matter  from  their  stand-point,  the  For- 
eign Office  sent  to  the  various  legations  the  following  note  and 
memorandum : 

TuNGCiii,  9th  year,  12th  moon,  24th  day. 
Sir  :  In  relation  to  the  missionary  question,  the  members  of  the  Foreign 
Office  are  apprehensive  lest  in  their  efforts  to  manage  the  various  points  con- 
nected with  it  they  .shall  interrupt  the  good  relations  existing  between  this 
and  other  governments,  and  have  therefore  drawn  up  several  rules  upon  the 
subject.  These  arc  now  enclosed,  witli  an  explanatory  minute,  for  your  exami- 
nation, and  we  hope  that  you  will  take  them  into  careful  consideration. 
With  compliments,  cards  of  Wansiang. 

Shan  Kwei-fan. 

The  rules  proposed  (1)  that  only  the  children  of  native  Chris- 
tians be  received  into  Komish  asylums ;  (2)  that  "  in  order  to 
exhibit  the  reserve  and  strict  propriety  of  Chi'istianity,"  no 
Chinese  females  should  enter  the  chapels  nor  foreign  women 
propagate  the  doctrines ;  (3)  that  missionaries  should  confine 
themselves  to  their  proper  calling,  and  that  they  "  ought  not  to 
be  permitted  to  set  up  an  independent  style  and  authority ; " 
(4)  that  they  should  not  interfere  in  trials  of  their  native  con- 
verts when  brought  into  criminal  courts ;  (5)  that  passj^orts 
given  to  missionaries  should  not  be  transferred,  but  returned  to 
the  Chinese  authorities  when  no  longer  required,  "nor  should 
they  avail  themselves  of  the  passport  to  secretly  go  elsewhere," 
as  the  French  ofttimes  did ;  (6)  that  the  missionaries  should 
never  receive  men  of  bad  character  into  the  church,  nor  retain 
those  of  notoriously  evil  characters ;  moreover  that  quarterly  re- 
ports of  the  converts  be  handed  in  to  the  provincial  officers,  as 
did  the  Buddhist  and  Taoist  houses ;  (7)  that  missionaries 
should  not  use  official  seals,  nor  write  official  despatches  to  the 
local  authorities,  nor  otherwise  act  as  if  they  were  officials 
instead  of  commoners.     The  last  rule  complained  of  the  un- 


708  THE    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

reasonable  demands  of  tlic  Rouiisli  missionaries  for  lands  and 
houses  to  be  restored  to  them  in  accordance  with  the  Peking 
convention  ;  it  proposed  that  no  more  be  restored,  and  that  lantis 
bouglit  for  erecting  churches  be  held  in  tlie  name  of  the  native 
church  members. 

This  state  paper  was  remarkable  as  being  the  first  in  which 
the  Chinese  government  had  expressed  its  desire  for  a  satisfac- 
tory discussion  and  decision  of  the  difficult  questions  involved 
in  Christian  missions,  and  the  quasi  independence  allowed  their 
foreign  agents  by  the  treaties.  The  public  sentiment  among 
foreigners  in  China  was  that  these  good  people  had  a  right  to 
do  everything  not  expressly  prohibited  by  treaty  until  their 
own  consular  officers  notified  them  to  the  contrary.  The  un 
authorized  conduct  of  Romish  missionaries  in  two  western 
pi'ovinces  had  already  given  rise  to  riots,  in  which  Frenchmen 
had  been  killed.  In  such  judicial  proceedings  as  that  described 
by  Abbe  Hue  in  his  interesting  travels  are  seen  the  high-handed 
perversion  of  justice  denounced  in  the  seventh  section  of  this 
paper.'  The  writers  of  these  rules  were  hardly  aware  of  the 
serious  import  of  the  questions  they  had  grappled,  still  less  of 
the  ignorance  they  exhibited  in  their  handling  of  them.  All 
the  strictures  referred  exclusively  to  the  Iloman  Catholics,  for 
Protestant  missionaries  were  hardly  known  to  the  Chinese 
magistrates,  no  complaints  having  been  entered  against  them. 

Most  of  the  foreign  ministers  long  delayed  their  answers  to  this 
minute,  so  that  no  personal  discussion  ever  took  place  between 
the  parties  most  interested.  The  straightforward  and  eai'iiest 
reply  of  Mr.  Low,  the  United  States  envoy  (dated  March  20th), 
carefully  went  over  all  the  main  points,  and  gave  Wansiang 
and  Shan  Kwei-fan  a  clear  idea  of  what  they  might  expect  from 
other  ministers,  together  Avith  manv  "'ood  sut^y-estions  as  to  their 
own  duties.  Nothing  practical  ever  came  of  the  paper,  but  the 
discussions  it  caused  throughout  the  country  showed  the  inter- 
est felt  in  the  whole  matter."  A  few  Protestant  missionaries 
themselves  indulged  in  harsh  sti-ictures  on  the  native  officials, 

'  Travels  in  tJie  Chinese  Empire,  Vol.  I.,  Chap.  VI. 

'  Forciyn  Relations  of  the  United  States,  1871,  pp.  99-111  ;  also  for  1872,  pp 
118-130  and  137-138.     Missionary  Recorder,  Vols.  III.  and  IV.  passim. 


THEIR   RECEPTION   BY    FOREIGNERS.  709 

one  going  the  length  of  saving  tliat  he  "looked  upon  the  docu- 
ment rather  as  an  excuse  offered  beforehand  for  premeditated 
outrages  than  as  an  indication  of  measures  being  taken  to  pre- 
vent them.''  However,  no  evil  results  ever  came  to  the  con- 
verts or  their  teachers  from  the  discussion  of  the  minute,  and 
its  diffusion  gave  many  i-eaders  their  first  information  on  the 
whole  subject.  Diiferences  of  o})inion  led  to  a  comparison  of 
facts,  and  the  small  number  of  grievances  reported  upheld  the 
conclusion  that  the  Chinese  officials  and  literati  had  been,  on  the 
whole,  extremely  moderate,  considering  their  limited  opportu- 
nities to  examine  the  question  and  the  irritation  aroused  by  the 
demands  and  hauteur  of  the  Romish  missionaries.  The  unjust 
manner  in  which  they  possessed  themselves  of  the  ground 
within  the  city  of  Canton  on  which  the  governor-general's  ya- 
mun  once  stood  had  made  a  deep  impression  on  the  citizens ; 
and  when  their  cathedral,  towering  above  all  the  temples  and 
ofiices  of  the  metropolis,  was  located  upon  this  site,  their  indig- 
nation knew  no  bounds. 

The  year  1873  saw  the  conclusion  of  the  Mohammedan  in- 
surrection in  the  north-western  provinces,  the  exact  extent  of 
which  has  never  been  perfectly  made  known.  The  capture  of 
Suhchau  (near  the  Kiayii  Pass  in  Kansuh)  by  the  imperial 
troops  under  General  Tso  Tsung-tang  brought  to  an  end  all  or- 
ganized rebellion  in  China  Proper.'  As  is  customary,  the  cen- 
tral government  threw  the  responsibility  of  promoting  the 
peace  of  the  provinces  upon  their  governors,  and  the  well- 
disposed  among  the  people  were  usually  sure  of  protection. 
The  foreign  administration  of  the  import  customs  turned  a 
large  and  certain  revenue  into  the  hands  of  the  Peking  officials, 
and  their  development  of  the  defences  of  the  coast  in  building- 
forts,  launching  war  steamers,  and  making  war  material  at  the 
new  arsenals,  indicated  their  fears  of  foreign  reprisals  and 
their  unwisdom  in  deeming  such  outlays  effectual.  The  same 
money  spent  in  making  good  wagon  roads,  working  iron,  coal, 
and  other  mines,  deepening  navigable  watercourses,  and  intro- 


'  Foreign  Relations  of  the  United  States.,  1874^  p.  350.     Peking  Gazette,  De* 
cember  28,  1873. 


710  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

ciuc'ing  fimall  steamers  on  them,  would  have  brought  more  sub- 
stantial  returns.  But  tliese  were  achievements  which  the 
future  alone  coukl  accomplish,  and  the  people  nnist  be  some- 
what taught  and  prepared  for  them  before  any  permanent 
advances  would  ensue.' 

On  October  16,  1872,  occurred  the  marriage  of  tlie  Emperor 
Tungchi  to  Aluteli,  a  Manchu  lady.  The  ceremonies  attend- 
ing her  selection,  betrothal,  and  espousal  were  elaborate  and 
complete  in  every  particular.  Such  an  event  had  only  once 
before  taken  place  during  the  Manchu  dynasty — when  Kanghi 
was  a  minor,  in  1674 — all  the  other  emperors  having  been 
married  during  their  fathers'  reigns.  The  occasion,  therefore, 
excited  great  attention,  while  the  attendant  expenses  were 
enormous ;  but  all  passed  off  without  the  least  disturbance  and 
apparently  to  general  satisfaction.  The  two  Empresses-dowager 
controlled  the  details,  the  most  important  of  which  were  an- 
nounced to  the  Empire  in  a  series  of  edicts  prepared  by  mem- 
bers of  the  Li  P\i^  or  Board  of  Bites,  containing  directions  for 
every  motion  of  the  two  principal  actors,  as  well  as  for  those 
who  joined  the  ceremonies  during  the  occasion  till  the  21st  of 
the  montli.^ 

The  young  Emperor  entered  into  the  spirit  of  the  prepara- 
tions with  great  interest,  and  on  the  day  before  sending  the 
bride  her  phoenix  robes  and  diadem  he  ordered  three  princes  to 
offer  sacrifice  and  burn  incense  on  the  altar  to  heaven,  "  these 
informing  heaven  that  he  was  about  to  marry  Aluteh,  the  wise, 
virtuous,  and  accomplished  daughter  of  Chung,  duke  and 
member  of  the  llanlin."  Another  prince  informed  mother 
earth,  and  a  third  announced  it  to  the  imperial  ancestors,  in 
their  special  temple.  During  the  weeks  preceding  and  follow- 
ing the  happy  day,  all  courts  throughout  the  land  were  closed 
and  a  general  jail  delivery  promulgated. 

Many  of  the  ceremonies  and  processions  in  Peking  were  not 

'  Compare  a  rather  enthnsiastic  article  by  Captain  A.  G.  Bridge,  The  Bciiral 
vf  the  Warhke  Poirer  of  Cliina,  Fmnrfs  Mitfiozinp  ior  imw,  1879,  p.  778. 

*  A  translation  of  these  papers  was  made  at  Shanghai,  not  long  after,  by 
Miss  L.  M.  Fay,  an  American  lady,  and  furnishes  an  interesting  and  authentic 
account  of  the  whole  wedding. 


MARRIAGE   OF   THE   EMPEROR  TUNOCIII,  711 

public,  for  considerations  of  state  and  security  deuianded  great 
care.'  On  the  19tli  the  wedding  was  thus  announced  to  the  for- 
eign ministers  by  II.  I.  Majesty,  tlirough  Prince  Kung  :  "We 
liaving  with  pious  veneration  succeeded  to  the  vast  dominion 
founded  by  Our  ancestors,  and  enjoying  in  its  fuhiess  the 
glorious  lot  to  which  We  have  been  destined,  have  chosen  one 
virtuous  and  modest  to  be  the  mistress  of  Our  imperial  home. 
Upon  October  15th,  We,  by  patent,  installed  Aluteh,  daughter 
of  Chung  Chi,  a  sJu-tslany  in  the  Ilanliu  College,  as  Empress. 
This  from  the  Emperor."  The  court  had  not  as  yet  outgrown 
its  exclusiveness  further  than  this  step  of  announcing  the  mar- 
riage and  its  completion ;  and  to  those  best  acquainted  with  the 
etiquette  observed  for  centuries,  even  this  seemed  to  be  a  good 
deal  in  advance  of  former  times.  The  great  counsellors  of 
state  soon  arranged  for  closing  the  regency  which  had  existed 
since  1861.  The  Emperor  Tungchi,  though  born  on  April  27, 
1856,  was  called  seventeen  at  his  marriage.  The  Empresses- 
dowager  accordingly  announced  on  October  22d  that  he 
would  attain  his  majority  at  the  next  Chinese  new  year,  and  be 
inaugurated  with  all  the  usual  ceremonies.  One  of  his  special 
imperial  functions,  that  of  offering  sacrifices  to  heaven  at  the 
winter  solstice,  would  be  performed  by  him  in  person — a  cere- 
mony which  had  been  intermitted  since  December,  1859. 
Accordingly,  on  February  23,  1873,  he  issued  a  decree  through 
the  Board  of  Rites,  as  follows  :  "  A¥e  are  the  humble  recipient 
of  a  decree  from  their  Majesties  the  two  Empresses,  declaring  it 
to  be  their  pleasure  that  We,  being  now  of  full  age,  should  in 
person  assume  the  superintendence  of  business,  and  in  concert 
with  Our  oflicers  in  the  capital  and  in  the  provinces,  attend  to 
the  work  of  good  government.  In  respectful  obedience  to  the 
connnands  of  their  Majesties,  We  do  in  person  enter  upon  the 


'  For  a  report  of  what  could  be  watched  of  this  ceremony,  see  William 
Simpson,  Meetin(j  (lie  Sun,  Chap.  XV.  The  bridal  procession  came  off  during 
the  night,  when  a  bright  moonlight  enabled  him  to  see  it  pass,  without 
molestation,  from  the  shop  where  he  was  hidden.  This  chiaroscuro  sort  of 
panorama  rather  suited  the  ideas  of  the  people,  and  was  submitted  to  by  the 
Pekingese  crowd  without  a  murmur.  Compare  K.  Bismark  in  the  Galaxy, 
Vol.  XIX.,  p.  182;  CornMl  Magazine,  Vol.  XXVII.,  p.  83. 


712  THE    MI DDL K    KINGDOM. 

important  duty  assigned  to  L  s  on  the  26th  day  of  tlie  1st  moon 
of  the  12tli  year  of  the  reign  Tungclii." 

This  announceineTit  was  on  the  same  day  connnunicated  to  the 
ministers  of  Itussia,  Germany,  tlie  United  States,  Great  Britain, 
and  France.  They  returned  a  collective  note  the  following 
morning,  and  asked  Prince  Ivnng  to  "  take  his  Imperial  Majes- 
ty's orders  with  reference  to  their  reception.""  This  intimation 
could  not  have  been  nnexpected  to  him  and  his  colleagues,  but 
with  their  nsual  habit  of  putting  off  the  inevitaljle,  they  began 
to  make  excuses.  .Vfter  deferring  the  consultation  with  the  en- 
voi's a  fortnight  on  the  plea  of  AVansiang's  illness,  they  met 
at  the  Russian  legation  on  March  11th.  The  question  of 
the  I'ofoir  was  the  crucial  point,  as  it  had  Ijeen  in  1859  between 
1\  weiliang  and  Mr.  Ward.  Then  the  conrt  was  willing  to  accept 
a  sort  of  curtsey  instead  of  a  prostration  when  the  American 
minister  apjjroached  the  throne.  Xow  the  court  had  put  the 
strongest  argument  into  the  hands  of  foreign  ministers  by 
sending  the  Burlini^-ame  mission  to  their  courts,  and  the  ritjhts 
of  independent  nations  could  not  be  waived  or  implicated  by 
the  least  sign  of  inferiority.  The  conference  was  amicable  and 
the  matter  fully  ventilated.  The  demands  n])on  the  Chinese 
were  summarized  by  the  ministers  :  That  a  pei-sonal  audience 
with  the  Emperor  was  proper  and  needful ;  that  it  should  not 
be  unnecessarily  delayed  ;  and  that  they  would  not  kneel  be- 
fore him,  nor  perform  any  other  ceremony  derogatory  to  their 
own  dignity  or  that  of  their  nationalities.  These  points  were 
maintained  as  their  united  decision  in  the  weary  series  of  con- 
ferences, correspondence,  and  delays  which  ensued  during  the 
next  four  months  in  Peking.  The  prince  and  his  colleagues, 
by  their  discussion  of  the  point,  had  aroused  the  resistance  of 
the  great  body  of  literati  and  conservative  officials  in  the  Em- 
pire, who  had  grown  u]^  in  the  belief  that  its  unity  and  pros- 
perity were  involved  in  the  [)erf()rnuince  of  the  kotow.  The 
discussion  in  July,  185!),  when  the  Emjieror  Ilienfung  could 
safely  decline  to  admit  Mr.  Ward  to  an  audience  without  it,  had 
exhausted  their  ai'gunu'iits ;  but  his  son  had  come  to  the  throne 
under  the  new  influences,  which  were  rapidly  breaking  down 
all  those  old  ideas  and  safeguards.     The  prince  had,  moreover, 


DISCUSSION   OF   THE   AUDIENCE   QUESTION.  7J3 

ieariied  tiiat  the  foreign  ministers  were  not  very  strongly  sup^ 
ported  by  tlieir  own  governments,  none  of  whom  intended  to 
make  the  audience  question  a  casus  helli,  or  even  a  reason  for 
withdrawing  their  legations  from  Peking.  Perhaps  the  Yannni 
thought  that  the  departure  of  the  Ilussian  and  German  minis- 
ters would  leave  the  other  three  less  inclined  to  persist  in  their 
demand,  if  serious  consequences  were  likely  to  result. 

The  American  minister  clearly  states  the  pith  of  the  matter 
in  his  despatch  of  March  S-ith  in  his  closing  words  :  "  I  attach 
importance  to  the  proper  settlement  of  the  audience  question 
at  the  earliest  time  possible.  To  demand  it,  and  urge  com- 
pliance with  the  demand,  is  a  duty  every  western  nation  owes 
to  its  own  dignity  and  to  the  welfare  of  its  citizens  and  subjects 
residing  here ;  it  is  also  a  kindness  to  this  government  to  try 
through  this  moans  to  improve  relations,  and  thus  prevent,  or 
at  least  postpone,  what  are  now  likely  at  any  time  to  occur — • 
hostile  collisions,  with  their  dreadful  consequences." '  This 
alternative  was  not  a  fanciful  one,  and  this  canse  of  chronic 
dispute  and  irritation  between  China  and  other  nations  during 
many  centuries  was  removed  chiefly  through  the  patient  per- 
eistance  of  Mr.  Low  in  this  discussion.  His  despatches  contain 
every  fact  and  argument  of  importance  in  perhaps  the  most 
serious  controversy  ever  brought  before  China.  One  cannot 
but  sympathize  with  Prince  Ivung  and  his  colleagues  in  their 
dilennna,  and  to  this  embarrassment  Mr.  Low  gives  due  weight. 

The  Chinese  ofhcials  took  a  month  to  discuss  the  points 
among  themselves,  and  signs  of  yielding  were  apparent  both 
in  the  note  of  Prince  Kung  of  April  IGth  and  the  memoran- 
dum of  the  29th  brought  forward  at  an  interview  with  the 
legations.  Much  of  the  same  ground  was  gone  over  again  ;  a 
vacation  ensued,  then  another  protocol  on  May  15tli  appeared, 
followed  by  notes  on  the  20th  and  29th  from  both  sides, 
all  tending  to  the  desired  conclusion.  At  last  the  audience 
question    was   settled    on    June   29th    by  the   Emperor   first 


'  Forenjn  EelatioriH  nfllip  United  Sfiitrs,  1873,  p.  160.  See  also  the  despatches 
of  that  year,  and  compare  Pauthier's  ITixUrfrc  flea  TiiiatioiiH  Politique  (fe  la 
Cliine,  Paris,  1858.  Narrative  of  the  American  Embassy's  visit  to  Peking, 
N.  a  Br.  R.  As.  Sv.,  Vol.  I,  1859. 


714  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

receiving  Soyeshima,  the  ambassador  from  Japan,  by  himself ; 
and  immediately  afterward  the  five  ministers  of  Russia,  the 
United  States,  (ireat  Britain,  J" ranee,  and  Holland,  accompanied 
only  by  Mr.  Carl  Bismarck,  the  German  secretary,  who  inter- 
preted for  them.'  Mr,  Low's  despatch  of  July  10th,  giving  the 
details  of  the  ceremonies  and  the  previous  discussion  in  settling 
them,  with  the  difficulty  the  prince  and  others  had  in  swallow- 
ing the  bitter  pill,  is  very  valuable  as  a  description  of  the  finale 
of  this  last  struggle  of  Chinese  seclusion  to  resist  the  incoming 
wave  of  w'estern  power.  The  wall  of  their  separation  was  at 
last  broken  down.  They  were  really  stronger  and  wiser  than 
ever,  and  every  nation  interested  felt  a  relief  that  the  days  of 
proud  assumption  were  ended.  The  young  Emperor  held  only 
three  more  audiences  during  his  short  reign  of  nineteen  months  ; 
and  in  all  these  discussions  he  seems  to  have  taken  no  active 
part,  nor  did  he  oppose  the  conclusion.  His  ignorance  of  the 
whole  question  made  his  opinion  a  matter  of  small  moment. 

Among  other  advantages  resulting  to  all  parties  by  the  settle- 
ment of  this  question  was  the  right  adjustment  of  the  Chinese 
government  in  its  relations  with  other  courts.  This  acknowledg- 
ment of  their  equality  as  independent  nations  did  not  in  any- 
wise interfere  with  the  obeisance  of  native  ofiicials  when  ap- 
proaching their  sovereign  ;  but  it  smoothed  the  way  for  future 
diplomatic  relations.  Xo  western  power  could  maintain  an 
envoy  near  the  TTtrmvjt'i  at  Peking  with  the  least  self-respect 
if  he  were  not  allowed  to  see  this  potentate  unless  by  prostrating 
himself.  While  none  of  the  great  nations  would  deem  a  mere 
matter  of  ceremony  a  sufficient  pretext  for  resorting  to  war — 
since  war  itself  often  fails  to  convince — a  long,  continuance  of 
this  state  of  affairs  must  inevitably  have  led  to  complications 
the  more  unpleasant  to  diplomatists  because  sure  to  be  oft-re- 
curring. It  was  probably  owing  to  the  personal  influence  of 
Prince  Kung  and  Wansiang,  the  two  most  enlightened  states- 
men of  this  period,  that  a  further  insistance  upon  the  kotow 
was  not  made,  and  preparations  thus  arranged  for  reciprocal 
courtesies  when  Chinese  ambassadors  appeared  at  foreign  courts. 

'  Compare  the  lUustrated  London  News  for  June  23,  1873. 


THE  AUDIENCE  GRANTED — COOLIE  TKADE  STOPPED.      715 

But  against  what  tremendous  odds  of  superstition  and  national 
prejudice  these  two  otiicials  were  pitted  in  this  curious  contest 
those  who  liave  never  lived  in  the  Empire  can  liardly  ap- 
preciate.' 

The  years  1873  and  IST-i  were  marked  by  the  abolition  of 
the  coolie  trade  at  Macao,  which  since  its  rise  in  IS-iS  had  been 
attended  with  many  atrocities  on  land  and  sea.  During  these 
twenty-five  years  attempts  had  been  made  to  conduct  the  trade 
with  some  regard  for  the  rights  of  the  laborers,  but  experience 
had  shown  that  to  do  this  was  practically  impossible  if  the 
business  were  to  be  made  remunerative.  Driven  from  Hong- 
kong and  Whampoa,  the  agents  of  this  traffic  had  long  found 
shelter  in  the  Portuguese  harbor  of  Macao,  from  which  semi- 
independent  port  they  could  despatch  Chinese  crimps  on  kid- 
napping excursions  for  their  nefarious  trade.  When  at  last  the 
governor  closed  this  haven  to  its  continuance,  the  Spaniards  and 
Peruvians  were  the  only  nationalities  whom  the  action  affected  ; 
but  Spain,  falling  back  on  her  treaty  of  1864,  insisted  that  the 
coolie  trade  be  allowed.  The  Yanmn  was  advised  not  to  admit 
this  privilege  until  the  harsh  treatment  of  the  laborers  in  Cuba 
had  been  inquired  into.  This  was  done  in  1873,  by  means  of  a 
commission  composed  of  three  foreigners  and  two  Chinese,  who 
made  as  thorough  an  inquiry  as  the  Cuban  authorities  would 
permit  and  reported  the  results  in  1874.  Since  the  dreadful 
disclosures  which  transpired  in  their  report  the  trade  has  never 
revived.  Peru,  indeed,  sent  M.  Garcia  as  its  envoy  to  Peking 
to  negotiate  a  treaty  and  obtain  the  right  of  engaging  laborers, 


'  Of  Wansiang's  personal  history  little  is  known.  He  was  a  Mancliu,  and  a 
man  of  uncommonly  prepossessing  manner,  being  perhaps  most  highly  es- 
teemed of  all  the  officials  who  came  in  contact  with  the  foreign  legations.  At 
the  termination  of  hostilities  and  the  organization  of  the  Tsung-li  Yamun  in 
1861,  he  came  prominently  forward  as  a  most  efficient  and  sagacious  adviser 
of  the  government.  We  have  already  in  this  narrative  had  occasion  to  note 
the  influence  of  his  name  in  the  settlement  of  tlie  Lay-Osborne  flotilla  and  in 
the  missionary  question,  the  satisfactory  conclusion  of  which  was  a  meet 
tribute  to  liis  talents  and  judgment.  He  died  at  an  advanced  age  in  1875,  at 
the  head  of  the  administration.  In  his  death  the  Chinese  government  lost  an 
unselfish  patriot  and  a  keen  observer  of  those  things  which  were  for  the  best 
interests  of  his  country. 


716  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

but  tills  o-entleinan  met  with  no  success  whatever.  The  Chmese 
iieirotiations  on  this  occasion  showed  the  <rood  resulti?  of  their 
freer  intercourse  with  foreigners  in  the  improved  character  of 
their  arguments  for  maintaining  their  rights."  Tlic  Lamentable 
condition  of  Chinese  laborers  in  Peru  was  fully  enough  proved, 
inasmuch  as  their  appeal  for  relief  to  their  home  government 
had  been  before  the  Yannm  since  18GS,  but  it  could  do  nothing 
effectual  to  lielp  them. 

The  Japanese  government  undertook  in  this  year  to  try  the 
issue  of  war  with  the  Chinese  in  order  to  settle  its  demand  of 
redress  for  the  murder,  in  18T1,  of  some  fifty-four  Lewchewan 
sailors  by  savages  on  the  eastern  coast  of  Formosa.  Japan 
had  recently  deposed  the  native  authorities  in  Shudi,  and  being 
hard  pressed  for  some  employment  of  the  feudal  retainers  of 
the  retired  daimios,  undertook  to  redress  Lewchewan  griev- 
ances by  occupying  the  southern  part  of  Formosa,  asserting  that 
it  did  not  belong  to  Cliina  because  she  either  -vvould  not  or 
could  not  govern  its  savage  inhabitants.  This  view  of  the  divid- 
ed ownership  of  the  island  was  promptly  rejected  by  the  for- 
eign ministers  resident  at  Tokio,  but  the  officials  were  per- 
suaded that  all  they  had  to  do  was  to  occupy  the  whole  southern 
district,  and  the  Chinese  could  not  drive  them  out  when  once 
their  intrenchments  were  completed. 

The  Mikado  accordingly  gathered  his  forces  in  Kiusiu  during 
the  years  18T3-T-4-,  placing  them  under  the  command  of  (ieneral 
Saigo,  and  engaging  (qualified  foreign  military  men  to  assist. 
The  expedition  was  called  a  High  Commission,  accompanied  by 
a  force  sufficient  for  its  protection,  sent  to  aboriginal  Formosa  to 
inquii-e  into  the  murder  of  fifty-four  Japanese  subjects,  and 
take  steps  to  prevent  the  recurrence  of  such  ati'ocities.  A  pi-o- 
clamation  was  issued  April  IT,  1874,  and  another  May  19th, 
stating  that  General  Saigo  was  directed  to  call  to  an  account 
the  persons  guilty  of  outrages  on  Japanese  subjects.  As  he 
knew  that  Chiiui  was  not  prepared  to  resist  his  landing  at 
Liang-kiao,  his  chief  business  was  to  provide  means  to  house 


'  Foreign  Relations  of  tJie   United  Stntcn,  1874,  pp.  198-232.      Westminster 
lievietr,  Vol.  lUO,  p.  75.     Customs  Hqjort  on  Cabau  Coolie  Trade,  1870. 


JAPANESE   EXPEDITION   TO   FORMOSA.  717 

and  feed  tlie  soldiers  under  his  command.  Tlie  Japanese  au- 
thorities do  not  appear  very  creditably  in  this  affair.  JSo  sooner 
did  they  discover  the  wild  and  barren  nature  of  this  unknown 
region  than  they  seemed  fain  to  beat  an  incontinent  and  hasty 
retreat,  nor  did  the  troops  landed  there  stand  upon  the  order  of 
their  going.  They  had  in  some  measure  been  misled  by  the  fal- 
lacious arguments  of  Gen.  Charles  Le  Gendre,  formerly  United 
States  consul  at  Amoy,  who  had  travelled  through  these  districts 
in  18G5  ;  the  enormous  cost  which  they  had  already  incurred 
made  them  hesitate  about  proceeding  further,  though  they  had 
announced  their  intention  of  retaining  possession  of  the  territorj'. 
The  aborigines  having  tied  south  after  the  first  rencontre,  the 
Japanese  leader  employed  his  men  as  best  he  could  in  opening 
roads  through  the  jungle  and  erecting  houses. 

Meanwhile  the  Peking  authorities  were  making  ^^reparations 
for  the  coming  struggle,  and  though  they  moved  slowly  they 
were  much  in  earnest  to  protect  their  territory.  General  Shin 
Paochin  having  been  invested  with  full  powers  to  direct  opera- 
tions against  the  Japanese  forces,  began  at  once  to  draw  together 
men  and  vessels  in  Fuhchau  and  Amoy.  The  Japanese  consuls 
at  Amoy  and  Shanghai  were  allowed  to  remain  at  their  posts; 
and  during  the  year  two  envoys  arrived  at  Peking  to  treat 
with  the  Court.  Their  discussions  soon  narrowed  down  to  a 
demand  on  the  Japanese  ministers,  Yanagiwara  and  Okubo,  to 
withdraw  from  Formosa  before  treating  with  them  upon  the 
outrages  there ;  which  was  met  by  a  refusal  on  the  ground  that 
the  Emperor  had  voided  his  sovereignty  by  having  for  three 
years  taken  no  steps  to  punish  his  subjects,  notwithstanding  the 
repeated  requests  made  to  this  end.  The  Chinese  proved  that 
the  Japanese  had  violated  their  ti-eaty,  and  acted  in  an  under- 
hand manner  in  certain  negotiations  w^ith  their  envoy,  Soye- 
shima,  the  preceding  year  ;  but  this  continued  sparring  was  mere 
child's  play.  The  probabilities  were  strong  against  any  settle- 
ment, when  the  parties  were  induced  to  arrange  their  quarrel 
by  the  intervention  and  wise  counsel  of  Sir  T.  F.  Wade,  the 
British  minister.  The  Japanese  accepted  five  hundred  thou- 
sand taels  for  their  outlays  in  Formosa  for  roads,  hotises,  and 
defences ;    agreeing  thereupon  to  retire  and  leave  the  further 


718  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

punishment  of  the  aborigines  to  the  Chinese  authorities.  The 
two  envoys  left  Peking,  and  this  attempt  at  war  was  liappily 
frustrated.' 

The  liistory  of  this  affair  was  exceedingly  instructive  to  those 
who  saw  the  risks  to  their  best  interests  which  both  these 
nations  were  running  in  an  unnecessary  appeal  to  force.  Never, 
perhaps,  lias  the  resort  to  arbitration  been  more  happy,  M'hen  to 
the  difficulty  of  keeping  out  of  a  quarrel  which  so  many  fortune- 
seekers  were  ready  to  encourage  was  added  the  fact  that  both 
nations  had  been  eagerly  developing  their  land  and  marine 
forces  by  adopting  foreign  arms,  drill,  ships,  and  defences; 
every  friend  felt  the  uselessness  of  a  disastrous  conflict  at  this 
time  and  willingly  strove  to  prevent  any  such  result.  The  civili- 
zation of  all  parts  of  Foi-mosa  has  since  rapidly  advanced  by 
the  extension  of  tea  and  sugar  culture,  the  establishment  of 
Christian  missions,  and  the  better  treatment  of  the  native 
tribes.  A  single  incident  at  this  time  illustrated  the  undefined 
position  of  the  parties  in  this  dispute.  This  was  the  arrival 
in  Peking,  after  Okubo's  departure,  of  a  large  embassy  of  Lew- 
cliewans  to  make  their  homage  to  the  Emperor  Tungchi.  The 
Japanese  charge  d'affaires  was  denied  admittance  to  the  Lew- 
chewan  hotel,  and  the  Yamun  refused  to  dismiss  the  embassy, 
but  gave  it  an  audience,  as  was  the  usage  in  former  days — proba- 
bly the  last  in  their  history.  The  experience  acquired  by  these 
three  natioTis  in  their  quarrel  concerning  Formosa  has  not  pre- 
vented considerable  bitterness  aljout  their  rights  to  Lewchew. 

No  sooner  had  the  Chinese  government  escaped  from  the 
Japanese  imbroglio  by  the  payment  of  half  a  million  taels  than 
it  foiuid  itself  involved  in  another  and  more  troublesome  ques- 
tion with  the  British.  This  arose  from  the  persistent  attempts 
of  the  latter  to  open  a  trade  through  Burmah,  along  the  Irra- 
wadi  River,  with  Yunnan  and  other  south-western  parts  of 
China.  The  Indian  government  had  sent  or  encouraged  ex- 
plorers to  go  through  the  little  known  regions  lying  between 

'  h  Ahorif/inal  Formosa  a  part  of  tJie  Chinese  Empire?  with  eight  maps, 
folio,  Shangliai,  1874,  pp.  20.  Foirign  Relations  of  the  United  States  for  1873 
and  1.S74 — (  liina  and  Japan,  passim.  71ie  Japan  Herald  aud  North  China 
Herald  for  those  years  record  all  the  leading  events. 


MAJOR   SLADEN'S   MISSION    TO    YUNNAN.  719 

tlie  Brahmaputra  and  Lantsang  rivers,  but  no  ti-ade  could  be 
developed  in  so  wild  and  thinly  settled  a  region.  During  the 
Tai-ping  Rebellion  the  Emperor's  authority  in  Yunnan  had 
been  practically  in  abeyance,  and  over  the  western  half  of  the 
province  it  had  been  superseded  by  a  revolt  of  the  Panthays,  a 
Mohammedan  tribe  long  settled  in  that  region.  These  sectaries 
date  their  origin  from  the  Tang  dynasty,  and  had  been  gener- 
ally unmolested  by  the  Chinese  so  long  as  they  obeyed  the 
laws.  During  the  Mongol  sway  their  numbers  increased  so  that 
they  began  to  participate  in  the  government,  while  ever  since 
they  have  enjoyed  more  or  less  the  control  of  affairs.'  The 
differences  in  faith  and  practice,  however,  aided  in  keeping  them 
distinct ;  and  in  Yunnan  their  numbers  were  recruited  by  set- 
tlers from  Ivansuh  and  Koko-nor,  so  tliat  they  were  led  to 
throw  off  the  Chinese  rule  altogether. 

They  began  about  the  year  1855  to  defend  themselves  against 
the  imperialists,  captured  Tali  in  1857,  pushing  their  arms 
as  far  eastward  as  the  provincial  capital  Yunnan  fu,  which  was 
seized  and  held  for  a  brief  period  ;  but  in  1867  they  proclaimed 
Tu  Win-siu  as  their  Imam,  and  located  their  capital  in  Tali. 
With  affairs  in  this  condition  law  and  order  speedily  vanished, 
life  and  property  were  sacrificed,  and  general  misrule  furnished 
the  lawless  with  an  opportunity  to  burn,  kill,  and  destroy  until 
the  land  became  a  desert.  The  Panthays,  as  the  Burmese 
called  the  insurrectionists,  turned  their  hopes  westward  for 
succor,  and  to  this  end  endeavored  to  keep  open  the  trade  with 
Burmah  and  India,  but  under  the  circumstances  it  could  not 
flourish.  The  British  in  those  countries  were,  however,  quite 
ready  to  countenance,  if  not  aid,  the  new  ruler  at  Tali,  as  soon 
as  his  power  was  sufficiently  consolidated  to  keep  open  the  roads 
and  protect  traders. 

In  1868  a  party  was  ordered  to  proceed  to  this  city  and  "  dis- 
cover the  cause  of  the  cessation  of  trade  formerly  existing  by 
these  routes,  the  exact  position  held  by  the  Kakhyens,  Shans,  and 
Panthays  Avith  reference  to  that  traflic,  and  their  disposition  or 

'  Compare  Dr.  Anderson,  From  Mandalay  to  Momien,  p.  323.  Du  Halde, 
Hutoire,  Tome  I.,  p.  199.  Grosier,  China,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  270.  Gamier,  Voyaye 
d'Explaration,  Tome  I.    Cooper,  Travels  of  a  Pioneer  of  Commerce. 


720  THE   MIDDLE   KINGDOM. 

otherwise  to  resuscitate  it."  This  party,  iininberiiii;-  a  hnmlred 
in  all,  was  in  charge  of  Major  Sladen,  assisted  by  live  qualitied 
men,  and  guarded  by  an  escort  of  fifty  armed  police ;  its  object 
embraced  diplomacy,  engineering,  natural  science,  and  com- 
merce. Their  steamer  reached  IJliamo  January  22,  ISOS,  and 
the  party  began  their  travels  early  in  March,  arriving  after  nuicli 
delay  at  Momcin  (or  Tuiig-yueh  chau),  a  town  on  the  Taping 
River,  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  miles  from  Bhanio  and  about 
five  thousand  feet  above  the  sea.  Another  forced  delaj-  of  near]  ,• 
two  months  convinced  them  of  the  impossibility  of  their  getting 
to  Tali  (nearly  as  far  again) ;  in  face  of  the  determined  opposition, 
therefore,  both  of  the  hill  tribes  and  Chinese  traders.  Major 
Sladen  was  fain  to  retire  in  safety  to  Bhamo.  The  retreat  of 
this  anomalous  expedition  could  be  officially  ascribed  to  the 
weakness  of  the  Panthay  rulers,  the  wild  region  traversed,  and 
its  yet  wilder  inhabitants.  But  to  what  principles  of  justice  or 
equity  can  we  attribute  the  action  of  the  British  in  retaining 
their  minister  at  the  capital  of  an  Empire  Avhile  sending  a 
peaceful  mission  to  a  rebel  in  arms  at  its  boundaries  ?  This 
impertinence  seems  thinly  veiled  by  dubbing  the  expedition  one 
of  inquiry  concerning  trade ;  no  trade  did  or  could  exist  with 
an  ill-assorted  rabble  of  wild  mountaineers;  when  these  had 
been  duly  subjected  an  expedition  for  purposes  of  science  would 
meet  with  as  ready  assistance  from  the  authorities  as  did  that 
of  the  Frenchman,  Lieutenant  Garnier,  then  exploring  eastern 
Yunnan.  This  disregard  of  the  courtesies  and  i-ights  of  inde- 
pendent nations  refiects  as  little  credit  upon  the  powerful  luition 
which  used  her  strength  thus  unfairly  as  does  her  similar  at- 
tempt of  negotiating  with  another  rebel,  Yakub  Beg  in  Ili. 

Major  Sladen's  mission,  owing  to  the  admirable  qualities  of 
its  leader,  made  so  fair  an  impression  upon  the  natives  along 
his  route  that  upon  his  return  in  1873  his  progress  was  materi- 
ally assisted,  instead  of  retarded,  by  them  as  far  as  Momcin. 
In  the  years  intervening  the  Imam  at  Tali,  with  about  forty 
thousand  of  his  followers,  had  been  hemmed  in  by  the  Chinese 
forces  under  the  leadership  of  Li  Sieh-tai,  or  Brigadier  Li.  The 
Mohannnedans  felt  their  weakness  against  such  odds,  and  the 
80-called  Sultan  Suleiman  sent  his  son  Hassan  to  London  to 


SECOND    BRITISH    MISSION    TO    YUNNAX.  721 

implore  recognition  and  aid  from  tlie  British  government ;  but 
before  lie  returned  his  father  had  killed  himself  and  the  victo- 
rious Chinese  had  massacred  most  of  their  opponents  and  re- 
gained possession  of  the  whole  province  in  1873.  Its  western 
half  had  been  virtually  inde])endent  since  1855,  during  which 
period  the  wretchedness  of  the  inhabitants  had  greatly  reduced 
their  numbers  and  resources. 

Trade  soon  revived.  The  British  appointed  an  agent  to  reside 
at  Bhamo  and  learn  its  amount  and  character.  In  1874  an  ex 
pedition — this  time  provided  with  Chinese  passports — was 
planned  to  make  the  trip  across  China  from  Burmah  to  Han- 
kow, as  Lieutenant  Garnierhad  done  from  Saigon.  The  Chinese 
traders  in  Burmah  set  themselves  to  circumvent  it,  for  its  suc- 
cess boded  disaster  to  them,  as  they  better  knew  the  resources 
of  their  competitors.  The  British  plan  was  to  send  an  accred- 
ited agent  across  the  country  from  Hankow  to  Bhamo,  there  to 
meet  a  party  under  charge  of  Col.  Horace  Browne,  which  was 
to  "thoroughly  examine  the  capabilities  of  the  country  beyond 
Momein."  As  only  six  years  had  passed  since  Sladen's  party 
had  reached  that  town  on  its  way  to  the  Panthays  at  Tali,  there 
had  perhaps  been  hardly  time  to  remove  all  suspicion  among 
the  local  officials  about  the  objects  of  this  new  move.  One 
of  the  consular  clerks,  Augustus  R.  Margary,  was  furnished 
with  necessary  passports  and  instructions  from  her  Majesty's 
legation  to  go  to  Bhamo  and  act  as  Colonel  Browne's  guide  and 
interpreter.  His  journals  testify  that  no  better  choice  could  have 
been  made,  and  all  who  knew  him  were  hopeful  of  the  success 
of  this  young  man."  He  left  Hankow  September  2d  and  reached 
Bhamo  January  17th  without  molestation  or  accident,  having 
been  received  with  respect  by  all  Chinese  officials,  whom  the 
governor-general  of  Yunnan  had  required  thus  to  act.  While 
the  party  in  Bhamo  prepared  the  equipment  for  its  journey,  Dr. 
Anderson  observes  that  the  Chinese  "  watched  its  movements 
with  a  secret  feeling  that  the  objects  contemplated  were  somewhat 
beyond  the  peaceful  pursuits  of  commerce  and  scientific  inquiry.'" 

'  Journals  of  A.  R.  Margary,  edited  by  Sir  R.  Alcock,  London,  1877. 
-  The  report  was  also  circulated  that  the  party  was  going  to  lay  down  a  rail 
road. 


722  THE  MIDDLE  KINGDOM. 

Mr.  Margary  intimated  that  lie  thought  there  were  intrigues 
going  on  at  Manwyne  adverse  to  the  advance  of  the  mission  ;  but 
Brigadier  Li,  who  treated  liim  there  with  great  honor,  did  every 
thing  to  promote  his  journey  to  Bhamo. 

The  arrangements  as  to  routes  and  escorts  were  at  last  com- 
pleted so  far  as  to  allow  the  party  iinally  to  leave  Bhamo 
February  3, 1875  ;  it  numbered  nearly  fifty  persons  in  all,  together 
with  a  Burmese  guard  of  one  hundred  and  iifty.  The  rivalries  and 
deceptions  of  the  Ivakhyen  tribes  proved  to  be  worse  than  in  1868, 
and  progress  was  slower  from  the  difficulty  of  providing  animals 
for  transport.  By  the  18th  it  had  crossed  the  frontier,  and  the 
next  morning  Mr,  Margary  left,  with  five  Chinese,  for  Manwyne, 
to  arrange  there  for  its  reception  by  Brigadier  Li.  Increased 
dissensions  among  the  tribes  as  to  escort,  transport,  and  pay 
led  Colonel  Browne  to  push  on  after  him  with  a  guard  so  as  to 
reach  that  town  and  find  some  competent  authority  to  aid  his 
expedition.  Many  signs  of  serious  opposition  had  by  this  time 
manifested  themselves ;  and  when  he  was  preparing  to  start 
from  Seray  on  the  23d,  large  bodies  of  armed  men  were  seen 
on  the  opposite  hills  coming  to  attack  the  British.  A  Burmese 
messenger  also  arrived  from  Manwyne  with  letters  giving  an 
account  of  the  horrid  murder  of  Mr.  Margary  and  his  atten- 
dants by  the  treacherous  officials  there  on  the  20th,  The  Chi- 
nese soldiers  or  robbers  were  in  a  manner  repulsed  by  the 
bravery  of  Browne's  escort  and  by  firing  the  jungle,  but  the  ex- 
pedition was  in  face  of  too  powerful  an  opposition  to  contem- 
plate advancing  after  such  disasters.  The  return  to  Bhamo  was 
soon  made,  and  the  earnest  efforts  of  the  Burmese  officers  there 
to  recover  everything  beloi^ging  to  the  British  proved  their 
lionesty. 

The  disappointment  at  this  rebuff  was  exceeded  by  the  gen- 
eral indignation  at  tlie  treachery  which  marked  the  murder.  It 
was  soon  known'  that  J^i  Sieh-tai  was  not  at  Manwyne  at  tlie 
time,  though  the  real  actors  in  tlie  tragedy  l)el()nged  to  his  ainiy, 
and  must  have  made  him  cognizant  of  the  (IcmhI.' 

'  MiDiihild]!  to  Momien  :  A  Narratm'  of  Tiro  Krjmh't/ous  toWfufcrii  ('fii)ia, 
by  T)i  .lolm  Anderson,  contains  a  most  satisfactory  narrative  of  tlu'se  attempts; 
the  writer's  ojjinion  is  of  the  highest  value. 


MURDER   OF   MARGARY    AT   MANWYNE.  7:^3 

When  news  of  this  disaster  reached  London  and  Peking,  the 
British  minister  was  directed  to  deinand  an  investigation  of  tlie 
facts  connected  with  the  outrage  in  presence  of  a  British 
officer  in  Yunnan,  the  issue  by  the  Yaniun  of  fresh  passports 
for  a  new  mission,  and  an  indemnity.  After  montlis  of  dehiy 
and  correspondence  with  the  Yamun  Sir  Thomas  Wade,  the 
British  minister,  was  able  to  make  np  his  commission  and  des- 
patcli  it  from  Hankow,  November  5th,  for  Yunnan  f  u.  It  con- 
sisted of  the  Hon.  T.  G.  Grosvenor,  second  secretary  of  the 
legation,  and  Messrs.  Davenport  and  Baber  of  the  consular 
ser\"ice,  all  of  them  well  fitted  by  previous  training  for  attain- 
ing the  objects  of  their  expedition.  The  journey  was  per- 
formed in  company  with  a  Chinese  escort,  without  danger  or 
interference,  the  city  of  Yunnan  being  reached  in  March.  The 
gentlemen  found  the  provinces  through  which  they  travelled 
perfectly  at  peace,  and  the  Emperor's  authority  everywhere 
acknowledged — a  fact  extremely  creditable  to  the  Chinese  after 
more  than  twenty  years  of  civil  war. 

The  Chinese  appointed  to  condnct  the  inquiry  into  the 
murder,  in  connection  with  Mr.  Grosvenor,  was  Li  Han-chang, 
governor-general  at  Wuchang  and  brother  of  Li  Ilung-chang. 
He  Avas  long  in  making  the  journey,  but  the  two  began  their 
proceedings,  having  Sieh  II wan,  an  old  member  of  the  Yamun 
in  1864,  as  aid.  Those  who  had  any  experience  or  acquaint- 
ance with  similar  joint  commissions  in  China  anticipated  but 
one  result  from  it— an  entire  failure  in  proving  or  punishing 
the  guilty  parties ;  while  those  who  wish  to  see  their  character 
should  read  Mr.  Grosvenor's  various  reports  '  to  learn  how  slow 
are  the  advances  of  the  Chinese  in  truth-telling.  Nevertheless, 
such  an  investigation  had  some  prospective  benefit  in  that  the 
trouble  which  the  British  made  on  account  of  the  taking  of  one 
life  warned  the  officials  to  exercise  the  greatest  caution  in 
future.  In  this  preventive  aspect,  the  mission  doubtless  accom- 
plished more  than  can  be  estimated.  Mr.  Baber  is  sure  that 
Margary  was  killed  (and  his  opinion  is  entitled  to  great  respect) 
by  the  discontented  Chinese  trainbands  then  around  Manwyne— 

'  Rue  Book— China,  No.  1  (1876)  and  No.  3  (1877). 


724  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

a  lawless  set,  who  were  afterward  hunted  to  death.'  Tlie 
weight  of  evidence  obtained  at  Yunnan  fu  went  to  prove  that 
the  repulse  of  the  British  party  was  countenanced,  if  not 
planned,  by  the  governor-general,  and  carried  into  effect  w^ith 
the  cognizance  of  Brigadier  Li.  Amid  so  much  ii-reconcilable 
evidence,  the  inference  that  the  officers,  ch icily  by  so  doing,  in- 
tended to  prevent  the  extension  of  trade  by  the  British,  offers 
the  niost  adequate  explanation.  When  the  impoverished  con- 
dition of  Southwestern  China  is  remembered,  the  question 
arises,  Why  should  the  Indian  government  strive  to  open  a  trade 
where  industry  and  population  have  been  so  destroyed  ?  But 
the  expectation  that  thereby  a  greater  market  would  be  found 
for  its  opium  in  all  Western  China  is  a  sufficient  reason,  perhaps, 
for  undertaking  so  costly  an  experiment. 

Xo  sooner  had  Sir  Thomas  Wade  learned  of  Margary's 
death  than  he  impressed  upon  the  Chinese  government  the 
necessity  for  unremitting  and  vigorous  measures  toward  the 
arrest  and  punishment  of  the  guilty.  In  addition  to  what  has 
been  already  stated  concerning  this  reparation,  he  brought  for- 
ward some  other  matters  affecting  the  intercoui-se  between  the 
two  countries.  They  were  long  and  painfully  debated,  and 
those  agreed  on  were  embodied  in  a  convention  wdiich  was 
signed  l)y  himself  and  Li  Ilung-chang,  on  the  part  of  Great 
Britain  and  China,  September  13,  1870.  The  correspondence 
relating  to  this  convention  is  given,  with  its  text,  in  the  Parlia- 
mentary Bhie  Books,"  and  is  worth  perusal  by  all  Avho  M-ish  to 
learn  the  workings  of  the  Chinese  government. 

The  Yunnan  case  was  settled  by  inmiediate  payment  of  two 
hundred  thousand  taels  (.^280,000),  which  included  all  claims 
of  British  merchants  on  the  Chinese  government;  by  posting 
an  imperial  proclamation  in  the  cities  and  towns  throughout 
the  Empire  ;  by  sending  an  envoy  bearing  a  letter  of  regret  to 
Queen  Victoria  for  what   had   occurred  in  Yunnan ;  and  by 

'  Blue  Book—CMna,  No.  3,  1878.  Beport  of  Mr.  Baher  on  the  route  follovxd 
Inj  Mr.  (rrosveno7'^s  luvmion  between  Tali  fit,  and  Moinein.  Reprinted,  with  his 
other  interesting  travels  and  researches  in  Western  Cliina,  in  Supplementary 
Papers,  Vol.  I.,  Part  1,  1882,  of  Roi/.  fM)f/.  Sor.,  London. 

^Bluc  Book— China,  No.  1  (1876)  and  No.  3  (1877). 


THE   CTIIFTT    CONVENTION.  725 

stationing  Untisli  officers  at  Tali  or  elsewhere  in  that  province 
to  "observe  the  conditions  of  trade."  The  proclamation'  was 
posted  very  widely  (three  thonsand  copies  in  Kiangsu  province 
alone),  and  through  it  the  people  learned  that  the  safety  of  all 
foreigners  travelling  through  their  countrj^  was  guaranteed  by  the 
Emperor.  Other  matters  agreed  upon  in  this  convention  were 
the  manner  of  official  intercourse  between  native  and  foreign 
officers  at  Peking  and  the  ports,  so  that  perfect  equality  might 
be  shown ;  the  better  administration  of  justice  in  criminal 
cases  between  their  respective  sul)jects,  every  such  case  being 
tried  by  the  official  of  the  defendant's  nationality,  while  the 
plaintiffs  official  could  always  be  present  to  watch  proceedings ; 
the  extension  of  trade  by  opening  four  new  ports  as  consular 
stations,  and  six  on  the  Yangtsz'  River  for  landing  goods,  with 
other  regulations  as  to  opium,  transit,  and  U-km  taxes  on  goods  ; 
and  lastly,  the  appointment  of  a  joint  commission  to  establish 
some  system  that  should  enable  the  Chinese  government  to 
protect  its  revenue  without  prejudice  to  the  junk  trade  of 
Hongkong. 

This  final  article  might  well  have  been  omitted.  The  conces- 
sions and  advantages  in  it  accrued  to  the  British,  and  through 
them  also  measurably  to  other  nationalities.  But  while  the 
Chinese  under  the  circumstances  had  no  right  to  complain 
of  paying  heavily  for  Margary's  life,  it  was  manifestly  unfair 
to  cripple  their  commerce  by  sheltering  Hongkong  smugglers 
under  promise  of  a  commission  which  could  never  honestly 
agree.  In  order  to  better  understand  the  British  minister's 
views  regarding  the  political  and  commercial  bearing  of  his 
convention,  the  reader  is  referred  to  his  labored  minute  of  July 
1-1,  1877,'  in  which  the  fruits  of  thirty-five  years  of  official  ex- 
perience in  ('hina  impart  much  value  to  his  opinions.  The 
singular  mixture  of  advice,  patronizing  decisions,  and  varied 
knowledge  running  through  the  M^hole  i-ender  the  paper  ex- 
tremely interesting.  The  Chinese  historian  of  the  next  century 
will  read  with  wonder  the  implied  responsibility  of  the  British 
minister  for  the  conduct  of  the  Empire  in  its  foreign  manage- 

'  Blue  R)ok—Chm<i,  No.  3  (1877).  "^  Ihid  ,  pp.  111-147. 


726  thp:  middle  kingdom. 

meiit,  and  the  enormous  development  of  the  principle  of  ex-ter 
ritorialitv  so  as  to  cover  almost  every  action  of  every  British 
subject.  He  may  also  be  instructed  by  this  proof  of  the  igno- 
rance and  fears  of  the  former  rulers,  as  well  as  their  conceit 
and  hesitation  in  view  of  their  wants  and  backwardness  to  cope 
with  the  advancing  age.  lie  must  acknowledge,  too,  that  the 
sharj)  and  prolonged  discussion  of  eighteen  months  between  Sir 
Thomas  and  the  Yamun  was  one  of  the  most  protitable  exer- 
cises in  political  science  the  high  officers  of  Peking  ever  had  al- 
lowed them. 

Since  the  convention  of  Chifu  the  progress  of  China  at  home 
and  abroad  has  been  the  best  evidence  of  an  improved  adminis- 
tration. The  reign  of  Hienfung  ended  in  1861,  with  the  pres- 
tige, resources,  and  peace  of  the  realm  he  had  so  miserably 
governed  reduced  to  their  lowest  ebb.  During  the  twelve  years 
of  his  son's  nominal  regime,  the  face  of  affairs  had  quite  changed 
for  the  better.  Peace  and  regular  government  had  been  for  the 
most  part  resumed  throughout  the  Eighteen  Provinces,  and  even 
to  the  extreme  western  frontier  of  Ivashgar  and  Kuldja.  The 
people  were  returning  to  their  desolated  villages,  while  their 
rulers  did  what  they  could  to  promote  agriculture  and  trade. 
The  young  Emperor  gave  small  promise  of  beconung  a  wise  or 
efficient  ruler  ;  and  when  he  died  (January  12,  1875)  it  was  felt 
that  an  effigy  only  had  passed  away,  and  no  change  would  ensue 
in  the  administration.  In  the  question  of  selecting  his  inheritor 
were  involved  some  curious  features  of  Chinese  customs.  It 
is  a  rule  that  the  succession  to  the  Lung-wei,  or  '  Dragon's 
Seat,'  cannot  pass  to  the  preceding  generation,  since  this  would 
involve  the  worship  of  a  lower  or  younger  generation  by  an 
older  one.  The  line  of  Jlienfung  died  out  in  his  childless  son  ; 
the  eldest  of  his  brothers  had,  as  we  have  seen,  been  made  pos- 
thumous heir  of  an  uncle  in  1854,  consequently  his  son,  Pu-lun, 
was  ineligible.  The  elevation  of  Prince  Kung's  son  Tsai-ching 
to  be  Emperor  was  in  the  highest  degree  inexpedient,  as  this 
would  necessitate  the  retirement  of  his  father  from  active  par- 
ticipation in  the  govermnent,  arising  from  their  relationship  of 
father  and  s(mi.  The  next  eligible  candidate,  Tsai-tien,  a  child 
of  Prince  Chun — the  seventh  son  of  Taukwang — born  August  15j 


ACCESSION   OF   THE   EMPEROR   K^\'ANGS^j.  727 

1871,  was  unanimously  chosen  by  the  Empresses  dowager  and 
assembled  princes  of  the  Manchu  Imperial  Clan.  His  parents 
were  brother  and  sister  of  those  of  his  predecessors,  while  the 
same  regency  had  been  reappointed,  so  that  his  tender  age  in- 
volved neitlier  difficulty  nor  alteration  during  the  minority. 
He  took  the  reign-name  of  Kwang-sl'i.,  or  '  Illustrious  Succes- 
sion,' having  reference  to  the  disturbance  in  the  regular  de- 
scent. By  this  arrangement  the  same  general  set  of  officials 
was  continued  on  the  government,  and  the  risk  to  its  peaceful 
working  from  the  freaks  of  Tungchi  avoided.' 

A  most  notable  event  during  the  last  decade  has  been  the  re- 
covery of  the  vast  regions  of  the  Tarim  Valley  to  the  imperial 
sway.  Their  loss  took  place  during  the  early  part  of  the 
Tai-ping  Rebellion,  beginning  in  Kansuh,  where  the  discontent- 
ed Moslem  population,  aided  by  the  reckless  and  seditious  of 
all  clans,  arose  and  drove  out  the  governmental  minions  even  to 
the  eastern  side  of  Shensi.  Of  this  extended  revolt  little  is 
known  in  the  west  save  the  name  of  its  figure-head  and  leading 
character  under  whose  mastery  it  culminated  and  succumbed. 

The  famous  Yakub  Beg,  whom  the  jealous  attentions  of  both 
England  and  Russia  had  united  in  raising  to  the  rank  of  a  hero, 
commenced  his  militarv  career  as  lieutenant  of  Buzuro;  khan, 
a  son  of  the  notable  Jehangir,  kojeh  of  Ivokand.  By  the 
year  1866  the  energetic  lieutenant  had  made  way  with  his  licen- 
tious and  cowardly  chief,  and  possessed  himself  of  a  large  part 
of  Western  Kashgaria  ;  then,  turning  his  attention  to  the  rebel- 
lious Dunganis  north  of  him,  a  series  of  vigorous  campaigns 
ended  in  leaving  him  undisputed  ruler  of  all  Tien- Shan  Nan 
Lu.  These  conquests  over,  hordes  of  neighboring  rebels  nmst 
now  be  recognized  as  fatal  errors  in  the  policy  of  Yakub.  The 
Atalik  Gliazi,  or  '  Champion  Father'  as  he  was  now  called, 
had  not  only  attracted  the  distrust  of  Russia — manifested  in 
their  taking  of  Kuldja  from  the  Dunganis  before  his  approach 
was  possible — but  in  annihilating  other  Moslem  insurrectionists, 

'  The  Eastern  Empress-dowager,  the  legal  widow  of  Hienfung,  whose  only 
child,  a  daughter,  died  early  in  1875,  followed  her  to  the  grave  in  1881,  leav- 
ing the  regency  with  her  coadjutor,  the  Empress  An,  aided  by  Prince  Kung 


728  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

Iiad  constituted  liimself  an  avenger  of  Chinese  wrongs,  and 
prepared  the  way  of  his  own  enemies  whenever  the  terrible  day 
of  reckoning  siiould  come. 

The  attempt  on  the  part  of  China  to  restore  its  prestige  in  a 
territory  where  every  hand  was  tm-ned  against  her  seemed 
indeed  liopeless.  Her  exhausted  resources,  her  constant  fear 
of  tlie  foreigners  within  lier  gates,  her  suspicions  of  Russia, 
the  immense  distances  to  be  traversed,  seemed  to  unite  every 
factor  against  her  success.  Nevertlieless,  by  1871  symptoms  of 
disorganization  began  ah-eady  to  appear  among  tlie  rebels,  wliile 
in  the  wishes  of  the  common  people  for  a  strong  power  to  in- 
sure order  and  encourage  trade  Tso  Tsung-tang,  the  Chinese 
general,  found  both  assistance  and  men. 

A  moment's  attention  to  the  relations  l)etwecn  the  Chinese 
and  Mohammedans  of  this  region  will  throw  much  light  on 
their  contest.  Since  their  conquest  by  Kienlung,  the  inhabitants 
of  Eastern  Turkestan  had  enjoyed  an  unexampled  period  of 
tranquillity  and  prosperous  trade.  The  Chinese,  known  as 
Kitai,  settled  in  their  cities  and  brought  a  degree  of  wealth 
and  civilization  far  ahead  of  anything  previously  known,  wliile 
the  rulers,  or  ambans,  joined  to  their  duties  as  administrators  of 
justice  a  fostering  care  of  trade  routes  and  methods  for  develop- 
ing the  country.  They  have  at  all  times  been  celebrated  for 
irrigating  their  provinces,  and  now  reproduced  their  wonderful 
canals  (says  Boulger)  "  even  in  this  outlying  dependency. 
Eastern  Turkestan  is  one  of  the  worst-watered  regions  in  the 
world.  In  fact  there  is  only  a  belt  of  fertile  country  around 
the  Yarkand  lliver,  stretching  away  eastward  along  the  slopes 
of  the  Tien  Shan  as  far  as  Ilanii.  The  few  snudl  rivers  which 
are  traced  here  and  there  across  the  map  are  during  many 
months  of  the  year  dried  up,  and  even  the  Yai'kand  then 
becomes  an  insignificant  stream.  To  remedy  this,  and  to 
husband  the  supply  as  much  as  possible,  the  Chinese  sunk  dikes 
in  all  directions.  By  this  means  the  cultivated  country  was 
slowly  but  sui-ely  spi'cad  over  a  great  extent  of  territory,  and 
the  vicinity  of  the  three  cities  of  Kashgar,  Yangi  llissar,  and 
Yarkand  ])e('ame  known  as  the  garden  of  Asia.  Corn  and  fruit 
grew  in  abundance,  and  from  Yarkand  to  the  south  of  the  Tien 


TAKUB   BEG   AND   THE   REVOLT   IX   TURKESTAN.  729 

Shan  the  traveller  could  pass  through  one  endless  orchard.  On 
all  sides  he  saw  nothing  but  plenty  and  content,  peaceful  ham- 
lets and  smiling  inhabitants.  These  were  the  outcome  of  a 
Chinese  domination."  ' 

In  addition  to  the  fields  and  rivers,  mines  were  worked,  moun- 
tain passes  cut  and  kept  in  repair,  and  the  internal  government 
of  tribes  placed  on  an  equable  basis.  As  to  the  precise  manner 
in  Nvliich  discontent  and  rebellion  crept  into  this  apparently 
happy  territory,  it  must  always  remain  a  matter  of  conjecture. 
The  customs  of  its  inhabitants  have  for  ages  been  based  on  the 
tribal  principle  to  such  an  extent  that  they  found  it  impossible 
to  assimilate  with  the  Chinese  and  their  methodical  government, 
even  though  for  their  advantage  to  do  so.  The  repeated  failures 
of  the  United  States  to  introduce  a  certaindegree  of  civiliza- 
tion among  the  Indians  present  an  analogous  case.  Uneasiness 
among  the  natives  caused  by  agents  from  Kokand  and  Tash- 
kend  was  speedily  followed  by  larger  demands  from  turbulent 
Mussulmans,  who  saw  in  Chinese  moderation  an  evidence  of 
weakness  and  decline.  Jehangir's  rebellion  not  unjustly  in- 
censed a  government  which  had  devoted  more  than  half  a 
century  to  the  building  up  of  a  shattered  State,  and  was  punished 
with  merciless  rigor.  Oppression  from  the  Chinese  met  by 
resistance,  equitable  rule  alternating  with  weakness  and  in- 
jusjtice,  trade  impeded  by  illegal  imports,  ambitious  Usbeck 
chiefs  exciting  their  tribes  to  rise  against  their  conquerors — 
these  and  similar  causes  had  been  at  work  to  prevent  all  per- 
manent progress  in  Turkestan. 

During  the  lowest  ebb  of  JSIanchu  authority  in  the  Empire, 
when  foreigners  and  Tai-pings  were  straining  the  utmost  re- 
sources of  the  government  in  the  East,  a  small  village  of  Kan- 
suh  was  the  scene  of  a  sudden  riot.  AVhen  after  two  days 
couriers  brought  word  that  the  disturbance  was  quelled  with 
some  loss  of  life,  the  authorities  began  to  suppose  that  the  affair 
had  already  been  forgotten ;  but  it  proved  to  be  the  fuse  that 
lighted  an  outbreak  scarcely  smaller  than  the  other  civil  war 


'  Life  of  Yakoob  Beg,  London,  1878,  p.  59.     See  also  R.  B.  Shaw,  Visiti  to 
High  Tartary,  Yarkand,  and  Kashgar,  London,  1871,  Chaps.  II.  and  III. 


730  THE    MIDDLE    KIN(iDOM. 

within  the  provinces.'  The  Dunganis  had  arisen  and  spreaa 
the  infection  of  revolt  wlierever  they  existed — over  hirge  districts 
«^tf  Slieiisi,  but  principally  toward  the  west,  to  Turfan,  Ivuche. 
and  Aksu — continuing  the  weary  story  of  surpi-ise,  slaugh- 
ter, and  barbarity  even  to  the  city  of  Knldja.'  Allying  with 
themselves  the  Tarantchi,  a  sort  of  fellah  class  which  the  Chinese 
had  imported  into  the  regions  from  Kashgar,  the  victorious 
rebels  established  one  of  those  ephemeral  governments  over  the 
Tien  Shan  and  its  adjoining  valleys  that  have  so  frequently 
arisen  in  the  history  of  Central  Asia.  Under  their  rule  ti'avel 
beyond  the  Kia^'ii  Pass  was  of  course  impossible,  while  trade 
diminished  throughout  the  conntry,  and  Russia,  as  we  have  seen, 
wrested  Knldja  from  Abul  Oghlan  in  order  to  secnre  her  own 
borders.  The  first  sei'ious  check  received  by  this  confederation 
Avas  its  virtnal  overthrow,  when  Yakub  advanced  npon  Aksu 
and  from  thence  cleared  the  great  road  eastward  to  Tnrfan. 

Tso's  first  labor,  then,  was  to  clear  Shensi  and  Kansuh  of  the 
rebels,  in  which  his  progress  was  marked  by  admirable  fore- 
sight and  energy  in  disposition  of  men,  arrangement  of  conrier 
service,  and  use  of  modern  arms.  Establishing  himself  by  1876 
in  Barknl  and  Ilami  as  headcpiarters,  by  the  following  spring 
he  was  prepared  for  a  concerted  movement  from  the  north 
(Gutchen  and  Urumtsi)  and  east  (Pidshan)  npon  '^'akub  l>eg  at 
Turfan.  The  redoubtable  chieftain  was  finally  caught  by  the 
tardy  but  certain  power  which  he  had  long  despised  with  im- 
punity, and  driven  backward  through  the  towns  of  Toksnn  and 
llarashar  to  Tvorla,  where  he  died  or  was  murdered,  May,  1877. 
During  this  and  the  following  years  the  governor-general  suc- 
ceeded in  reinstating  the  authority  which  had  been  in  abeyance 
nearly  a  score  of  years.  His  army  under  two  able  generals  ad- 
vanced along  the  parallel  roads  north  and  south  of  the  Tien 
Shan,  punishing  the  rebels  without  mercy,  while  "  the  Moham- 


'  *'  It  is  impossible  not  to  connect  this  event  in  some  degree  witli  that  unac- 
countable revival  among  Mohammedans,  which  lias  produced  so  many  impor- 
tant events  during  the  last  thirty  years,  and  of  which  we  are  now  witnessing 
some  of  the  most  striking  results. " — Boulger.  Life  of  Yakooh  li'f/,  p.  95. 

"^  Which  fell  in  January,  18C0,  after  the  Chinese  governor  had  destroyed  him- 
self and  his  citadel  by  gunpowder. 


THE   REBELLION    SUPPUESSED.  731 

niedaiis  who  submitted  themselves  were  perm'.lfc<\  to  revert  to 
their  peaceful  avocations."  '  When  upon  the  desert  the  troops 
were  provisioned  from  Russian  territory,  but  during  the  early 
3'ears  of  the  campaign  it  appears  that  the  soldiers  were  made  to 
till  the  ground  as  well  as  construct  fortifications.  The  history  of 
the  advance  of  tliis  "  agricultural  army  "  would,  if  thoroughly 
known,  constitute  one  of  the  most  renuirkable  militarj'  achieve- 
ments in  the  annals  of  any  modern  country.^ 

A¥ith  the  fall  of  Kashgar  (December  17,  1877)  the  reconquest 
was  practically  completed,  though  Yarkand  and  the  neighbor- 
ing towns  held  out  some  months  longer,  at  the  end  of  which 
the  chiefs  of  the  Moslem  movement  had  either  fled  to  Ferghana 
or  succumbed  in  the  light.  The  Chinese  now  turned  their  at- 
tention to  the  occupation  of  Kuldja,  and  sent  Chunghow  in 
December,  1878,  to  St.  Petersburg  upon  a  mission  relating  to  its 
restoration.  The  envoy  needed,  indeed,  but  to  remind  the  Czar 
of  Russian  promises  made  in  Peking  in  1871  concerning  the 
prompt  retrocession  of  the  occupied  territory  when  China  should 
have  reasserted  her  authority  in  those  regions ;  but  neither 
European  nor  Oriental  diplomats  seemed  to  regard  the  city 
"held  in  trust  for  China  by  t\e  Russian  government"  as  in 
the  least  likely  to  return  to  the  :lominion  of  the  Ilwangtl,  while 
many  were  persuaded  that  Rm  sia  would  resort  to  arras  before 
surrendering  one  of  the  most  prosperous  of  her  possessions  in 
order  to  keep  a  rash  promise.^ 

Chunghow — whose  capacity  had  been  in  some  degree  tested 
in  the  Tientsin  riot — was  hardly  the  best  choice  for  envoy  even 
among  the  still  ignorant  officers  at  Peking,  inasmuch  as  to  the 
seemingly  apparent  defect  of  an  unusually  Boeotian  tempera- 
ment was  added  a  profound  ignorance  of  any  European  lan- 
guage, of  modern  methods  of  diplomacy,  and  of  the  topography 
of  the  territory  in  question.     It  is  almost  needless  to  add  that 

'  Peking  Gazette. 

«  TJie  Spectator,  April  13,  1878,  Pall  Mall  Gazette,  June,  1878,  and  London 
Times,  November,  1878.     Boiilger,  Life  of  Yalvol)  Bn/,  Chaps.  XII. -XIV. 

^  For  an  excellent  illustration  of  the  prevailing  sentiment  on  this  question, 
even  after  Chunghow's  embassy,  see  Mr.  D.  C.  Boulger  in  tVaner's  Magazine 
fcr  August,  1680,  p.  104. 


732  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

such  an  enil)assy  was  ill-prepared  to  cope  with  the  astute  diplo 
niatists  of  an  eager  court,  or  that  it  speedily  fell  a  prey  to  the 
designs  upon  it.  A  treaty  of  eighteen  articles  was  signed  at 
Livadia  yielding  a  portion  of  the  Kuldja  district  to  China,  llus- 
sia  retaining,  however,  the  fruitful  valley  of  the  Tekes  lliver,  all 
the  more  important  strategic  strongholds  and  passes  in  the  Tien 
Shan,  and  the  city  of  Yarkand ;  China,  moreover,  to  pay  as  in- 
denmity  five  million  rubles  for  the  cost  of  occupying  Kuldja. 
Other  important  concessions,  such  as  a  trade  route  from  Hankow 
through  Suhchau  to  Kuldja  and  Siberia,  the  opening  to  llus- 
sian  caravans  of  thirty-six  frontier  stations,  the  moditication  of 
the  Kashgarian  frontier,  the  arming  of  Muscovite  merchants, 
and  the  navigation  of  the  Songari  Rivei-,  were  apparently  added 
to  this  compact  according  as  the  Russians  increased  their  ex- 
perience of  the  "  gullability  "  of  these  remarkable  ambassadors. 

Even  officers  of  the  Czar's  army,  in  referring  afterward  to 
this  treaty,  were  prone  to  add  to  their  remarks  some  measure 
of  apology.  When  in  January,  1880,  Chunghow  returned 
home  with  the  unwise  and  humiliating  document  in  his  posses- 
sion, he  could  not  have  felt  wholly  certain  of  a  triumphant  recep- 
tion. Nevertheless  it  is  not  likel}^  that  the  luckless  ambassador 
contemplated  being  at  once  deprived  by  imperial  edict  of  all  his 
offices  and  turned  over  to  a  board  for  trial  and  punishment. 
Statesmen  of  both  ])arties  joined  in  denouncing  him,  Li  Ilung- 
chang  and  Tso  alike  presenting  memorials  to  the  same  effect, 
while  a  flood  of  petitions  more  or  less  fierce  poured  upon  the 
govei'ument  from  mandarins  of  all  ranks.  On  the  2Sth  the 
returned  envoy  was  cashiered  for  having  signed  away  territory 
and  promised  indemnity  without  special  authorization,  and  in 
punisliment  was  sentenced  to  decapitation.  The  actoi's  in  this 
movement,  which  upon  the  manifestation  of  such  prompt  and 
furious  measures  assumed  the  phase  of  an  intrigue  of  the  war 
party,  were  Tso  and  Prince  Chung,  who  seized  upon  the  popular 
wrath  as  an  opportune  moment  for  a  master  stroke  against 
Prince  Kung. 

With  the  appearance  of  danger  such  as  this  the  party  in 
power  recoiled  at  once  from  its  angry  ])Osition,  depreciated  the 
highly  bellicose  tone  of  court  officials,  and  accepted  the  good 


NEGOTIATIONS  RESPECTING  THE  CESSION  OF  KULDJA.    733 

offices  of  the  foreign  ministers  who  j(»ine(l  in  [)rotesting  against 
the  unworthy  treatment  of  Chunghow  and  the  monstrous  bar- 
barity of  his  sentence.  Possibly  the  tcm[)erance  (»f  Russia's 
attitude  in  demanding  the  uncoiuiitiunal  pardon  of  ( ■liunghow 
before  consenting  to  receive  a  second  ambassador — the  Marquis 
Tsang,  minister  to  Enghmd,  ah-eady  appointed — materially 
aided  in  quieting  the  storm.  Fortunately,  tuo,  amid  the  rumors 
of  a  resort  to  arms  and  manifest  preparations  of  the  palace 
discontents  to  force  an  issue,  Colonel  Gordon  visited  the  capital, 
and  in  a  connnunication  to  Governor  Li  pointed  out  the  folly  of 
attempting  a  foreign  conflict  and  the  peculiar  dangers  in  over- 
whelming, by  courting  a  certain  defeat,  the  great  benefits  which 
nnist  come  to  the  Chinese  army  by  its  gradual  reorganization 
upon  modern  methods.  "Potentially,"  said  this  unpalatable 
but  honest  critic,  "you  are  perhaps  invincible,  but  the  outcome 
of  this  premature  war  will  show  you  to  be  vulnerable  at  a  thou- 
sand points."  Counsels  such  as  these  carried  unusual  weight 
as  coming  from  a  man  whom  all  parties  in  China  respected  and 
admired  ;  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  it  sensibly  decreased 
the  war  feeling,  and  possibly  proN^ented  the  country  from  rush- 
ing to  certain  disaster. 

Chunghow  was  accordingly  reprieved,  and  in  June  of  this 
year  set  free.  The  intelligence  and  experience  of  Tsang' 
proved  an  acceptable  contrast  to  his  ^predecessor's  unguarded 
conduct,  and  resulted  in  an  agreement  (May  15th)  on  the  part  of 
the  Czar's  negotiators  to  recede  nearly  the  whole  of  the  con- 
tested district,  excepting  a  narrow  strip  upon  its  western  edge 
for  purposes  of  colonization  or  retreat  for  those  inhabitants  of 
III  who  preferred  to  remain  under  Russian  control.'     In  return 

'  Upon  his  return  to  China  the  marquis  published  his  diary,  some  portions 
of  which  have  found  their  way  into  tlie  China  Review  (Vol.  XI.,  p.  135)  and 
are  extremely  interesting  as  the  outspoken  opinion  of  an  appreciative  and 
enlightened  Chinese  gentleman. 

'-'  Precisely  tlie  extent  of  this  strip  depends  upon  the  exact  definition  of  the 
boundary  here  under  Taukwang.  The  present  line  is  laid  down  in  that  por- 
tion of  the  new  treaty  quoted  in  Volume  I.,  p.  218  ;  the  territory  forms  apjirox- 
imately  a  wedge  whose  a])ex  is  in  the  Ala  Tau  Mountains,  and  whose  base, 
about  three  degrees  south  of  this  point,  lies  against  the  crest  of  the  Tien  Shan. 
It  meets  the  old  boundary  at  the  Muzart  (or  Muz-daban)  Pass.     Since  the  treaty 


734  TIIK    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

"for  military  expenses  incurred  by  Ilnssia  in  lu>](Iing  and  pro 
teeting  Ili  on  belialf  of  China  since  the  year  1871,  and  in  satis- 
faction of  all  claims  by  Russian  merchants  for  losses  previonsiy 
suffered  by  pillage  within  Chinese  territory,  and  by  Russians 
who  have  suffered  outrage,"  the  Chinese  agreed  to  pay  nine 
million  roubles.  This  appears  to  have  been  less  repugnant  to 
oriental  diplomacy  than  live  millions  in  acknowledgment  of 
getting  back  their  borrowed  property.  As  for  the  other  points, 
the  treaty  does  not  seem  to  have  been  greatly  altered,  save  in 
the  Songari  River  and  other  more  vexatious  clauses.  This  treaty 
was  ratified  August  19,  1881. 

From  domestic  wars  and  political  complications,  the  influ- 
ences of  which  have  hai'dly  as  yet  disappeared  fi'om  our  morning 
newspapers,  our  attention  must  be  turned  to  the  yet  sadder 
spectacle  of  famine  and  pestilence.  The  occasional  notices  of  a 
great  scarcity  of  food  in  Xorthwestern  China  which  drifted  into 
the  news  items  of  western  countries  may  still  remain  within  the 
memory  of  many;  those,  however,  who  live  under  the  ascen- 
dancy of  occidental  institutions  can  with  difficulty  appreciate,from 
any  mere  description  of  this  scourge,  its  immense  influence  as  a 
factor  in  removing  somewhat  the  suspicions  of  the  ignorant  and 
apathetic  Chinese  against  their  fellow-men  in  other  lands.  The 
sympathies  and  chai'ities  of  the  Chi-istian  world,  as  called  forth 
by  this  terrible  visitation,  were  more  effectual  in  making  accept- 
able the  distasteful  presence  of  foreigners  within  their  cities 
than  had  been  the  miited  influence  of  two  wars  and  a  half- 
century  of  trade,  diplonuicy,  and  social  intercourse. 

The  Great  Famine  of  1878  was  in  some  measure  foretold 
over  Sliansi  and  Shensi  by  the  decreasinir  rainfall  of  the  four 
])revious  years.  The  peculiar  nature  of  this  loess-covered 
region,  and  its  absolute  dependence  for  fertility  upon  a  suffi- 
cient supply  of  moisture,  has  been  pointed  out  in  another  chap- 
ter of  this  woj-k.  Here,  then,  and  in  Shantung  the  mission- 
aries of  all  denomiiuitions  were  called  upon  to  organize  methods 

strenuous  efforts  have  been  made  by  the  officers  of  both  nationalities  stationed 
tliere  to  entice  the  U.sbeck,  Kirghis,  and  Diinganis  of  the  region  to  settle  per 
manently  on  their  side  of  the  boundary. 


THE  GEEAT  FAMINE   OF   1878.  735 

of  relief  as  early  as  the  summer  of  1877.  By  the  opening  of 
the  following  spring  a  central  committee  in  Shanghai  and  their 
agents  in  Chifu  and  Tientsin — all  Protestant  and  Roman  Cath- 
olic missionaries — had  put  forth  so  great  energy  in  their  Avell- 
directed  efforts  as  to  gain  the  zealous  co-operation  of  Li  Iluug- 
chang,  governor-general  of  Cliihli,  and  active  countenance  of 
the  rulers  and  gentry  in  otlier  provinces.  "At  the  beginning 
of  their  labors,"  writes  the  secretary  of  the  committee,  "  the 
distributors  were  received  with  a  degree  of  prejudice  and  sus- 
picion which  utterly  frustrated  any  attempt  to  prosecute  the 
work.  They  were  supposed  to  have  sinister  objects  in  view, 
and  not  only  was  their  charity  refused,  but  they  were  even  in 
innninent  danger  of  their  lives.  It  required  the  utmost  careful- 
ness on  their  part  to  carry  on  their  operations  with  any  degree 
of  success.  They  were  urged  to  act  in  a  way  that  contemplated 
the  speedy  exhaustion  of  their  funds  and  their  evacuation  of 
the  pla-ce.  So  far  as  we  can  ascertain,  however,  the  distribu- 
tors conducted  themselves  in  a  most  connnendable  manner, 
and  after  a  time  at  least  bore  dow^n  the  ill-will  and  aspersions 
of  all  classes,  changing  their  sentiments  and  feelings  of  doubt 
and  distrust  into  those  of  the  deepest  gratitude  and  respect,  so 
that  they  are  now  regarded  as  the  very  saviours  of  the  people."  ' 
After  the  experience  of  some  weeks  in  the  destitute  regions, 
it  was  found  that  only  the  strictest  adherence  to  a  business  sys- 
tem of  distribution  could  be  attended  with  any  mitigation  of  the 
evil.  Tickets  representing  certain  amounts  of  money  were  given 
to  the  houses  of  each  community  which  appeared  on  the  cata- 
logues of  needy  families  furnished  by  village  elders.  Food  being 
plenty  in  the  south,  the  means  of  transportation  and  storage 
during  distribution  constituted  the  chief  labor  of  those  con- 
cerned in  this  work.  When  brought  to  the  starving  settlements, 
grain  was  promptly  doled  out  in  exchange  for  the  tickets,  and 
to  the  lasting  credit  of  the  Chinese  character  it  must  here  be  no- 
ticed that  not  a  single  raid  upon  the  provisions  or  resort  to  force 
in  any  way  has  been  recorded  of  these  famished  multitudes. 


'  Rev.  W.  Muirliead,  in  Report  oftlie  Cliina  Famine  Relief  Fund,  Shanghai, 
1879,  p.  4. 


736  THE   MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

That  good-will,  affection,  an]  gratitude  should  take  the  place 
of  the  old  mistrust  under  these  conditions  was  niOst  natural.' 
Xevertheless  the  terrors  of  their  experiences  in  this  awful  time 
were  hardly  lightened  by  this  cheering  aspect  of  the  curse. 
Misery  and  desolation  such  as  this  overwhehned  every  other 
sentiment  save  that  of  compassion.  The  visitor  was  often  met 
hy  the  solitary  remnant  of  a  large  household,  to  hear  from  him 
a  harrowing  recital  of  suffering  and  death,  fitted  to  shock  the 
most  callous  of  humanity.  Again,  he  would  come  upon  the 
corpse  of  one  recently  fallen  in  the  vain  effort  to  walk  to  a 
neighboring  town,  and  about  it  a  lazy  pack  of  wolves  squatting 
— gorged  and  stupid  from  the  fulness  of  many  ghastly  meals. 
At  other  times  a  silent  dwelling  might  be  found  giving  shelter 
only  to  the  cadaverous  bodies  of  its  former  inmates  ;  or  anon  a 
ruined  house  would  tell  M'here  the  timbers  had  been  plucked 
out  and  sold  for  a  little  bread.  Of  the  last  extreme  of  famine, 
caimibalism,  which  cropped  out  here  and  there,  but  which  in 
most  cases  met  with  instant  punishment  when  discovered,  it  is 
hardly  necessary  to  add  notice  or  description.  The  remarkable 
patience  under  suffering  exhibited  by  the  people  made  their 
relief  compai'utively  easy,  though  the  despair  which  had  rendered 
them  insensible  to  excitement  or  violence  often  prevented  their 
recuperation  from  the  fever  and  plague  which  laid  hold  upon  their 
weakened  bodies  even  after  plenty  had  returned  to  the  land. 

In  their  report  the  connnittee  at  Shanghai  acknowledge 
Tls.  204,560  as  having  passed  through  their  hands,  while  about 
as  much  more  may  safely  be  said  to  have  been  otherwise  ex- 
pended by  foreigners  for  the  relief  of  the  sufferers."  The 
Chinese  government  furnished  food  and  supplies  amounting  to 

'  A  notable  exception  to  this  universal  sentiment  of  kindliness  was  exhibited 
among  the  officials  and  gentry  of  Kaifung,  the  capital  of  Honan,  in  which  city 
foreigners  were  to  the  last  forbidden  to  remain,  or  even  to  carry  on  their  work 
in  the  environs. 

'•'  About  $22,070  were  subscribed  in  the  United  States— which  does  not  in- 
clude, however,  the  donation  from  the  Pacific  slope.  An  effort  was  made  to 
Induce  Congress  to  return  on  tliis  occasion  the  surplus  of  the  Chinese  indemnity 
fund,  amounting  to  nearly  $()()(),()()(),  but  upon  this  tlie  Committee  on  Foreign 
Affairs  rcportiul  adversely,  alleging  am,)ng  olher  reasons  tliat  all  the  starving 
people  would  be  dead  before  the  machinery  of  both  nations  would  admit  of 
tliis  money  being  exclianged  for  food  I 


FOREIGlSr   EFFOETS   TOWARD   ITS    RELIEF.  737 

more  than  Tls.  2,000,000,  while  rich  natives  contributed  very 
lai-gely  in  their  own  districts.  Sixty-nine  foreigners  were  per- 
sonally engaged  upon  the  work  of  (listributi(jn  in  the  four 
afflicted  provinces,  of  whom  Messrs.  Ilall,  Hodge,  Barradale, 
and  AVhiting  died  in  consequence  of  exposure  and  overwork.' 
Upon  the  mortality  connected  with  this  frightful  visitation 
there  exist  hut  the  vaguest  figures.  "  The  destruction  as  a 
whole  is  stated  to  be  from  nine  and  a  half  to  thirteen  millions," 
observes  the  JA^mH^  alreiidy  quoted,  and  its  proofs  in  support 
of  this  statement  are  as  trustworthy  as  any  that  can  be  compiled. 
Xo  famine  is  recorded  in  the  history  of  any  land  which  equalled 
this  in  death-rate.  The  area  at  the  base  of  the  Tibetan  and 
Mongolian  highlands  will  always  be  subject  to  great  vicissitudes 
of  heat  and  moisture,'  and  the  future,  like  the  past,  cannot  but 
suffer  from  these  frightful  droughts  unless  a  careful  attention 
to  the  climatic  influence  of  trees  and  irrigation  mitigate  in  some 
degree  the  dreadful  comings  of  these  plagues. 

The  Chinese  plenipotentiary  in  London,  T\  woh  Sung-tao,  gave 
utterance  to  the  sincere  sentiments  of  his  government  in  saying: 

The  noble  philanthropy  wliich  heard,  In  a  far-distant  country,  the  cry  of 
suffering  and  hastened  to  its  assistance,  is  too  signal  a  recognition  of  the  com- 
mon brotherhood  of  humanity  ever  to  be  forgotten,  and  is  all  the  more  worthy 
to  be  remembered  because  it  is  not  a  passing  response  to  a  generous  emotion, 
but  a  continued  effort,  persevered  in  until,  in  sending  the  welcome  rain. 
Heaven  gave  the  assuring  promise  of  returning  plenty,  and  the  sign  that  the 
brotherly  succor  was  no  longer  required.  Coming  from  Englishmen  residing 
in  all  parts  of  the  world,  this  spontaneous  act  of  generosity  made  a  deep  im- 
pression on  the  government  and  people  of  China,  which  cannot  but  have  the 
effect  of  more  closely  cementing  the  friendly  relations  which  now  so  happily 
exist  between  China  and  Great  Britain.  But  the  hands  that  gave  also  assumed 
the  arduous  duty  of  administering  the  relief  ;  and  here  I  would  not  forget  to 
offer  my  grateful  thanks  and  condolence  to  the  families  of  those,  and  they  are 
not  a  few,  who  nobly  fell  in  distributing  the  fund.'* 

■  Mr.  Whiting  was  honored  by  the  governor  of  Shansi  with  a  public  funeral 

in  Taiyuen,  the  provincial  oaiiital. 

»  P.  7. 

^  Mr.  A.  Hosi.i  in  the  X  0.  Br.  E.  A.  P!.  JoHvniil,  Vol.  XIII.,  1878,  has 
translated  the  native  lists  of  more  than  eight  hundred  famines  and  droughts 
occurring  in  the  Yangtsz'  basin  and  northward  on  the  Plateau  during  a  thousand 
years  ending  a.d.  1643. 

*  Letter  of  October  14,  1878,  to  Lord  Salisbury. 


738  THE   MIDDLE    KIXGDOM. 

One  who  has  been  acquainted  with  Chinese  affairs  for  the  last 
fifty  years  can  better  than  younger  persons  appreciate  from  this 
letter  the  vast  stride  wliieh  has  been  made  by  (^hina  since  the 
withdrawal  of  the  East  India  Company's  factory  in  1834.  The 
Empire  had  then  been  closed  for  more  than  a  century,  and  its 
inhal)itants  liad  been  taught  to  believe  that  all  mankind  outside  of 
its  b()un(hiries  were  little  better  than  i<!;norant  savaijes.  Their 
rulers  had  maintained  that  "  barbarians  could  only  be  ruled  by 
misrule,"  and  in  their  honest  efforts  to  keep  them  fi-om  entering 
the  gates  of  the  Celestial  Empire  in  order  that  the  people  might 
not  become  contaminated,  had  faithfully  though  ineffectually 
endeavored  to  fulfil  the  first  duty  of  every  government.  We 
have  seen  how  small  was  their  success  when  dealing  with  the 
iniquitous  opium  traffic  ;  no  amount  of  moral  or  ethical  prin- 
ciple in  the  cause  which  he  represented  could  make  up  to  Connnis- 
sioner  Lin  for  his  ignorance  and  stiff-neckedness  in  pushing  his 
injudicious  methods  of  reforming  this  abuse.  Had  he  succeeded 
as  he  and  his  imperial  master  had  ])lamied,  they  would  have 
sealed  their  country  against  the  only  possible  remedies  for  those 
evils  they  were  striving  to  remove — free  intercourse,  commer- 
cial, intellectual,  and  political,  with  their  fellow-men. 

The  story  of  Cliina's  rapid  progress  from  semi-barbarism 
toward  her  appropriate  position  among  nations  is  now  fully 
known  to  any  whose  interests  have  directed  their  attention 
thither.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  the  advance  has  been  ham- 
pered by  the  mass  of  superstitions,  assumptions,  and  weaknesses 
through  which  every  such  stride  to  reformation  nnist  push  for- 
ward ;  nor  is  it  strange  that  interested  foreigners  from  their  van- 
tage-ground of  a  more  perfect  civilization  should  at  times  bemoan 
the  wearisome  course  and  manifold  errors  of  this  regeneration. 
Nevertheless,  liopeful  signs  abound  on  every  side  ;  against  a 
few  errors  may  be  balanced  a  multitude  of  genuine  successes, 
and  the  fact  that  these  latter  have  come  about  deliberately 
assures  us  that  they  are  permanent.  In  the  hands  of  statesmen 
as  far-sighted  and  ])atriotic  as  those  who  now  control  the  govern- 
ment, there  is  little  cause  to  apprehend  retrograde  steps  or  a  re- 
turn to  the  exclusive  policy  of  (yonnnissioners  Lin  and  Yeh.  As 
for  the  conservative  spirit  which  yet  characterizes  the  present 


THE   CHINESE   EDUCATIONAL   COMMISSION.  739 

regime,  in  this  will  be  found  the  safeguard  against  extravagant 
and  premature  adoption  of  western  machines,  institutions, 
nietliods,  dress,  and  the  thousand  adjuncts  of  modern  European 
life  which,  if  too  rapidly  applied  to  an  effete  and  backward 
civilization,  push  it  rather  into  bankruptcy  and  overthrow  than 
out  into  a  new  existence. 

Before  closing  these  volumes,  and  as  an  illustration  of  these 
observations,  it  remains  to  notice  the  so-called  Chinese  Educa- 
tion Commission — a  highly  lauded  project  which  is  still  fresh 
in  the  minds  of  many  Americans.  Soon  after  the  Tientsin 
riot  and  Chunghow's  mission  of  apology,  Yung  Wing,  a 
Chinese  graduate  of  Yale  College,  proposed  to  Li  Ilung-chang 
and  others  in  authority  a  plan  of  utilizing  certain  surplus 
moneys  remaining  from  the  fund  for  military  stores,  to  defray 
the  expenses  of  educating  a  number  of  Chinese  boys  in  the 
United  States.  The  scheme  found  such  favor  with  the  gover- 
nor-general and  members  of  the  Foreign  Office,  that  early  in 
the  year  1872  thirty  boys  were  selected  by  competitive  exami- 
nation at  Shanghai,  and  took  passage  for  San  Francisco  July 
12th,  Yung  Wing  having  preceded  them  to  make  the  neces- 
sary arrangements.  This  gentleman's  acquaintance  w^ith  the 
social  life  and  educational  methods  in  IS^ew  England  was  so 
complete  as  to  enable  him  readily  to  place  the  students — usually 
in  pairs — in  comfortable  households,  where  they  might  learn 
English  and  become  initiated  into  the  manner  of  life  among 
western  peoples  as  agreeably  as  possible. 

The  commission  established  its  headquarters  in  Hartford  and 
easily  disposed  their  boys  in  adjoining  towns  of  Connecticut 
and  Massachusetts,  where  numbers  of  families  welcomed  them 
with  open  arms.  Prince  Kung's  satisfaction  upon  learning  of 
this  friendly  reception  was  expressed  in  a  personal  note  of 
thanks  to  Mr.  Low  at  Peking,  while  the  fair  prospects  of  the 
scheme  now  tended  to  hasten  other  parties  of  students  to  these 
shores  until  their  number  was  swelled  to  one  hundred  and 
twenty.'     These  lads  proved  themselves  almost  without  excep- 

'  The  original  plan  inclnded  the  sending  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  boys,  but 
the  fund  laid  aside  for  the  purpose  was  found  to  be  insufficient  to  cover  the 
cost  of  the  full  number. 


740  THE    MIDDLE    KINGDOM. 

tion  capable  and  active  in  tlie  studies  set  before  them,  and  a8 
their  hold  upon  the  language  increased,  began  to  outrank  all 
but  the  brightest  of  their  American  classmates.  As  they  ad- 
vanced into  the  higher  scientific  schools  or  colleges,  greater 
liberty  was  allowed  them,  each  boy  pursuing  his  inclination  as 
to  a  special  course  or  institution.  With  the  appointment  of 
Yung  "Wing  to  the  Chinese  legation  at  Washington  and  the 
arrival  of  one  Wu  Tsz'-tang  (who  knew  no  English)  as  com- 
missioner in  his  place  at  Hartford,  the  complexion  of  this  enter- 
prise seems  to  have  changed.  In  the  spring  of  1881  a  formal 
memorial,  endorsed  by  Chin  Lan-pin,  the  minister  at  Washing- 
ton, was  addressed  to  the  home  government,  complaining  of 
the  course  of  study  pursued  by  these  youths  as  including  Latin 
and  Greek  and  other  unnecessary  subjects  ;  of  the  disrespectful 
behavior  of  the  l)oys  when  brought  before  their  chiefs  ;  of 
their  deplorable  luck  of  patriotism  ;  of  their  forgetting  their 
mother  tongue,  and  other  sins  of  omission  and  commission. 
The  memorial  seems  to  have  fallen  in  with  the  desires  of  those 
momentarily  in  power  at  Peking  ;  the  commission  and  students 
were  all  recalled  by  the  return  mail,  and  arrived  at  Shanghai 
in  the  fall  of  the  same  year. 

Although  this  action  may  have  been  in  some  degree 
prompted  by  a  spirit  of  conservatism  and  distrust,  the  leading 
motive  of  the  Chinese  government  cannot  be  far  to  seek. 
Had  these  boys  of  a  dozen  years  each  received  his  fifteen  years' 
instruction  in  our  common-school,  classical,  and  })r(>fessional 
courses,  it  is  impossil)le  to  believe  that  the}'  would  not  at  the 
end  of  this  time  have  been  more  American  than  Chinese. 
Their  speedy  recall  was  a  matter  of  regret  to  the  many  friends 
these  interesting  lads  had  made  in  New  England,  but  from  a 
truly  Chinese  stand-point  this  foreign  popularity  would  be- 
come as  the  flesh-pots  of  Egypt  to  them  after  their  return  to 
the  arid  intellectual  life  in  China — and  the  event  in  one  or  two 
instances  appears  to  have  proved  the  shrewdness  of  this  sur- 
mise. However,  this  expei'iment  can  in  no  wise  be  considered 
a  failure,  even  if  we  consider  only  the  knowledge  of  English 
and  elements  of  a  western  education  obtained  by  each  student ; 
how  considerable  has  been  its  success  will   be  seen  when  the 


PROSPECTS   FOR  THE   FUTURE   OF   CHINA.  741- 

young  incii — now  engaged  by  their  government  in  telegraph 
posts,  arsenals,  schools,  etc. — shall  have  achieved  sufficient  dis- 
tinction in  their  vai-ious  professions  to  prove  their  fitness  for 
the  pains  bestowed  upon  them.  The  organization  of  scliools 
for  other  than  Chinese  methods  of  education  is  already  begun 
in  China — as,  for  example,  tlie  Tung-wan  Kwan,  under  charge 
of  Dr.  Martin,  at  Peking — and  from  these  a  much  more 
rational  advance  to  their  proper  position  in  scientific  knowl- 
edge may  be  expected,  than  by  hazardous  schemes  of  foreign 
tuition. 

The  })ages  of  this  brief  compendium  of  our  present  knowl- 
edge of  the  Cliinese  Empire  were  not  written  in  the  first  place, 
nor  have  they  been  revised,  with  any  intent  to  laud  that  people 
beyond  their  just  deserts.  What  there  is  of  weakness,  vice, 
narrowness,  bigotry,  in  the  national  character  has  been  pointed 
out  with  great  frankness,  while  their  blindness  and  folly  after 
the  lessons  of  two  warlike  visitations  from  foreign  nations 
have  not  passed  unnoticed.  The  experiences  of  the  last  three 
decades  will  probably  prove  more  momentous  for  the  Chinese 
than  those  of  any  previous  century  in  their  history,  and  these 
have  not  come  about  without  much  bitterness  and  the  surly 
traces  of  misunderstanding  and  misrepresentation.  But  the 
great  fact  must  have  become  apparent,  even  to  the  cursory 
reader,  that  in  the  Chinese  character  are  elements  which  in  due 
time  must  lift  her  out  of  the  terribly  backward  position  into 
which  she  had  fallen  and  raise  her  to  a  rank  among  the  fore- 
most of  nations.  There  is  a  basis  of  encouragement  when  we 
keep  in  mind  the  literary  institutions  of  tho  country  and  their 
early  attention  to  obtaining  a  corps  of  scientific  men  of  their 
own  nationality,  as  in  the  effort  just  mentioned.' 

'  The  reserved  force  in  the  Chinese  character  was  very  strikingly  brought 
out  in  a  new-year's  call  at  Peking,  which  the  writer  remembers,  in  1870. 
The  topic  came  up  as  to  how  to  diminish  the  expense  of  getting  coal  from  the 
mines  to  the  city  (which  up  to  that  time  was  carried  on  camels  and  mules  ,  so 
a.i  to  put  it  within  the  reach  ol  the  poor  people.  I  suggested  a  tram  road 
as  the  best  plan  for  the  fifty  miles  distance  from  the  mines,  and  involving 
trifling  expense.  After  listening  to  the  plan,  Tan  Ting-siang,  one  of  the 
members  of  the  Board  of  Revenue,  and  Prince  Kung,  together  exclaimed, 
"  Tieh-lu  lai  liao!  Tkh-la  lai  Uao!"  ('  Railroads  are  coming  in  time'},     Tke  ex- 


742  THE   MIDDLE  KINGDOM. 

Another  ground  of  hope — and  tliese  words  are  as  pertinent 
today  as  when  written  thirty-five  years  ago — lies  in  the  matter- 
of-fact  habits  of  the  Chinese,  tlieir  want  of  enthusiasm  and  dis- 
like of  cliange,  which  are  rather  favorable  than  otherwise  to 
their  development  as  a  great  community.  The  presentation 
and  reception  of  the  highest  truths  and  motives  the  human 
mind  can  realize  always  excites  thought  and  action  ;  the  chief- 
est  fear  must  be  that  of  going  too  fast  in  schemes  of  reform 
and  correction,  and  demolishing  the  fabric  before  its  elements 
are  ready  for  reconstruction.  The  non-existence  of  caste,  the 
weakness  of  a  priesthood  which  cannot  nerve  its  persecuting 
arm  with  the  power  of  the  State,  the  scanty  influence  religion 
has  over  the  ])opular  mind,  the  simplicity  of  ancestral  worship, 
the  absence  of  the  allurements  of  gorgeous  temples,  splendid 
ritual,  seductive  music,  gay  processions,  and  above  all,  sanctified 
licentiousness,  to  uphold  and  render  it  enticing  to  depraved 
human  nature,  the  popular  origin  of  all  government  holidays, 
and  lastly,  the  degree  of  industry,  loyalty,  and  respect  for  life 
and  property — these  are  characteristics  which  furnish  some 
grounds  for  trusting  that  the  regeneration  of  China  will  be  ac- 
complished, like  the  operation  of  leaven  in  meal,  without  shiver- 
ing the  vessel. 

istence  of  the  treaty  principle  of  ex-territoriality  and  its  consequences  is  con- 
stantly before  the  Chinese  high  officers,  though  they  appreciate  as  well  the 
fact  that  their  country  is  preparing  and  will  be  the  better  for  such  improve* 
ments. 


INDEX. 


ABACUS,  or  Sioanpan,  principle  of, 
ii.  60. 

Abeel,  Rev.  D.,  i.  134,  835,  ii.  240  ;  arrives 
in  China,  ii.  325,  327,  338,  348;  me- 
moir, ii.  368. 

Abel,  Clarke,  i.  363,  ii.  458. 

Aboriculture,  curiosities  of,  ii.  13. 

Aboriginal  races,  of  China,  i.  41  ;  of  For- 
mosa, i.  137 ;  in  Hunan,  i.  148. 

Abulgasi  (History  of  the  Tartars),  i.  202- 
203. 

Abu  Zaid,  his  work  on  China,  ii.  168 ; 
generally  trustworthy,  ii.  414,  425. 

Acupuncture,  ii.  123. 

Adams,  Hon.  John  Quincy,  his  mistaken 
notions  of  Chinese  war,  ii.  469. 

Agar-agar,  a  glue  made  from  seaweed,  ii. 
397. 

Agnosticism,  Chinese,  ii.  201. 

Agriculture,  Temple  of,  Peking,  i.  78 ;  in 
loess  fields,  i.  302 ;  Chinese  works  upon, 
i.  686  ;  consideration  of,  ii.  1  ;  utensils, 
ii.  3. 

Aksa,  town  and  river  of  fli,  i.  225 ;  Yakub 
Bey  captures,  ii.  730. 

Alabaster's   Wheel  of  the  Law,  ii.  229. 

Alak.     See  Tien  Siian. 

Alcock.  Sir  R. ,  ii.  637. 

Almanac,  rectified  by  Jesuits,  ii.  68,  298 ; 
its  importance,  ii.  79. 

Altai,  i.e.,  'Golden  Mountains,'  or  Kin 
Shan,  i.  9. 

Altars,  to  Heaven,  Agriculture,  and  Earth, 
Peking,  i.  70-78  ;  fashion  of  Romish,  in 
China,  ii.  31.-). 

Altchuku,  or  A-shi-ho,  town  in  Kirin,  i. 
197. 

Alum,  found  in  Sz'chuen,  i.  308 ;  an  ar- 
ticle of  export,  ii.  392. 

Amber,  brought  to  China,  ii.  398. 

Amherst,  Lord,  rebuff  of  his  embassy  at 
Ynen-niing  Yuen,  i.  80  ;  his  mission  to 
the  capital,  ii.  4.58. 

American,  missionaries  and  the  Hangchau 
settlement,  ii.  351  ;  treaty  with  China 
respecting  toleration  of  Christianity,  ii. 
360  ;  trade  with  China,  ii.  460  ;  residents 


at  Canton  and  Governor  Lin,  ii.  514 1 
embassy  to  China  concludes  treaty  oi 
VVaiighia,  ii.  .567 ;  homicide  of  Chinese 
by,  in  Canton,  ii.  568 ;  Chinese  favor- 
ably disposed  toward,  ii.  570 ;  fleet  de- 
stroy the  Barrier  forts,  ii.  638  ;  govern- 
ment asked  to  co-operate  with  England, 
ii.  642 ;  minister.  Sir.  Reed,  arrives  in 
China,  ii.  643 ;  minister,  Mr.  Ward,  co- 
operates in  preventing  coolie  trade,  ii. 
663 ;  negotiations  with  the  Chinese 
ofiicials  at  Taku  forts,  ii.  665  ;  embassy 
escorted  to  Peking  via  Pehtang,  ii.  669 ; 
minister  refuses  to  kotow  and  returns, 
ii.  670 ;  sailor  hung  for  murder  at  Shang- 
hai, ii.  696  ;  treaty  with  China  negotia- 
ted )jy  Burhngame,  ii.  6US  ;  missionaries 
frightened  away  from  TSugchau,  iL  705. 

Amiot,  Pere  i.  598,  ii.  96,  149,  SOU. 

Ampere,  J.  J.,  i.  715. 

Amoy,  climate  of,  i.  53 ;  island,  i.  129 ; 
city,  i.  183;  its  environs,  i.  134;  lexi- 
con, the  Shili-wrt  Yin,  i.  590;  dialect, 
i.  611,  612,615;  New  Year  usages  at, 
i.  814;  infanticide  at,  ii.  239;  sentiment 
toward  foreigners,  ii.  oS8 ;  Protestant 
mission  at,  ii.  348;  Chinese  and  Dutch 
take,  ii.  438  ;  East  India  Company  trade 
at,  ii,  445,  448 ;  taken  by  the  English, 
ii.  .524,  .528  ;  not  hostile  to  foreigners,  ii. 
573  ;  during  Tai-ping  Rebellion,  ii.  629. 

Amulets  and  charms,  to  ward  off  evil,  iL 
25.5-257. 

Amusements,  at  dinner,  i.  SOS ;  out-door, 
i.  825  ;  peaceful  character  of  Chinese,  i. 
829. 

Amur  River  (called  also  Sas^alien,  Kwan- 
tung,  Helung  kiang),  i.  189. 

Analects  of  Confucius,  the  Lun  Yu,  i. 
656. 

Ancestral  worship,  compatible  with 
Buddhism,  ii.  223;  its  antiquity,  ii.  236; 
its  forms,  etc.,  ii.  250-2.55;  allowed  by 
Ricci,  ii.  292,  299;  and  Christianity,  ii. 
355. 

Anderson,  Dr.  John,  i.  79,  181,  184,  337, 
ii.  719,  721,  732. 


(44 


INDEX. 


Anglo-Chinese  College  <at  Malacca,  ii.  324. 

Animals,  of  China,  quadiumanous,  i.  814- 
317,  carnivoious,  SlV-^iriO,  ruminants. 
320-323,  dome  stic,  323-320,  rodents  and 
smaller  animals,  32G-o2'.>,  cetaceous, 
329-330,  four  fabulous,  342-34r) ;  in  the 
Herbal,  i.  374-377  ;  used  as  iood,  i.  772, 
77() ;  pack,  ii.  7 ;  of  the  calendar  and 
zodiac,  ii.  fi'.t,  71  ;  sculptured,  ii.  115. 

Ant-eater,  or  pangolin,  Chinese  ideas  of, 
i.  328. 

Antelope,  hwangyang,  or  clzcren,  of  Mon- 
golia, i.  321. 

An-ting  man,  in  Peking  wall,  1.  63 ; 
opened  to  the  allied  troops,  ii.  680. 

Ants,  studied  by  Chinese,  i.  354. 

Apple,  or  haw.  of  Manchuria,  i.  300. 

Arab,  merchants  introduce  the  name 
Chhia  into  Europe,  i.  3;  travellers  in 
China,  li.  l';S,  414,  421;  name  for  opium, 
ii,  373. 

Arabdan,  khan  of  the  ^ongares,  i.  233. 

Architecture,  Chinese,  compared  with  In- 
dian, i.  72(i,  domestic,  'i28,  military, 
758  ;  its  needs  and  limitations,  ii.  11(1. 

Area  of  the  Eighteen  Provinces,  i.  272, 
£70. 

Argali,  mountain  sheep,  in  China,  i.  321. 

Arithiuctic,  Chinese  knowledge  of,  ii.  GO. 

Arms  used  in  warfare,  ii.  88. 

Army  of  China,  pay  of,  i.  2'.)3  ;  laws  con- 
cerning, i.  388  ;  memorial  as  to  its  con- 
dition in  1838,  i.  494 ;  examination 
system  in,  i.  560  ;  in  theory  and  prac- 
tice, ii.  SS-93  ;  its  condition  on  outbreak 
of  Tai-ping  Rebellion,  ii.  590. 

Arnold's  Light  of  AfIu,  ii.  220. 

Arrow,  case  of  the  lorcha,  ii.  359, 
035-038. 

Art,  Chinese,  in  book  illustrations,  i.  080  ; 
in  aboriculture,  ii.  13  ;  in  bronze,  ii.  31  ; 
porcelain  decorations,  ii.  25 ;  carving, 
etc.,  li.  59 ;  illustrative,  iL  105-111 ; 
symbolic,  ii.  Ill,  112;  caricatures,  ii. 
115 ;  export  of  objects  of,  ii.  393 ;  ex- 
ample of,  ii.  080,  note. 

Assam,  tea  native  of,  iL  51. 

Ass,  wild,  of  the  steppes,  i.  212,  323. 

Assembly  balls,  or  club-houses,  in  Chinese 
cities,!.  70,  122,107,739. 

Astrology  and  divination,  ii.  09,  74. 

Astronomy,  Chinese  study  of,  ii,  68,  72 ; 
romance  of,  ii,  70  ;  and  Jesuits,  ii.  298. 

Atkinson,  T,  W.,  i.  331. 

Atlas  of  China,  the  Tien  Chii,  or  'Heav- 
en's Pillar  Mountains,'  i.  13. 

Auber,  Peter,  on  foreign  trade  with 
China,  ii.  4.50.  45;). 

Audience,  of  officials  before  Emperor  of 
China,  i.  801  ;  of  the  Dutch  ambassa- 
dors Goyer  and  Keyzer,.  ii.  435 ;  of 
Lord  Macartney,  ii.  4.55  ;  question  not 
raised  by  Gushing,  ii.  570  ;  question  dis- 
cussed by  Ward's  embassy  at  Peking, 


ii.  009  ;  Rwinhoe's  descriptin  -^f  an,  at 
Yuen-ming  Yuen,  ii.  083;  _,  .uted  to 
all  foreign  ministers,  ii.  714. 

Azaleas  about  Ningpo,  i.  370. 

Azure  Sea  (see  Koko-nor),  i.  210. 

BABER,  E.  C,  i.  181  ;  sent  on  Gro*. 
venor  mission,  ii.  723,  724. 

Baldwin,  C.  C,  i.  015. 

Balfour,  F.  H.,  li.  212. 

Ball,  Samuel,  ii.  .5.5,  373. 

Ballads,  specimens  of  Chinese,  i.  705-714. 

Balls,  hollow,  how  carved,  ii.  59. 

Bamboo,  beauty  and  uses  of,  i.  3.58-.';00; 
articles  exported,  ii.  393. 

Bamboo  books,  the,  i.  681 ;  their  authen- 
ticity, ii.  149,  15.5. 

Banditti  numerous  in  China,  i.  480, 
495,  497. 

Banks  and  banking  system  in  China, 
ii.  85. 

Baptism,  of  moribund  infants  by  Catho- 
lics, ii.  310;  discussion  among  mission- 
aries concerning  Mord  for,  ii.  363. 

Baptist  Missionary  Society  in  Hong  Kong, 
ii.  347. 

Barbers'  establishments  in  China,  i.  7(50; 
their  traitment  of  tlie  eye.s,  ii.  129. 

Barkul  (or  Chinsi  fu),  town  and  lake  of 
Kansuh,  i.  214. 

Barkut,  or  golden  eagle,  hunting  with, 
i.  331. 

Barrier  forts,  near  Canton,  destroyed  by 
Americans,  li.  038. 

Barrow,  J.,  i.  22,  105,  117,  175,  287,  290, 
741,  7.55,  772;  ii.  5,  9.5,  97,  104,  240,  455. 

Batang,  in  Sz'chuen,  i.  20. 

Bats,  Chinese,  i.  316 ;  symbol  of  happi- 
ness, ii.  Ill . 

Bayan-kara  in  the  Kwanlun  system,  i.  11, 
211. 

Bazin,  i.  84.5,  714,  ii.  213,  217. 

Beal,  Samuel,  ii.  229. 

Bcal,  T.,  aviary  of,  at  Macao,  i.  341. 

Bears,  Chinese,  i.  317. 

Beggars,  on  the  Tai-shan,  i.  91  ;  in  Can- 
ton, i.  730  ;  how  controlled,  i.  742  ;  con- 
dition of,  i.  835  ;  and  Buddhist  priests, 
ii.  220;  alms  for,  ii.  203. 

Bell,  great,  of  Peking,  i.  74  ;  temple  of,  at 
Puking,  i.  79. 

Bell,  John,  his  residence  at  Peking, 
ii.  442. 

Belles-lettres,  character  and  variety  of 
Chinese,  i.  074. 

Bellew,  Dr.  II.  W.,  i.  234,  227. 

Bells,  rich  in  tone,  ii,  20. 

Belur-tag,  Tartash  ling,  Tstmg  ling, 
'  Onion  '  or  '  Blue  Mountains,'  i.  9. 

Benevolent  institutions,  Chinese,  ii.  208- 
20() ;  foreign  :  Morrison's  and  Parker's 
hospitals,  ii.  333  ;  Society  for  Diffusion 
of  Useful  Knowledge,  ii.  340  ;  Morrison 
Education  Society,  ii.  341. 


INDEX. 


745 


Bentham,  Gro.,  i.  9,<}C>,  355. 

lietel-nut,  a  masticatory,  how  used,  ii.397. 

Jittiothment,  cereniotiies  relative  to,  i. 
785  ;  'spilling  the  tea,'  i.  T'Jo  ;  evils  at- 
tending earl  J',  i.  7135. 

Bible,  translated  by  Nestorians,  ii.  280  ; 
Montecorvino  ordered  to  illustrate  the, 
ii.  288 ;  withheld  from  Chinese  by 
Ricci,  ii.  292 ;  Ur.  Morrison's  transla- 
tion, ii.  lil'.l,  o20;  revi.sion,  ii.  SOo,  o04  ; 
contains  the  earliest  notice  of  China, 
ii.  408 ;  revision  and  J.  R.  Morrison, 
ii.  5(i0. 

Biohe-de-mer,  or  sea-slug,  how  eaten, 
i.  780  ;  imported,  ii.  ;)U7. 

Bickmore,  A.  S.,  i.  29(>. 

Biographies,  numerous  in  Chinese  litera- 
ture, i.  (581. 

Biot,  Edouard,  i.  259,  263,  271,  413,  421, 
482,  521,  543,  554,  559,  590,  G3S,  644, 
081,  ii.  34.  87,  203. 

Birds,  of  Tibet,  I  243  ;  of  China,  i.  330- 
341  ;  under  one  radical,  i.  374. 

Birds'-nest  soup,  its  preparation,  i.  780 ; 
and  sharks'  fins  imported,  ii.  397. 

Birthday  fete  at  Ningpo,  i.  814. 

Black-haired  race.  Li  Alin,  common  term 
for  Chinese,  i.  5. 

Blacksmith,  his  shop  and  tools,  ii.  57. 

Blakiston,  T.  W.,  i.  21-22,  145,  30.^. 

Blodget,  Dr.  H.,  ii.  304. 

Blood  of  animals  used  for  food,  medi- 
cines, etc.,  i.  778. 

Boards,  Six,  in  government,  i.  415  ;  Civil 
Office,  i.  421  ;  Revenue,  i.  422 ;  Rites, 
1.  423;  War,  i.  424  ;  Punishments,  i.  426; 
Works,  i.  427 ;  iiresidents  of,  i.  436 ; 
subordinate  offices  in  the,  i.  559. 

Boats,  bridge  of,  at  Ningpo,  i.  121  ;  vari- 
ety and  number  of,  in  China,  i.  749-753  ; 
decorated  at  New  Year,  1.  813 ;  and  in- 
ternal navigation  of  China,  ii.  390. 

Bogue,  or  Bocca  Tigris,  near  Canton,  i. 
100;  negotiations  v/ith  Kishen  at,  ii. 
517 ;  forts  taken,  ii.  520 ;  destroyed 
again,  ii.  .528 ;  supplementary  treaty 
signed  at,  ii.  .501  ;  Governor  Davis  re- 
takes the  forts,  li.  .573. 

Bonham,  Governor,  visits  the  Tai-pings 
at  Nanking,  ii.  .577;  advised  by  gen- 
trv  of  Canton  not  to  enter  the  city,  ii. 
025. 

Bwk  of  Rites  {Li  Ki),  i.  424,  520,  643- 
047,  805,  ii.  33. 

Book  of  Odes  {Shi  King),  i.  636-643,  ii. 
236,  321. 

Book  of  Records  {Shu  Kijig),  i.  633-636, 
808,  ii.  32,  30,  08,  146  ff.,  169,  372. 

Book  of  Chanfies  (  Yih  Kiiir/),  i.  027-033. 

Books,  used  in  schools,  i.  .520-.541,  .574  ; 
manufacture  and  price  of,  i.  600-0(  2 ; 
burned  by  Tsin.  B.C.  200,  ii.  101  ;  Nes- 
torian,  destroyed,  ii.  286 ;  circulated  in 
the  opium  traffic,  ii.  379 ;  destroyed  at 


Canton,  ii.  026  ;  by  Protestants,  ii.  328» 
331,  340. 

Boone,  W.  J.,  ii..^38,  348. 

Bore,  or  Eagre,  of  the  Tsientang,  i.  114, 
ii.  415. 

Borget,  A.,  i.  128,  320,  771. 

Bostang-nor,  or  Lake  Bagarash,  i.  24, 
223,  224. 

Botany,  of  China,  i.  b'SS-SIO ;  of  the 
/'lilt  tsito,  i.  372-374. 

Boulgcr,  D.  C,  i.  237,  ii.  137;  notice  of 
Turkestan,  ii.  'i28 ;  of  Mohammedan 
revolt,  ii.  730,  731. 

Boundaries,  of  the  Chinese  Empire,  i.  6  ; 
of  tlu!  Eighteen  Provinces,  i.  8 ;  made 
under  Kienlung.  i.  .59;  of  111,  i.  215  ; 
of  Tibet,  i.  237 ;  disputes  concerning 
the  Amur,  ii.  441  ;  of  the  Empire  near 
Kuldja,  ii.  733. 

Bowring,  Sir  John,  i.  459 ;  his  relations 
with  Yeh,  ii.  033 ;  his  character,  ii. 
634;  action  in  the  Arrow  case,  ii. 
635  ;   opens   hostilities  with  China,   ii. 

'  637 ;  his  conduct  discussed  in  Parlia- 
ment, ii.  041. 

Braam,  Andreas  van,  Dutch  ambassador 
to  Kienlung,  i.  324,  ii.  489. 

Bremer,  Sir  Gordon,  attacks  Tinghai 
with  the  fleet,  ii.  514;  takes  the  Bogue 
forts,  ii.  517,  520 ;  sails  for  Calcutta, 
ii.  521. 

Breton,  i.  314,  771. 

Bretschneider,  Dr.  E.,  i  84,  345,  651, 
ii.  413. 

Bribes,  nature  and  extent  of,  among  offi- 
cials, i.  474  ;    at  examinations,  i.  569. 

Bricks,  Chinese,  their  shapes  and  uses, 
i.  728. 

Bridges,  construction  and  variety  of,  in 
China,  i.  7.53-756. 

Bridgman,  Dr.  E.  C,  i.  .530,  537.  ii.  277; 
arrives  in  China,  ii.  327,  333,  335, 
342,  346. 

Bridgman,  J.  G.,  i.  43,  209,  316. 

Bronze,  beauty  and  excellence  of,  ii.  20. 

Bros.set,   jeniic,  i.  643. 

Brown,  Rev.  S.  R.,  ii.  342,  .344. 

Bruce,  Sir  Frederick  A.,  and  reorganiza- 
tion of  Ever-Victoiious  force,  ii.  611  ; 
commendation  of  (Gordon's  conduct, 
ii.  619  ;  sent  by  Elgin  to  commissioners 
at  Tientsin,  ii.  655 ;  repairs  to  Taku 
with  the  allies,  ii.  064,  065,  071,  672  ; 
his  good  offices  in  Lay-Oslxime  flotilla 
affair,  ii.  093,  694 ;  his  influence  in 
China,  ii.  (i99. 

Buddha,  temple  and  statue  of,  in  Peking, 
i.  71 ;  near  Si-ngan,  i.  151  ;  his  life, 
ii.  218 ;  Chinese  expedition  to  buy 
relics  of,  ii.  414. 

Buddhism,  of  the  Mougol.s,  i.  305, 
ii.  234  ;  in  Khoten,  i.  231  ;  the  lion  and, 
i.  317;  ridiculed  in  the  'Sacred  Com- 
mands,'!. 689;  and  pagodas  in  China, 


746 


INDEX. 


i.  744;  introduced  a.b.  05,  under 
Ming  ti,  ii.  163  ;  in  fourtli  century  A.  d., 
ii.  165;  and  the  Emperor  Wu  ti,  ii. 
166  ;  its  growth  in  China,  ii.  217-229 ; 
and  Koniaiiism  compared,  ii.  281, 
315;  bibliography,  ii.  22'.t,  232,  234; 
and  J'uii(/-s/iui,  ii.  246. 

Buddhist,  name  for  China,  Chin-tan,  i  3, 
5;  Olympus,  i.  12;  temples  in 
Peking,  i.  73-79 ;  manufactories  at 
Dolon-nor,  i.  87;  temples  in  Hang- 
chau,  i.  lis  ;  on  Puto  Island,  i.  124;  at 
Canton, i.  I(i4-1()() ;  books  translateil  into 
Mongolian,  i.  206 ;  temples  at  Kuldja, 
i.  218;  at  H'lassa,  i.  245;  priests 
and  snakes,  i.  346 ;  images  in  clam- 
shells, i.  350  ;  c7iaA'*v<»'ar^^i  audCliinese 
hwamjt'i^  i.  395  ;  arrangement  of  Chi- 
nese characters,  i.  589  ;  tractatG,  i.  708  ; 
chanting,  ii.  96 ;  pilgrims  between 
India  and  China,  ii.  413 ;  notions  of  cos- 
mogony, ii.  139 ;  charm  cut  in  Kii- 
yung  kwan  gateway,  ii.  176;  missionaries 
in  China,  ii.  189  ;  priest  as  rain-maker, 
ii.  203  ;  priests  oppose  Nestorians,  ii. 
280,  28(5. 

Buffalo  {^hui  ni/i),  used  more  than  the 
ox.  i.  274,  320 ;  in  rice-fields,  ii.  3 ; 
worshipped,  ii.  14. 

Bukur,  a  town  of  111,  i.  225. 

Bunge,  Alex,  von,  i.  296,  355. 

Ikirdon,  Bishop  J.,  ii.  364. 

Burgevine,  succeeds  Ward  in  command 
of  the  Ever-Victorious  force,  ii.  609; 
goes  over  to  Tai-pings,  ii.  613  ;  his  pro- 
posal to  (Jordoii,  ii.  614. 

Burial,  of  lamas  in  Tibet,  i.  250 ;  places 
in  china,  i.  275  ;  ceremonies  attending, 
ii.  243-2.55  ;  ceremonies  and  Christians, 
ii.  3]  3. 

Burkhan-buddha  in  the  Kwanlun  sys- 
tem, i.  11,  211. 

liiirlingame,  Hon.  Anson,  ii.  (■)95  ;  enters 
upon  Ills  mission  to  foreign  powers,  ii. 
696  ;  his  death,  ii.  698 ;  influence  in 
China,  ii.  699. 

Bushell,  Dr.  S.  W.,  i.  88,  ii.  160,  174. 

(CABINET,  or  Imperial  Chancery,  i. 
;     415-417. 

Callery,  J.  M.,  i.  589,  643,  644,  672,  627. 

Cambaluc  (Peking),  i.  61,  63,  6.5. 

Camellia,  a  favorite  flower,  i.  367;  akin 
to  tea,  ii.  40. 

Camels,  wild,  of  Lob-nor,  i.  223  ;  useful- 
ness of,  i.  325  ;  hair  rugs,  ii.  39. 

Camphor  on  Formosa,  i.  140;  its  pre- 
paration, ii.  55. 

Canals  (se<!  (Irand  Canal,  i.  31),  i.  37. 

Candida,  a  Roman  Catholic  convert, 
establishes  hospitals,  ii.  265;  baptized, 
ii.  292  ;  her  good  works,  ii.  294. 

Cangue  {Icia),  its  use  as  a  punishment,  i. 
509. 


Canfu  (or  Kanpu),  i.  127,  ii.  414  ;  Abu 
Zaid  concerning,  ii.  415. 

Cannon,  imitating  English,  found,  ii.  62  ; 
cast  b}'  Jesuit  missionaries,  ii.  298; 
found  at  Tinghai,  ii.  525  ;  at  Shanghai, 
ii.  .536  ;  at  Barrier  forts,  ii.  638. 

Canton,  climate  of,  i.  53  ;  rainfall,  i.  56  ; 
description,  i.  160-169  ;  environs,  i. 
169-170  ;  granaries  in,  i.  295  ;  the  tan- 
kia,  i.  412,  751  ;  location  of  magis- 
trates in,  i.  445  ;  Gov.  Chu's  departure 
from,  i.  462  ;  '  Free  Discussion  Hall ' 
at,  i.  488  ;  executions  at,  in  18.54,  i.  513  ; 
prisons,  i.  514  ;  examinations,  i.  550 ; 
words  in  dialect,  i.  611,  614;  shops, 
i.  736;  street  scenes,  i.  740;  fire  con- 
trol in,  i.  743  ;  the  river  craft  of,  i.  749  ; 
dog-mear,  restaurants,  i.  778 ;  at  New 
Year,  i.813;  at  Feast  of  Lanterns,  1.819  ; 
porcelain  painting,  ii.  26  ;  a  cotton - 
factory  experiment  at,  ii.  63  ;  taken  by 
Manchus  in  1650,  ii.  179;  the  prefect 
and  governor  of,  pray  for  rain,  ii.  203- 
205  ;  infanticide  rare  in,  ii.  239, 
242 ;  disposal  of  the  dead  at,  ii  254  ; 
worship  at  street  shrines,  ii.  263  ;  Mos- 
lems in,  ii.  268;  excitement  in,  about 
Portuguese,  ii.  292  ;  Morrison  arrives  in, 
ii.  318;  dies  there,  ii.  327  ;  unpromising 
field  for  missionarit's,  ii.  34() ;  Marcus 
Aurelius's  eiiiliassy  enters,  ii.  410  ;  the 
East  India  ("onipany  established  at,  ii. 
446  ;  homicides  among  foreigners  in,  ii. 
451;  Lord  Napier  at,  ii. 467-473;  foreign- 
ers detained  Ijy  Lin  at,  ii.  498 ;  Elliot 
leaves,  ii.  503 ;  fortified,  ii.  513,  521  ; 
Elliot  accepts  a  ransom  for,  ii.  523  ;  dis- 
like of  foreigners  at  close  of  war,  ii.  555  ; 
Kiyiiig  sent  to.  ii.  557  ;  troubles  at,  with 
foreigners,  ii.  .5(i8  ;  question  of  admit- 
tance to  the  city,  ii.  573;  lawlessness 
at,  ii.  580  ;  sentiment  in.  ii.  625  ;  rebels 
about,  ii.  630 ;  their  wholesale  execu- 
tion, ii.  632 ;  Admiral  Seymour  enters, 
ii.  638 ;  French  legation  withdraws 
from,  ii.  639  ;  taken  by  Franco-English 
forces,  ii.  644  ;  influence  of  Elgin's  tact 
at,  ii.  647,  661  ;  coolies  with  British 
at  Taku,  ii.  674 ;  French  missionary 
aggressions  at,  ii.  709. 

Cantor,  Dr.  T.  E.,  i.  350,  351. 

Caps,  various  official,  i.  414. 

Cards,  visiting,  i.  802. 

Caricature  in  Chinese  art,  ii.  11.5. 

Carving,  delicacy  of  Chinese,  ii.  59 ;  ex- 
j)ort  of,  ii.  :!94  ;  horn  and  ivory,  ii.  400. 

Cassia,  and  cinnamon,  ii.  .55  ;  and  cassia 
oil  as  exports,  ii.  392  ;  the  inalaOa- 
tliriDii  of  the  Periplus,  ii.  412. 

Catalogue,  Imperial,  i.  626;  of  ancient 
Chinese  books  recovered,   ii.  149. 

Cathay,  a  modern  Persian  name  for 
China,  i.  4  ;  its  signification  in  the  Mid- 
dle Ages,  ii.  408. 


INDEX. 


747 


Cats  (kia-li),  in  China,  i.  318 ;  eaten,  1. 
777. 

Celestial  Empire,  derived  from  2^ie7i 
C/iiix,  'Heavenly  Dynasty.'  i.  5. 

Celestial  Mountains.    .See  Tien  Shan. 

Censorate,  its  duties  and  influence,  i.  430- 
483. 

Censors,  report.s  from,  i.  4G4,  480,  .5(](). 

Censuses  of  China,  i.  2.58-2(54  ;  considered 
and  compared,  i.  2U5-272  ;  method  of 
taking,  i.  2S()-282  ;  probable  accuracy, 
i.  283-288. 

'Century  of  Surnames  '  {Pi/i  Kia  Sing), 
a  school-book,  i.  S^'IO. 

Ceremonies,  importance  of,  in  government, 
i.  424  ;  (jourt  of,  i.  43.5  ;  the  iSiao  Ilioh 
upon,  i.  .540  ;  in  broader  sense  mean  /t, 
i.  G45 ;  marriage,  i.  787-701  ;  of  obei- 
sance at  court,  i.  801 ;  funeral,  ii.  243- 
250. 

Ceylon,  Yungloh's  expedition  against,  ii. 
414. 

Chahar.     See  Tsakhar,  i.  87. 

Chalmers,  John,  ii.  72,  207,  211. 

Chang-an,  in  Shensi.    See  Si-ngan. 

Changchau,  in  Puhkien,  i.  13.5-13G ;  bridge 
at,  i.  7.55 ;  infanticide  in,  ii.  240 ; 
taken  by  Tai-pings,  ii.  605. 

Chang-peh  Shan,  '  Long  White  Moun- 
tains,' their  position,  i.  10  ;  called  Kol- 
min-shanguin  alin  by  Manchus,  i.  13, 
188. 

Changsha,  capital  of  Hunan,  i.  147 ; 
stormed  by  Tai-pings,  ii.  595. 

Chapu,  i.  I2(i,  ii.  414;  captured  by  the 
British,  ii.  .533. 

Characters,  Chinese,  for  bee,  ant,  etc. ,  i. 
354 ;  botanical,  i.  372 ;  zoological,  i. 
874;  method  of  memorizing,  at  school, 
i.  5-11  ;  origin  of,  i.  580;  six  classes,  i. 
583  ;  their  number,  i.  580 ;  classifica- 
tion, i.  .590-.508. 

Chan,  'department'  or  'district,'  term 
explained,  i.  .58;   prefect  of,  i.  441. 

Chan  dynasty,  term  '  Middle  Kingdom  ' 
dates  from,  i.  4 ;  and  the  Kvi-oh-tsz' 
Kien,  i.  .543  ;  King  Wan  of  the,  i.  020; 
Duke,  i.C37,  643,  808,  ii.  157-1(50  ;  After 
Chan,  ii.  172. 

Chau  hu,  'Nest  Lake,'  in  Nganhwui,  i. 
109. 

Chau-ll,  or  '  Ritual  of  Chau,'  i.  483;  its 
character,  i.  (543. 

Chau-sm,  Emperor  of  the  Shang,  ii.  1.56. 

Chehkiang  province,  climate  of,  i.  55  •, 
position  and  water  ways,  i.  114;  trees 
and  productions,  i.  11.5;  the  mulberry 
in,  ii.  11;  silk,  ii.34  ;  missions  in,  ii.  .)51. 

Chess,  the  Chinese  games  of,  i.  827-829. 

Chih-li,  '  Direct  rule,'  term  explained, 
i.  58. 

Chihli  province,  position,  i.  60;  lakes 
and  rivers  of,  i.  88  ;  productions,  i.  89. 

Children,  course  of  study  for,  i.  521-541  ; 


how  regarded  in  ancient  time.s,  i.  640; 
ari'angement  of  their  hair,  i.  765 ; 
names,  i.  797 ;  how  sj)oken  of,  i.  804  ; 
infanticide,  ii.  239ff.;  foundling  hospi- 
tals for,  ii.  264  ;  baptism  of,  by  Cath- 
olics, ii.  310  ;  in  the  Tientsin  Romanist 
orphan  asylum,  ii.  700. 

Chifu,  in  Shantung,  i.  90,  9.3  ;  gold  near, 
i.  311  ;  French  at,  ii.  6'i2  ;  convention, 
ii.  724. 

Chin  dynasty,  its  trade  and  intercourse, 
ii.  166. 

Vhi)\  sub-district  or  department,  term 
explained,  i.  .59. 

Chin  Hwa-ching,  Chinese  general,  at 
Wusung,  ii.  534  ;  his  bravery,  ii.  .53.5. 

China,  origin  of  name  uncertain,  prob- 
ably from  Tuin,  i.  2,  ii.  161  ;  name 
introduced  into  Europe  by  Arab  tra- 
ders, i.  3  ;  native  names  of,  i.  4  ;  Buddh- 
ist and  Mohammedan  terms  for,  i.  5  ; 
dimensions  of  the  Empire,  i.  5 ;  of  the 
Eighteen  Provinces,  i.  8  ;  boundaries, 
i.  6  ;  its  three  grand  divisions,  i.  7  ; 
its  mountain  systems,  i.  9  ;  deserts,  i. 
15-17;  rivers,  i.  18;  lakes,  i.  23  ;  coast, 
i.  25;  Great  Wall  of,  i.  29;  Grand 
Canal,  i,  31  ;  roads,  i.  37;  general  as- 
pect, i.  40  ;  aboriginal  races  of,  i.  42  ; 
climate  on  coast  of,  compared  with 
America,  i.  .55 ;  colonies,  i.  185-257 ; 
population,  i.  264;  science  in,  i.  297, 
377;  education  in,  i.  .521  ft'.;  popu- 
lar ideas  concerning,  i.  724  ;  methods  of 
cultivation  in,  ii.  7 ;  its  early  history 
not  without  foundation,  ii.  135;  Chris- 
tianity in,  ii.  275  ;  surve}^  of,  by  the 
Jesuits,  ii.  308  ;  prospects  of  Christian 
missions  in,  ii.  354 ;  ancient  and  mod- 
ern commerce  of,  ii.  372.  390  ft'. ;  earliest 
notices  of,  ii.  408  ;  general  condition  of, 
after  first  war,  ii.  .573  ;  forcibly  opened, 
ii.  656  ;  condition  in  1865,  ii.  6'.)3  ;  hope- 
ful prospects  for  the  country,  ii.  738, 
743. 

Chinchew,  or  Tsiuenchau,  the  ancient 
Zayton,  i.  129,  136;  bridge  at,  i.  755; 
Portuguese  traders  at,  ii.  428. 

Chin-chin,  origin  of  the  word,  i.  805. 

Chinese,  race  types,  i.  41  ;  women,  1.  42 ; 
industry  and  civilization  of,  i.  46  ;  works 
on  geography,  i.  49  ;  people  of  Shan- 
tung, i.  93;  policy  in  I'll,  i.  314  ft'.; 
Herbal,  i.  370-377  ;  political  education 
of,  i.  384;  divisions  of  society,  i.  411; 
advancement  aft'ected  by  their  language, 
i.  579  ;  philosophy  mixed  with  divina- 
tion, i.  629,  632,  ii.  74  ;  care  of  their 
early  records,  i.  651  ;  their  notions  of 
foreign  countries,  i.  725  ;  popular  ideas 
respecting  their  food,  i.  777  ;  their  so- 
cial customs,  i.  782  ;  regulations  regard- 
ing marriage,  i.  792;  names,  how  writ- 
ten, i.  798  ;  ceremony  and  etiquette,  i. 


748 


IXDEX. 


800  ;  a  temperate  people,  i.  808  ;  com- 
mendable traits  of  the,  i.  H'd'd  ;  garden- 
ers rather  than  farmers,  ii.  o  ;  societj', 
industry  of,  ii.  C3 ;  their  tendency  to 
co-operate,  ii.  88  ;  chronology  and  cos- 
mogony, ii.  13G-144;  their  origin,  it 
144  ;  adopt  the  queue,  ii.  17'.) ;  causes 
of  their  remarkable  duration,  ii.  188  ft".; 
influence  of  ancestral  worship  on,  ii. 
'2o7  ft". ;  benevolence,  ii.  SG:!  fT. ;  Christian 
missions  among  the,  ii.  27.^  ;  character 
of,  emigrants  in  the  Archipelago,  ii. 
3'2:^  ;  future  influence  of  newspapers 
among,  ii.  o41  ;  generally  irreligious,  ii. 
355  ;  tluir  early  isolation  and  suspicion, 
iL  40t) ;  subse<iuent  estimate  of  foreign- 
ers influenced  by  early  Portuguese  tra- 
ders, ii.  4:27  ;  maltreated  by  Spaniards  in 
Manila,  ii .  432  ;  terms  for  '  foreigner, ' 
ii.  461  ;  view  of  first  war  with  England, 
iL  508  ;  national  confidence  during  Tai- 
ping  Rebellion,  ii.  604,  625 ;  foreign- 
ers' abuse  of,  ii.  706  ;  character  as  ex- 
hibited during  the  great  famine,  ii.  735, 
736  ;  Education  Commission  to  the 
United  States,  iL  7'39,  740. 

Chinese  Rcj)ository,  its  origin  and  object, 
ii.  332 ;  on  first  war  with  England,  ii. 
.550. 

Chinhai,  in  Chehkiang,  L  123  ;  capture  of, 
ii.  520. 

Ching-hwang  miao,  of  Peking,  i.  69 ;  in 
Canton,  i.  165  ;  in  Shanghai,  i.  107,  ii. 
202,  535. 

Chingtih.     See  Jeh-ho,  L  88. 

Chingtu,  in  Sz'chuen,  L  149,  156-157. 

Chinkiang,  in  Kiangsu,  i.  104 ;  Nestori- 
ans  in,  ii.  285 ;  capture  by  British,  ii. 
.540;  by  Tai-pings,  ii.  590;  recaptured 
by  rebels,  ii .  605. 

Cholera  and  small-pox  common,  ii.  132. 

Chop  (//'("),  meaning  of  the  term,  i.  800  ; 
in  tea  trade,  ii.  48. 

Chop-sticks  (Av/vji  tsz'),  how  used,  L  807. 

Christianity,  and  the  Sabbath  in  China, 
i.  810;  its  introduction  into  China  l)y 
Nestorian.s,  ii.  275  ;  l)y  Roman  ('ath- 
olics,  ii.  287  ;  confounded  with  Triad 
Sect,  iL  312  ;  Protestants  commence 
their  labors,  ii.  318 ;  prospects  for  tol- 
eration in  China,  ii.  354  ;  jjreached  in 
Formosa  by  the  Dutch,  ii.  434  ;  Hung 
Siu-tsuen  accepts,  ii.  58(i  ;  he  studies  at 
Canton,  ii.  588  ;  absence  of  its  princi- 
ples in  Tai-ping  movement,  ii.  600-  Lord 
Elgin's  reply  to  missionaries  concern- 
ing, ii.  649  ;  and  missions  in  China, 
problem  discussed  by  the  officials,  ii. 
707. 

Chronology,  Chinese,  ii.  135  ;  its  claims 
to  belief,  ii.  143. 

Chu,  (Jovernor,  valedictory  ode  of,  i.  462. 

Chu  Hi,  commentator  of  Confucius,  his 
home  in  Kiangsi.i.  113  ;  his  Siau  IHolt^ 


i.  .540 ;  commentaries  of,  i.  652,  654, 
677  ;  his  philosophy,  i.  683  ;  on  cos- 
mogony, ii.  141;  on  Tablet  of  Yu,  iL 
150,  174,  200. 

Chukiang.  See  Pearl  River,  L  22,  159, 
etc. 

Chung-ho  tien,  '  Hall  of  Central  Peace,' 
Palace  at  Peking,  i.  68. 

Chunghow,  escorts  American  embassy  to 
Peking,  ii.  668  ;  in  the  Tientsin  riot,  ii. 
702,  703  ;  sent  to  France  on  a  mis- 
sion of  apology,  ii.  7C.5  ;  abused  by  the 
foreign  press,  ii.  706  ;  sent  to  Russia, 
ii.  731  ;  jjunishmcnt  for  negotiating 
treaty  of  Livadia,  ii.  732. 

Chungking,  in  S/.'cliueii,  L  155,  158. 

Vhuriij  Kiuoh,  or  '  Middle  Kingdom,'  name 
for  China  since  B.C.  1150,  i.  4,  98. 

Chusan  Archipelago,  i.  123-126;  British 
fleet  arrives  at,  ii.  515  ;  restored,  ii.  580. 

Chun  2'xiu,  or  '  Spring  and  Autumn  Rec- 
ord,' i.  647-651,  663. 

Chu  Tsun,  a  censor,  i.  432. 

Cibot,  Pere,  i.  537,  iL  14. 

Cicadas,  tricks  with,  i.  3.52. 

Cities  in  China,  aspect  of,  i.  40 ;  arrange- 
ment of  streets  in,  i.  738 ;  their  dull 
appearance,  i.  746. 

Civilization,  of  the  Chinese,  L  46,  380- 
383  ;  the  wife  in,  i.  792. 

Club-houses,  in  Peking,  i.  76  ;  Ningpo,  i. 
122;  Canton,  i.  167,  739. 

Clans,  in  south  China,  i.  482  ;  their  cus- 
toms, i.  484  ;  secret  societies,  i.  492  ;  in 
the  Archipelago,  ii.  323. 

Classics,  or  Chinese  canonical  books, 
characters  in,  i.  589 ;  the  minor,  as 
school-books,  i.  526-541  ;  price  of  the 
nine,  i.  602  ;  the  five  cliief,  described,  i. 
627-651  •,  the  'Four  Books,' or  minor, 
L  652-672  ;  Hall  of  the,  i.  74,  730. 

Clientclage  in  Chinese  official  ranks,  i.  461. 

Climate,  of  Eighteen  Provinces,  i.  50  ;  of 
Mongolia,  i.  201  ;  of  lli,  L  223  ;  of  Tib- 
et, i.  241. 

Cloisonni',  its  manufacture,  ii.  60. 

Coal,  in  Chilili,  i.  89  ;  in  Shantung,  i.  93  ; 
in  Shansi,  i.  94-95  ;  in  Formosa,  i.  139; 
in  Hunan,  i.  147;  Kwangtung,  i.  174; 
Yunnan,  i.  184  ;  modeo.f  working,  i.  305. 

Coast,  length  of  Chinese,  i.  7 ;  granitic 
mountains  of,  i.  14;  character  of,  i. 
26 ;  climate  of,  i.  55  ;  trade  along  the, 
ii.  389. 

Cobblers,  itinerant,  ii.  39. 

Cobdo  province,  i.  208 ;  Tourgouths  in, 
i.  220. 

Coffin,  C.  C,  i.  781. 

Coffins,  stored  in  temples,  i.  275  ;  form 
and  value  of,  ii.  244  ;  in  larariums,  ii. 
2.54. 

Cole,  R.,  i.  604,  ii.  325,  350. 

Colledge,  Dr.  T.  R.,  his  hospital  at  Ma. 
cao,  ii.  333,  335. 


INDEX. 


(49 


Colleges,  in  Canton,  i.  542,  545  ;  Anglo- 
Chinese,  at  Malacca,  ii.  324. 

Collie   Kev.  David,  i.  054,  ii.  o24,  368. 

Colonial  Office,  Peking,  i.  72,  426. 

Colonial  Possessions  oi  Cliina,  i.  7  ;  gen- 
oral  table  of,  i.  KSi»  ;  population,  i.  284  ; 
governed  by  the  Li  Fan  Yuen,  i.  428. 

Commerce,  Chinese,  ii.  373^05.  See  also 
nnder  Trade 

Concessions,  or  foreign  settlements  at 
trade  i)orts,  ii.  020. 

Concubines,  their  position  in  the  house- 
hold, i.  791. 

Confucius,  worship  of,  in  '  Hall  of  Intense 
Thought,'  Peking,  i.  (>'.);  temple  to,  at 
Peking,  i.  73.  ii.  15!) ;  l)irthplace,  i. 
90;  '  bird  of,'  the  pjacock,  i.  337  ;  in- 
fluence of,  on  permanence  of  Chinese  in- 
stitutions, i.  3SL  ;  family  of,  ennobled, 
i.  387,  406.  52;),  525  ;  and  Hiang  Toll,  i. 
534,  530,  538,  (;3t),  637  ;  and  the  Li  Ki,  i. 
644  ;  his  Ckiui  Tsiii,  i.  047  ;  Ana  ects  of, 
i.  6.5() ;  his  life,  i.  058  ;  character  of  his 
philosophy,  i.  003  ;  worship  of,  i.  004  ; 
influence  in  government  j)olity,  ii.  92; 
on  music,  ii.  94  ;  and  early  emperors,  ii. 
146 ;  writings  burned,  ii.  101  ;  worship- 
ped, ii.  195  ;  on  religion,  ii.  199  ;  tsmples 
to,  ii.  203  ;  as  an  example,  ii.  206  ;  his 
meeting  with  Lau-tsz',  ii.  212,  218,  237. 

Contrarieties  in  Chinese  and  Western 
usages,  i.  829-833. 

Cooking  among  the  Chinese,  i.  781. 

Cool.e  trade,  and  Kwangting  rebellion,  ii. 
631  ;  its  atrocities,  and  efforts  toward  its 
suppression,  li.  0tj2  ;  labor  employed  by 
the  British  at  Taku,  ii.  084  ;  convention 
signed  respecting,  ii.  098  ;  is  finally 
abolislied,  ii.  715. 

Cooper,  T.  T.,  i.  43,  ii.  719. 

Copper,  m  Yunnan,  i.  184  ;  uses  and  lo- 
calities of,  i.  311  ;  manufacture,  ii.  19. 

Cordier,  Henri,  i.  034,  781,  ii.  318,  024. 

Corea.  frontier  of,  i.  190  ;  trade  at  Ki-iu 
wan  fair,  i.  194  ;  Chinese  attempts  to 
conquer,  ii.  92  ;  conquest  of,  by  the 
Tang,  ii    109;  language,  ii.  190. 

Cormorant,  fishing  with  the,  ii.  10 ;  no- 
ticed by  Friar  Odoric,  ii.  423. 

Cosmogonj'-,  Chinese,  ii.  137 ;  Chu  Hi's, 
li.  141,  200. 

Cotton  cultivati  m,  ii.  9  ;  and  manufac- 
ture, ii.  36,  02. 

Cottrell,  C.  H.,  i.  207. 

Council  of  State,  or  General  Council,  i. 
415,  418. 

Couriers,  government  and  post,  i.  389,  425. 

Court,  of  Controllers,  Peking,  i.  69  ;  ar- 
rangemont-^  of  imperial,  i.  407  ;  of  Co- 
lonial Government,  i.  428  ;  Censorate,  i. 
430  ,  Transmission  and  Judicature,  i. 
433  ;  minor  court.s,  i.  4:!5  ;  criminal,  i. 
503  ;  dialect,  i.  013  ;  ceremony  otkotoii\ 
i.  801. 


Creation,  Chinese    ideas  concerning,    u 

137. 
Crickets  used  for  gambling,  i.  352,  886. 
Crime,   laws  respecting,  in  the  code,   i 

389. 
Crow,  the,  on  Desert  of  Sha-moh,  i.  17 ; 

about  Peking,  i.  334. 
Cashing,    Hon.   Caleb,   appointed    U.    S. 

minister  to  China,   ii.  505  ;    concludes 

treaty  of  Wanghia  with  Kiying,  ii.  567  ; 

correspondence  in  case  of  homicide,  ii. 

568. 
Customs,  management  of,  i.  444,  ii.  402  ; 

internal  transit,   ii.    391  ;  revenue,    ii. 

404  ;  put  into   hands   of   foreigners   at 

Shanghai,  ii.  027,  658  ;  under  Mr.  Hart, 

ii.  095. 
Cutch,  or  terra  japonica,  a  dve,  imported, 

ii.  398. 
Cuvier,  Baron  G.,  i.  343. 
Cycle  adopted  by  Hwangti,  ii.  69,  146. 
Cyclopedias  in  Chinese  literature,  i.  693. 

DALAI-LAMA  of  Tibet,  i.  245,  256  ; 
the  Pope   of   Shamanism,    ii.  3:!3. 

Dancing,  or  posture-making,  ii.  104. 

Daourian  Mountains,  on  north  frontier  of 
China,  i.  9. 

Darwin,  Charles  R.,  i.  3."34. 

Darwin,  Erasmus,  i.  357. 

Dates,  so-called,  of  China,  the  jujube 
plum,  i.  305,  775. 

D'Avezac,  ii.  416,  418. 

David,  P.re,  i.  157,  343,  290,  314,  317, 
331,  3.52,  355. 

Davis,  Sir  J.,  notice  of  Grand  Canal,  L 
32  ;  of  Yuen-mir.g  Yuen,  i.  80 ;  on 
Canal,  i.  92 ;  Nanking,  i.  101 ;  Ngan- 
king,    i.    HO;  tSketches,    i.    114,     101, 

290,  297,  434,  5(51,  055  ;  Vhinc.ae  Poetry, 
i.  703,  714,  715,  719,  722,  745,  ii.  19, 
22,  27,  28,  .5.5,  05,  79,  118,  137,  1.52, 
179,  200,  214,  220,  233,  349,  3.52,  382, 
400,  42(),  440,  4i9,  454,  458,  404 ;  Kiying 
introduced  to,  ii.  567  ;  takes  the  Bogue 
forts,  ii.  .573,  574;  his  China  during 
the.  W<u\  ii.  570. 

Day,  its  divisions,  ii.  79. 

Debts  and  debtors,  laws  and  practice  con- 
cerning, i.  515  ;  at  New  Year,  i.  811. 

Deer,  varieties  of,  in  China,  i.  321. 

Degrees,  four  literary,  in  China,  i.  547- 
500 ;  sale  of,  i.  549,  500  ;  value  of,  i. 
571. 

De  Guignes,  i.  37,  119,  200,  271,  280,  289, 

291,  292,  081,  724,  735,  794,  800,  812, 
ii.  30,  32,  33,  73,  96,  307,  250,  271,  410, 
439. 

D'Herbelot,  on  origin  of  name  China,  L 

3  ;  on  Tartar,  i.  302. 
Deluge  of  Yao,  probably  an  inundation, 

ii.  147. 
Dennys,  N.  B.,  i.  84,  130,  170. 
'  Density  of  population  in  China,  i.  373. 


750 


l^•l)EX. 


Dent,  invited  to  meet  liin  in  Canton,  ii. 
4'M  ;  conducted  to  consulate  by  Captain 
Elliot,  ii.  5UU ;  Liu  probably  wislies 
him  as  a  liostage,  ii.  5U8. 

D'Entiecolks,  ii.  ^0. 

DeQuincey,  Tiiomas,  i.  234. 

Desert  of  Gobi,  or  Sha-moh,  i.  15.  See 
Gobi. 

Deshauterayes,  Le  Roux,  i.  l')")!. 

Dew,  Captain,  captures  Ningpo,  ii.  GOO ; 
before  Shauhing,  ii.  010. 

Dialects,  of  the  Chinese  language,  i.  611; 
the  Mandarin, i.  Gil! ;  Canton  and  Amoy, 
i.  ()14-Gia 

Dictionary,  of  Kanghi,  i.  588,  591,  592, 
G02,  (u'i ;  Dr.  Morrison's,  i.  611 ;  its 
compilation,  ii.  o20. 

Dictionaries,  used  by  the  Chinese,  i.  589- 
591 ;  words  in  various,  i.  611 ;  of  dia- 
lects, i.  015 ;  in  the  Imperial  Catalogue, 
i.  672. 

Dikes,  along  Yellow  River,  i.  19 ;  the 
Grand  Canal,  i.  o5  ;  at  Kaifung,  i.  99, 
100. 

Dinners,  formal  Chinese,  described,  i. 
806. 

Dish-mending  by  travelling  tinkers,  ii.  58. 

Diseases  prevalent  in  China,  ii.  12U. 

Divination,  by  the  figures  of  the  Yifi 
Jung,  i.  632  ;  by  the  horary  characters, 
ii.  69  ;  at  graves,  ii.  240  ;  Chinese,  com- 
pared with  Roman,  ii.  201. 

Divisions,  of  China,  i.  7  ;  of  Mongolia,  i. 
202  ;  of  Tibet,  i.  244  ;  of  society,  i.  412  ; 
b}-  Yang  Kien  into  chau,  hieii,  etc., 
ii.  167. 

Divorce,  laws  respecting,  i.  794. 

Dogs,  in  China,  i.  318 ;  eaten,  i.  777. 

Dolon-iior,  or  Lania-miao,  i.  87. 

Dominican  friars  in  China,  ii.  297;  rivalry 
and  quarrels  with  .Jesuits,  ii.  299,  300  ; 
persecuted  in  Macao,  ii.  302. 

Doolittle,  Justus,  i.  480,  .550,  .5.59,  719, 
7.52,  781,  788,  797,  817,  821,  827,  ii. 
14,  7(),  87,  104,  119,  212,  2-Jl,  242,  248, 
255,  2(;i. 

Douc,  or  Cochinchinese  monkey,  i.  314. 

Douglas,  Dr.  C,  i.  61.5. 

Douglas,  R.  K.,  i.  663,  ii.  217,  261. 

Dragon,  or  funr/,  of  the  Chinese,  i.  .344 ; 
imperial  enil^lcm,  i.  395  ;  on  Emperor's 
used  as  symbol,  ii.  112  ;  and  grave  geo- 
mancv,  ii.  246. 

Dragon-boat  Festival,  i.  148.  696,  816. 

Dramas  and  plays  in  China,  i.  714 ;  resu- 
me of  a  plot,  i.  822. 

Dress,  style  and  variety  of  Chinese,  i. 
7.59  ;  of  Chinese  women,  i.  763  ;  at  the- 
atrical representations,  i.  822  ;  felts  and 
skins  as,  ii.  39  ;  of  Tai-pings,  ii.  .589. 

Drought,  action  of  officials  during,  ii. 
203-205. 

Drum  Tower,  Peking,  i.  74  ;  stone  drums 
in  Confucian  Temple,  ii.  159. 


Ducks,  numerous,  i.  339  ;    the  mandarin, 

i.  340  ;  hatching  establishments,  i.  77a. 
Dudgeon,  Dr.  J.,  i.  770,  li.    134,  240,  241, 

44a. 
Dufresse,  Romish  missionary  to  China, 

ii.  30(j,  307  ;  on  infant  baptism,  ii.  311 ; 

his  letters,  ii.  317. 
Du  Halde,  i.   02,   196,   523,    ii.   137,  294, 

443,  719. 
Duuganis,  Mohammedan  tribe  of,  L  210, 

and  Yakub  lieg,  ii.  727 ;  their  revolt, 

ii.  730. 
Du  Ponceau,  P.  S.,  i.  586. 
Dutch,    bring   tea  into   Europe,    ii.    51 ; 

tlriven  from   Formosa  by  Ko.\inga,  ii. 

180;    in    the    Pescadores,    i.    141,    ii. 

433  ;  and  missionaries  in  the  Archipel- 
ago,   ii.  320  ;  Chinese  notice  of,  ii.  427 ; 

trade  and  embassies  to  China,  ii.  434. 
Dutch    Folly     Fort,    at  Canton,    i.    163, 

170  ;  British  bombard  Canton  from,  iL 

640. 
Dwellings,    in    loess,    i.   301 ;    in    cities, 

construction  and  arrangement,  i.  727- 

733  ;  boats  used  as,  i.  750. 
Dyer,  Samuel,  i.  (iC»4,  ii.  325,  368. 
Dynasties,  table  of  the  Chinese,  ii.  186. 
Dzaring  Lake,  in  Koko-nor,  i.  18. 


EAGLE,  or  Barkut,  in  Mongolia,  i. 
331. 

East  India  Company,  appoint  Morrison  as 
translator,  ii.  319:  oppose  his  son's 
press  at  Macao,  ii.  345  ;  and  the  opium 
trade  with  China,  ii.  376,  377 ;  its  influ- 
ence and  character  in  China,  ii.  443, 
4.59,  403 ;  attempt  to  start  a  trade  at 
Fuhchau,  ii.  445  ;  control  the  British  in 
China,  ii.  453;  its  responsibility,  ii. 
458 ;  its  close,  ii.  4.V.),  738. 

Eclip.se.s,  of  moon  at  (^antou,  i.  SI  9 ;  Chi- 
nese observations  of,  ii.  73  ;  noticed  in 
the  tShii,  ii.  149. 

Edicts,  style  of,  and  modes  of  publishing, 
i.  409. 

Edkins,  Dr.  Joseph,  i.  3,  752,  ii.  197,212, 
217,  229,  247,  271,  364. 

Education,  in  China,  Chap.  IX.  ;  prob- 
able extent  of,  i.  545 ;  female,  i.  572- 
577 ;  character  of  Chinese,  ii.  370  ;  of 
Chinese  by  missionaries,  ii.  310,  341  ; 
of  Chinese  boys  in  the  United  States, 
ii.  739-741. 

Egypt,  Chinese  snuff-bottles  found  in,  ii 
27, 

Eighteen  Provinces  (or  China  Proper), 
called  Shih-jxih  Sing  and  C'him(\ 
Kwoh  in  Chinese,  i.  8;  its  mountaiu 
system,  i.  14 ;  boundaries,  i.  25  ;  coast, 
i.  26;  climate,  i.  .50;  topographical 
divisions,  i.  .58 ;  area  and  population' 
density  of.  i.  272  ;  their  government,  i 
437-443. 


INDEX. 


761 


Eitel,  Ernest,  ii.  233,  247. 

Elders  of  villages,  their  position,  i.  483, 
500. 

Elephants  at  Peking,  i.  323. 

Eleuths,  tribe  uf  Mongols,  i.  213,  219. 

Elgin,  Loid,  his  opinion  of  the  Arrow 
case,  li.  037;  arrival  in  China,  ii.  (143; 
before  Canton  city,  ii.  (144 ;  construc- 
tion of  municipal  control  at  its  capture, 
ii.  (;4G  ;  replies  to  Shanghai  missionaries 
on  toleration  of  Christianity,  ii.  049 ; 
reaches  Tientsin,  li.  Ool  ;  bearing  to- 
ward the  allies  in  Tientsin,  ii.  054  ;  and 
the  opium  question,  ii.  057 ;  visits  the 
rebels  at  Hankow,  ii.  059 ;  among  na- 
tive."? near  Canton,  ii.  001  ;  reappointed 
plenipotentiary  to  ( liina,  ii.  071  ;  re- 
fuses surrender  of  Takii  forts  and  ad- 
vances to  Peking,  ii.  0'i7;  view  of  the 
pillage  of  Yuen-miiig  Yuen,  ii.  683  ;  he 
orders  its  destruction,  ii.  684 ;  signs 
the  treaty  of  Peking,  ii.  OsO  \  his  char- 
acter, ii.  688. 

Elliot,  Admiral  G.,  arrives  at  Chusan, 
ii.  515. 

Elliot,  Captain  Charles,  made  superin- 
tendent of  trade,  ii.  481 ;  his  opinion  of 
the  opium  trade,  ii.  482  ; .  ordered  to 
drive  away  opium  ships,  ii.  491  ;  his 
exertions  to  stop  smuggling,  ii.  496  ;  re- 
turns to  Canton  and  oilers  co-operation 
with  Lin,  ii.  499  ;  his  circular  upon  sur- 
rendering the  opium,  ii.  502 ;  leaves 
Canton  with  the  prescribed  English- 
men, ii.  503  ;  retires  with  them  on  board 
ship,  ii.  506 ;  effect  upon  Lin  of  his 
protecting  Dent,  ii.  509 ;  arrival  off 
Chusan  as  plenipotentiary,  ii.  515 ;  in- 
terview with  Kishen  at  Taku,  ii.  510 ; 
at  the  Bogue,  ii.  518;  his  humane 
policy,  ii.  519  ;  reward  offered  for,  ii. 
520;  accepts  a  ransom  for  Canton,  ii. 
523  ;  superseded  by  Sir  H.  Pottinger,  ii. 
524. 

Ellis,'Henry,  i.  85,  174,  5(il,  ii.  458. 

Embassy,  received  by  Kienlung,  ii.  182; 
to  China  :  of  Marcus  Aurelius,  ii.  410  ; 
Ibn  Batuta,  ii.  423  ;  character  of  an, 
during  the  Ming,  ii.  42() ;  the  Portu- 
guese send  four,  ii.  438  ;  Spanish,  ii. 
432  ;  Dutch,  ii.  438,  439 ;  Macartney's, 
ii.  454  ;  Lord  Amherst's,  ii.  458  ;  Pot- 
tinger's  question  concerning  reception 
of  an,  ii.  5.53 ;  the  Burlingame,  to 
foreign  countries,  ii.  097. 

Embroidery,  on  official  costume,  i.  703 ; 
on  ladies'  dresses,  i.  7(55  ;  Chinese  skill 
in,  ii.  36. 

Emigration,  restrictions  to,  from  China, 
i.  378,  411  ;  character  of,  to  the 
Archipelago,  ii.  323 ;  of  Chinese  to 
Amei'ica,  treaties  respecting,  ii.  699. 

Emperor  of  China,  his  residence  at  Pe- 
king, i.  ()6-69 ;  country  place  at  Jeh-ho, 


i.  88  ;  revenue  of,  i.  289  ;  position,  titles, 
etc.,  i.  393-399;  inaugural  proclamation, 
i.  399  ;  coronation,  i.  401  ;  authority,  i. 
403;  family  of,  i.  404;  his  escort,  i.  410  ; 
relations  with  ministers,  i.  420,  437  ; 
his  dress,  i.  703  ;  worship,  i.  801  ;  his 
ceremony  of  ploughing,  ii.  i;> ;  in  Chi- 
ne.se  annals,  ii.  15^  ;  tables  of  Ming  and 
Tsing,  ii.  1!?6;  worships  Heaven  as 
'Tiv)i.-tsz\  ii.  194-199;  prays  lor  rain, 
ii.  305 ;  and  ancestral  worship,  ii.  2;.'S  ; 
funeral  of,  ii.  250;  worshipped  in 
mosques,  ii.  370  ;  peculiarities  about 
succession  of  the  present,  ii.  726. 

Empress-dowager,  position  of,  i.  409;  death 
of  the  Eastern,  ii.  727. 

Empress-regent,  two  during  Tungchi,  ii. 
184  ;  their  critical  position  at  death  of 
Hienfung,  ii.  091  ;  and  marriage  cere- 
monies of  Tungchi,  ii.  710. 

England,  compared  with  China  as  to  pop- 
ulation-density, i.  273  ;  consumption  of 
tea  in,  ii.  51  ;  attitude  of,  at  commence- 
ment of  opium  war,  ii.  510 ;  observa- 
tions upon,  ii.  572. 

English,  manifesto  against,  at  Canton, 
i.  488;  caricature  of,  ii.  116;  outrage 
the  dead  at  Canton,  ii.  354 ;  toleration 
clause  in,  treaty,  ii.  360  ;  introduce 
opium  into  China,  ii.  377 ;  commerce 
attempted  in  1635  and  1664,  ii.  444  ;  and 
French  sailors'  quarrels,  ii.  451  ;  troops 
at  Macao,  ii.  456  ;  and  Chinese  expec- 
tations at  Napier's  arrival,  ii.  400  ;  at 
Canton  petition  the  king  regarding 
trade,  ii.  470 ;  losses  during  the  hrst 
war,  ii.  550  ;  murder  of,  near  Canton, 
ii.  578 ;  consuls  at  Chinese  ports,  ii. 
579  ;  waive  right  of  entering  Canton, 
ii.  573,  025 ;  attack  pirates,  ii.  032 ; 
insult  to  flag,  ii.  035  ;  open  hostilities 
at  Canton,  ii.  638 ;  sustain  Palmers- 
toii's  war  policy  at  home,  ii.  041  ;  influ. 
ence  of,  consular  body,  ii.  0S9  ;  expedi- 
tions "of  trade  and  exploration"  into 
Yunnan,  ii.  718-723  ;  responsibility  foi 
China,  ii.  725. 

Erman,  A.,  i.  306. 

Escayrac-de-Lauture,  Comte  de,  ii.  215; 
his  return  from  imprisonment  at  Pe- 
king, ii.  684. 

Etiquette,  at  a  court  levee,  i.  800;  of  a 
formal  call,  i.  803. 

Eunuchs  in  imperial  household,  i.  407. 

"  Ever- Victorious  Force"  {Cha)ip-sfn)iff 
Kiuii),  its  organization  under  Ward,  ii. 
007  ;  under  Col.  Gordon,  ii.  009;  uni- 
form and  character,  ii.  Oil  ;  takes 
Fushan  and  other  towns,  ii.  Oil  2  ;  before 
Suchau,  ii.  013  ;  last  operations,  ii.  617; 
dissolved  June  1.  1864,  ii.  (»18. 

Examinations,  Hall  of,  at  Canton,  i. 
106  ;  riot,  i.  498  ;  system  of,  founded,  i. 
521  ;  mode  of   conducting,  i.   547 ;  ar- 


752 


IXDEX. 


rangements,  i.  551 ;  example  of  an  es- 
Si.j ,  i.  554 ;  statistics  of,  i.  55S  ;  army, 
i.  560  ;  practical  merits  and  demerits  of 
system,  i.  5t»2-573. 

Execution,  of  criminals,  i.  511 ;  attempted, 
in  front  of  factories,  ii.  405  ;  of  rebels 
in  Canton,  ii.  632  ;  of  Shushun,  ii.  691 ; 
of  Tientsin  rioters,  ii.  704. 

Exports,  of  silk  from  China,  ii.  'SH ;  items 
of,  from  China,  ii.  373,  3112  ;  table  of, 
ii.  405  ;  duties  on,  in  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, ii.  447. 

Ex-territoriality,  its  inherent  wrong,  ii 
657  ;  Chinese  officials  inquire  concern- 
ing, ii.  659;  its  indirect  influence,  ii. 
695 ;  assumption  of,  by  British  minis- 
ter, ii.  72(; ;  anecdote  illustrating  Chi- 
nese dislike  of,  ii.  741. 

Extortions  practised  by  officials,  i.  475. 

Eyelet-hole  ware,  called  '  rice-China,'  how 
made,  ii.  25. 

FABER,  Ernst,  i.  603,  ii.  25.5. 
Fabulous  animals  of  the  Chinese,  i. 
342. 
Factories,  the,  at  Canton,  i.  107  ;  Chinese 

troops  placed  over,  ii  474  ;  mob  attack 

the,  ii.  495  ;  Lin  confines  foreigners  in, 

ii.  .500  ;  occupied  by  British  troops,  ii. 

521  ;  brawl  and  fire  at,  ii.  556 ;  burned 

by  Yeh,  ii.  639. 
Fairs,  on  frontiers  of  Corea,  i.    194 ;  at 

Peking,  i  817. 
Falcons  in  Peking,  i.  332. 
Families,   cluster    together  in  China,  i. 

277 ;  Confucian,   ennobled,   i.    387 ;    in 

tea   cultivation,  ii.  41  ;    and  ancestral 

worship,  ii.  2:>6  ff'. 
P'amine   of     1878,    Chinese    benevolence 

during,  ii  266  ;  its  extent  and  terrors, 

ii.  734 ;  efforts  of  foreigners  toward  its 

relief,  ii.  73  5. 
fan  River,  in  .Shansi,  i.  94. 
J<^au   kuiei,   '  foreign   devils.'   reason    for 

name,    i.    42 ;  use   at   Canton,  ii.    346, 

347 ;    influence   of    the  term,   ii.    461 ; 

gradual  disappearance,  ii.  (i(i2. 
Farce,  a  Chinese,  i.  715. 
Farms  in  Cldna,  generally  small,   i.  276, 

278. 
Feet,    compressed,   origiti  and  extent  of 

practice,  i.  776  ;  its  appearance  and  ef- 
fects ujjon  women,   i.  768 ;    noticed  by 

Friar  Odoric,  ii.  423. 
Pelt,  poorly  m;ide,  ii.  39. 
Female,  education  in  China,  i.   .57:2-577  ; 

dress,  i.  763 ;  position  in  society,  i.  784 ; 

privileges  and  misfortunes,  i.  794-796 ; 

parts  in  theatres,  i.  821  ;  missionaries, 

ii.  36i. 
Fergusson,  James,  i.   726,  727,  745,  758, 

ii.  176,  232. 
Festivals,  of  Dragon-boats,    i.  696,   816 ; 

numerous  and  popular,  i.809;  New  Year, 


i.  810-816  ;  of  lanterns,  i.  817,  818  ;  of 
ploughing  and  the  first  of  spring,  iL  13. 

Fiction  (see  also  Novels),  character  of 
Chinese,  i   694. 

Field.  Dr.  H.  M.,  on  Chinese  justice, 
i.  .510. 

Fi-fi,  Chinese  monkey,  i.  31.5. 

Filial  Duty,  the  '  Canons  of,'  or  Ifiao 
King^  i.  536 ;  notable  examples  of,  i . 
.538 ;  taught  in  the  JJoolc  of  liitvs,  i. 
646. 

Finn,  James,  ii.  271,  274. 

Fires,  how  controlled  in  cities,  i.  743 ;  in 
pawnshops,  ii.  87. 

Fire-wells  in  Sz'chuen,  i.  312. 

Fire-works,  in  Peking,  i.  817;  a- id  gun- 
powder, ii.  90. 

Fischer,  Heinr.,  i.  309. 

Fisher,  Lieut. -Col,  ii.  600,  663,  667,  608, 
675. 

Fishes,  immense  supply  of,  in  China,  i. 
276  ;  of  the  Empire,  i.  340-350  ;  shell- 
fish, i.  350-351 ;  in  ("Janton  m.arkets,  i. 
780;  models  of,  carried  in  procession, i. 
818;  and  fishermen,  ii.  14;  fins  and 
maws  eaten,  ii.  397. 

Fishing,  various  methods  of,  i.  779,  ii. 
14. 

Five  Sovereigns,  the,  of  Chinese  legend- 
ary history,  ii.  142-148. 

Flag,  Chinese  national  and  private,  i.  7.52. 

Flint,  his  efforts  to  establish  a  trade,  ii. 
448  ;  imprisoned,  ii.  449. 

Flogging,  a  common  punishment,  i.  .509. 

Flowers,  much  esteemed,  i.  368 ;  worn 
upon  the  head,  i.  704  ;  at  New  Year,  i. 
811  ;  culture  of,  ii.  12  ;  used  in  scenting 
tea,  ii.  48. 

Food,  of  Tibetans,  i.  241  ;  in  use  in  China, 
i.  274  ;  supplies  of  palace,  i.  408 ;  Chi- 
nese, i.  771-778. 

Foreigners,  how  classified,  i.  429;  ideas 
of  Cliiuese  society,  i.  782  ;  thought  to 
have  no  surnames,  i.  798;  tricks  playi'd 
on,  i.  799 ;  establish  free  hospitals,  ii. 
333  fi". ;  Morrison  Education  Society,  ii. 
340;  Chinese  contempt  for,  ii.  450-4.5-1  ; 
Chinese  terms  for,  ii.  401  ;  in  Canton 
kept  like  animals,  ii.  477;  imprisoiu'il  liy 
Lin  in  the  factories,'  ii.  500  ;  how  looked 
uj)on  by  the  Chinese,  ii.  538  ;  in  general 
included  in  terras  of  English  treaty  of 
Nanking,  ii.  oCd  ;  continued  hatred  of, 
at  Canton,  ii.  .578,-580;  and  the  Tai- 
pings  at  Nanking,  ii.  597 ;  none  in- 
jured by  Tai-pings,  ii.  604  ;  enlisted  by 
the  rebels,  ii.OOO  ;  by  imperialists  under 
Ward,  ii.  007;  and  the  Ever-Victorious 
force,  ii.  (ill  ;  and  collection  of  duties 
at  Shanghai,  ii.  627 ;  Chinese  opinjpn 
of,  after  the  war  of  ISliO,  ii.  <iS9 ;  phm 
of  employing,  on  war  vessels,  ii.  692  ; 
their  abuse  of  China,  ii.  70() ;  admitted 
to  audience  of  Emperor,  ii.  714 ;  efforts 


INDEX. 


753 


toward  relief  of  the  famine  of  1878,  ii. 
735. 

Formosa  Island,  or  Taiwan,  i.  27,  44 ; 
position,  character,  and  products  of,  i. 
137-141  ;  hog  found  in,  i.  324  ;  pheasant 
of,  i.  337  ;  camplior  on,  ii.  .55  ;  Dutch 
driven  from,  ii.  180 ;  missions  in,  ii. 
349  ;  history  of  the  Dutch  occupation  of, 
ii.  433^38 ;  massacre  of  shipwrecked 
crews  on,  ii.  554  ;  during  the  Tai-ping 
Rebellion,  ii.  (i()4 ;  Japanese  descent 
upon,  ii.  710 ;  its  recent  growth  and 
improvement,  ii.  71S. 

Ports,  their  construction  in  China,  i.  758  ; 
at  the  Bogue.  ii.  520;    at  Taku,  ii.  676. 

Fortune,  R.,  i.  107,  136,  29e".,  370,  733,  ii. 
10,  12,  29,  38,  55,  2.53. 

Fortune-tellers,  and  the  cabala  of  the  Yih, 
i.  632 ;  and  astrology,  ii.  74 ;  their 
methods,  ii.  260. 

Fox,  localities  of,  ideas  concerning,  i.  320. 

French,  studies  in  Chinese  silk-culture, 
ii.  32,  34  ;  toleration  clauses  in,  treaty, 
ii.  361  ;  relations  with  China,  ii.  441  ; 
and  English  sailors,  their  quarrels  at 
Canton,  ii.  451  ;  treaty  of  Whampoa 
with  China,  ii.  571  ;  attack  on  rebels  at 
Shanghai,  ii.  028 ;  legation  withdraws 
from  Canton,  ii.  639  ;  grievance  against 
China,  ii.  642 ;  convention  of  Peking, 
ii.  087 ;  massacre  of  consul  and  Sisters 
of  Charity  at  Tientsin,  ii.  700 ;  action 
of  the,  charge',  ii   703. 

Fritsche,  H.,  i.  52,  57. 

Frogs,  how  caught,  i.  778. 

Fruits,  of  China,  i.  366  ;  common  table, 
i.  774  ;  at  dinner,  i.  807. 

I^'u,  '  department '  or  '  prefecture, '  term 
explained,  i.  58 ;  government,  i.  441. 

Fuhchau  (Hokchiu),  description  of,  i. 
130-133  ;  its  dialect,  i.  611  ;  bridge  at, 
i.  754  ;  nunneries  abolished  in,  ii.  230  ; 
missions  at,  ii.  349 ;  van  Hoorn  lands 
at,  ii.  438  ;  East  India  Company  com- 
mence trade  at,  ii.  44.5  ;  treatment  of 
foreigners  at,  ii.  580 ;  arsenal  estab- 
lished at,  ii.  61)6. 

Fuh-hi,  the  inventor  of  writing,  i.  580  ; 
and  the  Yih  King,  i.  627-628  ;  the  first 
monarch,  ii.  142  ;  confounded  with  Fuh 
(Buddha),  ii.  217. 

Fuhkien  province,  temperature  of,  i.  .55  , 
description  of,  i.  127-13't;  dialect,  i. 
614-616 ;  marriage  customs  of,  i.  78.5, 
7S7;  experiment  in  coinage,  ii.  84; 
Taoist  priests  in,  ii.  215_;  infanticide 
in,  ii.  240  ;  funeral  customs,  ii.  243  ; 
missions  in,  ii.  348. 

Fuh-niu  shan,  in  Honan,  i.  98. 

Fuhshan  (or  Fat-shan),  a  mart  near  Can- 
ton, i.  .59 ;  taken  by  rebels,  ii.  630  ;  their 
brutalities  in,  ii.  631. 

Funerals,  ceremonies  attending,  ii.  343- 
255. 

Vol.  II.— 48 


Fung-hmang,  or  phoenix,   i.  343 ;   as  an 

emblem,  ii.  111. 
Fuiig-shui,  founded  on  the   Yih  King^  i. 

628 ;  a  system  of  geomancy,  ii.  246. 
Fung   Sien   tien,    temple    in    Emperor's 

Palace,  Peking,  i.  09. 
Fung   Yun-shan,    an    early    follower    of 

Hung  Siu-tsuen,    ii.    586 ;    made    the 

'  Southern  King,'ii.  594  ;  he  disappears, 

ii.  602. 
Furniture,    in    country    houses,    i.    733 ; 

materials,  i.  734. 
Furs  used  for  winter  garments,  i.  763. 
Futai^  orfuyen^  governor  of  a  province, 

i.  438. 
Fuyin,  or  mayor  of  Peking,  i.  82. 

GABEL,  or  Salt  Department,  its  im^ 
portance,  i.  443. 

Gambier,  an  import,  ii.  400. 

Gamble,  VV.,  i.  604,  ii.  325. 

Gambling,  modes  and  extent  of,  i.  825. 

Games,  morra  {cliai  rnri)^  at  dinner,  L 
808  ;  out-door,  i.  825  ;  chess,  i.  827. 

Gang-<lis-ri,  Zang,  or  Kailasa  Mountains, 
i.  13. 

Gardens,  style  of  private,  in  China,  i.  734; 
in  Shanghai,  ii  202. 

"  Gates  of  China,"  perhaps  Straits  of  Lui- 
chau,  i.  26  ;  probably  at  Canfu,  i.  127, 
ii.  415. 

Gaubil,  Pore,  i.  63.3,  634,0.36,  809. 

Gegen,  at  Wu-tai  shan,  in  Shan  si,  i.  96. 

Geography,  Chinese  knowledge  of  foreign, 
i.  49 ;  native  topographies,  i.  50,  185 ; 
popular  ideas  of,  in  China,  ii.  80, 

Geology  of  China,  i.  297-312. 

Gerbillon,  Pere,  i.  88,  ii.  181,  441. 

German  representative  sent  to  China  in 
1843,  ii.  .565. 

Genghis  khan,  i.  726 ;  takes  Peking,  iL 
175  ;  and  Pres^r  John,  ii.  286. 

Gill,  Capt.  \V.,  r21. 

Ginseng,  localities  of,  i.  367. 

Glass,  manufacture  of,  ii.  21. 

Gobi,  or  Sha-moh,  Great  Desert  of,  the 
Olympus  of  Buddhist  and  Taoist  myths, 
i.  12  ;  its  position  and  area,  i.  15;  sand- 
hills, i.  16  ;  called  Peh  hai  and  Hah  hai, 
i.  2.5,  201,  216  ;  grasses  of,  i.  357  ;  its  in- 
fluence on  Chinese  civilization,  ii.  189. 

God,  word  for,  in  Chinese,  ii.  154;  discus- 
sion concerning,  among  Romanists,  ii. 
297  ;  among  Protestants,  ii.  304. 

Goddard,  Josiah,  i.  015. 

Goes,  Benedict,  i.  310 ;  his  journey  to 
Cathay,  ii.  424. 

Gold,  found  in  Shensi,  i.  151  ;  in  Khoten, 
i.  230  ;  in  Tibet,  i.  244 ;  uses  of,  i.  311, 
ii.  19 ;  never  coined,  ii.  83,  84. 

Golden  Island  (Kin  Shan),  in  Kiangsu,  i 
10.5. 

Gold-fish,  methods  of  rearing,  i.  348. 

Gon9alves,  J.  A.,  i.  591. 


IND1':X. 


Gongs,  how  made,  ii.  20 ;  their  use,  ii. 
103. 

Gordon,  Colonel  Peter,  ii.  91  ;  takes  com- 
mand of  the  '  Ever-Victorious  force,' 
ii.  609,  i'Al  ;  captures  Fushan,  ii.  012; 
before  Suchau,  ii.  Clo  ;  efforts  to  pro- 
tect life  after  its  surrender,  ii.  CIS; 
indignation,  ii.  (510;  wounded  before 
Kintan,  ii.  017 ;  dissolves  the  '  Ever- 
Victorious  force,'  ii.  018;  his  honora- 
ble conduct  appreciated,  ii.  019 ;  visits 
the  works  before  Nanking,  ii.  020;  his 
advice  to  Peking  officials  as  to  a  war 
with  Russia,  ii  7c!3. 

Gough,  Sir  Hugh,  arrives  to  command 
English  land  force,  ii.  521 ;  invests  Can- 
ton, ii.  522 ;  at  Ningpo,  ii.  529 ;  his 
foroe  at  taking  of  Chapu,  ii.  5:>) ;  at  the 
capture  of  Chinkiang,  ii.  542;  before 
Nanking,  ii.  545 ;  his  rewards  after  the 
war,  ii.  556. 

Gould,  Dr.,  ii.  340. 

Gould,  John,  i.  330. 

Government,  of  Peking,  i.  82-83  ;  of  Mon- 
golia, i.  199  ;  of  Ili,  i.  231-233  ;  of  Tibet, 
i.  255-;357 ;  revenue  of  imperial,  i.  289- 
292 ;  Chinese,  its  theory  patriarchal,  i. 
380  ;  laws  and  departments  of,  i.  381- 
384;  cabinet  and  boards  of,  i.  415;  pro- 
vincial, i.  437-447 ;  influence  upon  lit- 
erature, i.  719. 

Grain,  Commissioner  of,  i.  443. 

Grains,  in  the  Herbal,  i.  372 ;  eaten  by 
the  Chinese,  i.  772;  how  sown,  ii.  5. 

Grammar  of  the  Chinese  language,  i. 
617-021 ;  MoiTison's,  ii.  321. 

Grand  Canal,  Chah  ho,  or  Yun  ho,  i.  31  ; 
Davis's  description  of,  i.  32;  present 
condition,  i.  35,  .52,  89,  92,  108,  119; 
deepened  by  Kublai,  ii.  17() ;  Tai-pings 
control,  ii.  590. 

Grasshoppers,  edict  for  destruction  of,  i. 
409. 

Graves,  in  China,  i.  275 ;  legend  concern- 
ing the  false,  ii.  107;  geomancy  in  se- 
lecting, ii.  240  ;  pai  shan  at,  ii.  252 ; 
prayers  before,  ii.  262. 

Gray,  Archdeacon  J.  H.,  i.  413,  573,  715, 
778,  788,  790,  821,  ii.  14,  231,  355,  201, 
271. 

Gray,  Mrs.,  i.  752,  788. 

Great  Plain  of  China,  i.  14  ;  extent,  i.  27  ; 
pojjulation  of,  i.  28  ;  climate,  i.  52. 

Great  Wall.  Waii-li  Chang  Ching,  i.  29; 
construction,  i.  30;  aspect,  i.  31,  152, 
203;  built  by  Tsin,  ii.  100;  Arch  of 
Mongol  dynasty  in,  ii.  170. 

Greece,  and  China,  infanticide  in,  ii.  242  ; 
China  known  as  Q\v  in,  ii.  408 ;  com- 
munication with  China  in  the  dark  ages, 
ii.  412. 

Griffis,  W.  E.,  ii.  78. 

Gros,  Baron,  arrives  in  China,  ii.  043  ;  at 
capture  of  Canton,  ii.  646 ;  arrives  at 


Tientsin,  ii.  6.51  ;  leaves  China,  ii.  661  ; 
reappointed  envoy  with  Lord  Elgin,  ii. 
671  ;  signs  the  treaty  of  Peking,  ii.  686 ; 
well  fitted  tor  his  task  in  China,  ii,  688. 

Grosier,  Abbe,  ii.  38,  5(),  90,  104,  719. 

Grosvenor,  Hon.  T.  (I.,  sent  as  commis- 
sioner to  Yunnan,  ii.  723. 

Gully,  Robert,  his  shipwreck  and  murder 
on  Formosa,  ii.  .554. 

(iunpowder,  invention  and  use  of,  ii.  89. 

Gutzlaff,  Rev.  Charles,  i.  100,  193,  ii.  137, 
180,  325  ;  his  three  voyages,  ii.  328,  350, 
303  ;  at  Chusan  during  the  war,  ii.  515 ; 
at  Shiinghai,  li.  530,  542,  548,  556. 

Gypsum,  uses  of,  i.  306. 

HAAS,  Joseph,  i.  033. 
Hailing,  General,  at  Chinkiang,  ii. 
2.')5  ;  his  devotion,  ii.  540 ;    posthumous 
honors  to,  ii.  .557. 

Hainan  Island,  aborigines  on,  i.  44 ;  no- 
tice of  the  island,  i    175. 

Hair,  how  dressed  and  worn,  i.  701  ;  of 
women,  i.  704. 

Hai-tien,  near  Peking,  i.  80  ;  British  and 
French  troops  at,  ii.  083. 

JIai-tuh,  or  khi-doc,  a  Chinese  monkey, 
i.  31.5. 

Hakkas,  in  Formosa,  i.  138  ;  in  Kvvang- 
tung,  i.  486  ;  and  the  Tai-pings,  ii.  582, 
591. 

Hales,  Dr.,  chronology  of,  ii.  143,  145. 

Hanbury,  Daniel,  i.  3.53,  3.55,  ii.  134. 

Hamberg,  Rev.  Theodore,  his  Life  of 
Ilnnq  SUi-Uncn,  ii.  ,582. 

Hami,  or  Kamil,  in  Kansuh,  i.  213,  224. 

Han  dynasty,  Latin  name  of  .SVjv.s  origi- 
nated during,  i.  4;  Hau  (or  'After'  Han) 
at  Chingtu,  i.  1.54  ;  censuses  under,  i. 
260  ;  its  historians,  ii.  159  ;  its  founder 
Kautsu,  ii.  162;  and  Eastern  Han,  ii. 
164  ;  After  Han,  XXth  dynasty,  ii.  172. 

Hance,  Dr.  H.  F.,  i.  3.")5,  305. 

Hangchau,  capital  of  Chehkiang,  i.  115; 
its  temples  and  manufactures,  i.  117- 
119  ;  pagoda  at,  i.  744  ;  Moslems  in,  ii. 
268,  270 ;  Nestorians  in,  ii.  285  ;  mis- 
sions in,  ii.  251 ;  Abu  Zaid  on,  ii.  415; 
retaken  by  imperialists,  ii.  618;  Ro- 
manist church  confiscated  at,  ii.  087. 

Hanchuug,  in  iShensi,  i.  151. 

Han  hai,  '  Mirage  Sea,'  or  Desert  of  Lob- 
nor,  i.  16. 

llan-jin^  JIa7i-tiiz\  'Men,'  or  'Sons  of 
Han,'  terms  used  by  Chinese  for  them- 
selves, i.  4.  ii.  102. 

Hankow,  in  Hupeh,  i.  144;  its  fortune 
during  the  reljellion,  ii.  000,  007 ;  visited 
by  Lord  Elgin,  ii.  0.59. 

Hanlin  Yuen,  National  Academy,  Peking, 
i.  72 ;  its  character,  i.  434  ;  member- 
ship a  degree  of  literary  rank,  i.  559. 

Han  River,  in  Hupeh,  i.  ]4'2. 

Han-sing  Pass,  in  Shansi,  i.  97. 


INDEX. 


755 


Hao-king,  ancient  name  of  Si-ngan,  i.  3. 
Harashar  (or  Karashar),  town  and  district 

of  I'll,  i.  234 
Hardy,  R.  S.,  i.  395,  413,  ii.  217,  218,  2:30, 

224,  2J6,  232. 
Hare,  alpine  and  others,  i.  327. 
Harem,   imperial,    i.   407 ;  and  Board  of 

Revenue,  i.  422  ;  Sung's  daughter  in,  i. 

45(). 
Harland,  Dr.,  ii.  123. 
Hart,  Sir  Robert,  takes  management  of 

customs  service,  ii.  G95. 
Hats,  official,  i.  414  ;  laborers'  and  other, 

i.  762. 
Hayton,   king  of  Armenia,  vists  Mangu 

khan.  ii.  420. 
Heaven,  Altar   to,  Peking,  i.   76;    ideas 

concerning    the    creation    of,    ii.    138 ; 

worship  of,  ii.  194-198 ;  and  the  term 

tifii,  ii.  300. 
Hedde,  Isidore,  ii.  34. 
Heeren,  A.  H.  L.,  i.  196,  238,  343,  398,  413, 

44(i,  482,  503,  ii.  410,  412. 
Hemp,  four  kinds  of,  ii.  10. 
Henderson,  Dr.  James,  ii.  127. 
Hepburn,  Dr.,  ii.  131. 
Jferbnl,   Chinese  (see  Pii?i  tsao)^  i.  370, 

etc. 
Herdsman  and  weaver-girl,  fable  of  the, 

ii.  76. 
Hereditary  local  officers  of  «.?'  districts, 

i.  59. 
Hervey-Saint-Denys,   Marquis  d',  i  703, 

701,  ii.  14. 
Hia  dynasty,  founded  by  Yu,  ii.  148  ;  its 

early  annals,  ii.  152  ;  its  period,  ii.  158. 
Hia,  Tartar  tribe,  ii.  173,  174. 
Hiao,   Emperor,   B.C.   909.   confers  Tsin- 

chau  on  Prince  Feitsz',  i.  2. 
Hiao  Kinf],  or  'Canons  of  Filial  Duty,' 

a  school-book,  i.  536. 
Hieii,   'district,'  term  explained,    i.  58; 

its  fAi,  or  '  district  magistrate,'  i.  441. 
Hienfung,    Emperor,    his  reign,  ii.    184; 

attitude  toward  foreigners,  ii  575  ;  im- 

becilifcv  during  Tai-ping  revolt,  ii.  604  ; 

childish    ignorance    during    war    with 

England,  ii.  642  ;  signs  treaty  of  Tien- 
tsin, ii.  ()5() ;  escapes  to  Jeh-ho,  ii  679  ; 

his  death,  ii.  689. 
Hieroglyphics,    Chinese  and  Assyrian,  L 

581 ;  early  Chinese,  i.  583-586  ;  errone- 
ous   ideas   concerning  Chinese,  i.   605, 

606. 
Himalaya   Mountains,   i.  10 ;  the  fourth 

mountain  system  of  China,  i.  13. 
Hindu  name  for  China,  '  Ma-chin,'  i.  3. 
Hing-an  mountain  system,  i.  13. 
Hingking  (Yenden),  in  Shingking,  i.  193. 
Hinkai-nor,  in  Kirin,  i.  24. 
History,  of    ili,   i.    233-237;  of  Tibet,  i. 

254-255 ;  in  Chinese  literature,  i.  675 ; 

and  chronoloj^y  of  China,  ii  136  ;  period 

of  fable,  ii.  1 37  ;  of  legend,  ii.  143  ;  of 


the  twenty-six  dynasties,  il.  148-187" 
worth  of  Chinese,  ii.  413. 

iriston/  of  the  Tlirie  States,  a  Chinese 
historical  novel,  i.  603,  677-680,  ii.  164. 

H'lassa,  capital  of  Tibet,  i.  245-247. 

Ho,  Duke,  i.  80 ;  career  of,  i.  452. 

Hobson,  Dr.,  i.  776,  ii.  125,  137,  337. 

Hohson,  B.  H.  E.,  ii.  180,  346. 

Hodgson,  B.  H.,  i.  243,  254. 

Hog,  a[)i)earance  and  usefulness  of,  i.  334 ; 
much  eaten,  i.  777  ;  for  sacrifices,  i.  781. 

Ho  Kwei-tsing,  governor-general  of  Ki- 
angsn,  his  cowardice  at  fall  of  Chinki- 
ang  and  Suchau,  ii.  605;  receives  let- 
ters of  the  allies,  ii.  648  ;  sends  reply 
to  Mr.  Bruce  at  Shanghai,  ii.  672. 

Homicides,  foreign,  at  Canton,  ii.  451-454, 
460  ;  of  Lin  Wei-hi  at  Hongkong,  ii. 
505  ;  of  Sii  A-mun  at  Canton,  ii.  568 ;  of 
Englishmen  near  Canton,  ii.  .578. 

Honam,  or  Honan  Island,  opposite  Can- 
ton, i.  ir)4-165,  169. 

Honan  province,  its  position  and  people, 
i.  97-99. 

Hong,  explanation  of  term,  i.  167  ;  mer- 
chants :  their  garden.s,  i.  736  ;  their  in- 
tegrity, i.  834 ;  monopoly  established, 
ii.  447  ;  relations  with  foreign  traders, 
ii.  450  ;  their  position  between  Gover- 
nor Lu  and  Napier,  ii.  469,  473  ;  and 
Chinese  shopkeepers,  ii.  477  ;  expostu- 
late with  foreigners  concerning  opium 
smuggling,  ii.  493,  494 ;  a  last  attempt 
to  squeeze,  ii.  559. 

Hongkong,  climate  of,  i.  54 ;  description 
of  city,  i.  171-173  ;  botany  of,  i.  355  ; 
Triad  Society  prohibited  in,  i.  493  ; 
missions  remove  to,  ii.  347  ;  homicide 
of  Lin  Wei-hi  at,  ii.  50.") ;  taken  posses- 
sion of  b}'^  British,  ii.  557 ;  influence  as 
a  free  port  on  smuggling,  ii.  633  ;  at- 
tempt to  poison  foreigners  at,  ii.  640  ; 
British  encouragement  to  smuggling  at, 
ii.  725. 

Honorary  Portals,  or  Pai-lati,  i.  83,  756. 

Hoorn,  Van,  Dutch  ambassador  to  Pe- 
king, ii.  438. 

Hoppiu,  Prof.  J.  M.,  ii.  639. 

Horse,  new  wild,  found  by  Prejevalsky 
in  Khoten,  i.  231  ;  little  used,  i.  274, 
320 ;  appearance,  i.  323 ;  notices  of,  in 
the  Herbal,  i.  375 ;  shoeing,  ii.  4. 

Hospitals,  native  foundling,  at  Shanghai, 
ii.  2(i4  ;  established  by  Candida,  ii.  295  ; 
by  Dr.  Parker  at  Canton,  ii.  333,  334 
fF.;  versus  itinerary  practice,  ii.  340;  at 
Tinghai  and  Shanghai,  ii.  351. 

Howqua,  a  Canton  merchant,  his  son. 
created  kn-Jin,  i.  567;  and  Parker's 
hospital,  ii.  334 ;  his  death,  ii.  559. 

Hue,  Pere  Evariste  Re'gis,  i.  88,  144,  156, 
195,  210,  313,  246.  257,  336,  343,  644,  ii. 
50,  331,  332,  277,  386,  390, 293,  299,  42:3, 
708. 


7."iG 


INDEX. 


Hiimlioldt.'s  theory  of  hills  in  Mongolia, 
i.  11;  Sx'chucn  springs,  i.  81o;  on  the 
plantain,  i.  362. 

Hume,  David,  on  infanticide  in  Rome,  ii. 
242. 

Himan  province,  i.  140-14S;  inscription 
of  Yu  in,  ii.  149. 

Hung  Jin,  brother  of  the  Tien  Wang,  ii. 
58:i  ;  is  converted,  ii.  58G  ;  teaches  and 
baptizes,  ii.  587  ;  at  the  capture  of  Nan- 
king,  ii .    620 ;   subsequent  efforts,    ii. 

Hung  Siu-tsuen,  the  Tim  Wang,  leader 
of  the  Tai-jnng  revolt,  ii.  .582  ;  his 
vision,  ii.  58o  ;  belief  in  his  divine  call- 
ing, ii.  .58.5 ;  goes  to  Mr.  Roberts,  ii. 
.588  ;  commencement  of  military  move- 
ment, ii.  5'.t0 ;  his  opposition  to  the 
Triad  Society,  ii.  .501  ;  his  '  Celestial 
Decrees,'  ii.  5y:3 ;  proclaimed  Emperor 
at  Nanking,  ii.  594  ;  failure  to  reach 
Peking  the  death  of  his  movement,  ii. 
.500  ;  dissensions  among  his  generals,  ii. 
602  ;  his  indomital)le  sfiirit,  ii.  605  ; 
his  death  at  Nanking,  ii.  620 ;  char- 
acter of  his  political  aspirations,  ii. 
623. 

Hungtsih  Lake,  in  Kiangsu,  i.  24, 100, 100. 

Hungwu,  Emperor,  tomb  of,  at  Nanking, 
i.  101,  ii.  115  ;  inaugural  proclamation 
in  1644,  i.  395 ;  founds  the  Ming,  ii. 
177. 

Huns,  driven  back  by  Tsin,  ii.  161  ;  in- 
roads during  third  century  A.D.,  ii. 
165  ;  their  kingdom  of  Wei  in  fifth  and 
sixth  centuries  a.d.,  ii.  166;  go  West 
instead  of  East,  ii.  169. 

Hunter,  W.  C,  ii.  560. 

Hupeh  ]n-ovince,  i.  142-140. 

Hurun  Lake,  in  Manchuria,  i.  24. 

Hwaiking,  in  Shansi,  i.  01. 

Ilira  Hill,  '  Glorious  Hia,'  an  ancient 
term  for  China,  i.  5. 

Ilwai-ngan,  in  Kiangsu,  i.  108. 

Hwang  Ching,  '  Imperial  Citj-,'  Peking, 
i.  60. 

Hwang  ho.     See  Yellow  River. 

Hwangti',  an  appellation  of  the  Emperor, 
i.  303  ;  a  jjrimeval  monarch,  tlie  pos.si- 
bleinventor  of  writing,  i .  580  ;  of  cloth- 
ing, ii.  32;  of  the  si  ^tj -year  cycle,  ii. 
60,  146;  importance  of  audience  before 
the,  ii.  714. 

JIuHUKj  gang  (AnlrJnpc  gnlluroaa),  i.  321. 

Hwang  sz',  monument  to  Teshu  Lama, 
Peking,  i.  70  ;  Lord  I'^lgin  at,  ii.  682. 

Hwashana,  Commissioner,  at  Tientsin,  ii. 
651  ;  at  Shangliai,  on  tai ill' revision,  ii. 
657,  664  ;  discusses  audience  question 
with  Ward  at  Peking,  ii.  660. 

Hwuichau,  in  Nganhwui,  i.  110. 

Hwui,  kwan,  cluh-houses  at  Peking,  i.  76  ; 
'clubs,'  variety  and  extent  of,  ii.  87. 

Hyacinthe,  Pere,  i,  63. 


I    'BARBARIAN,'  a  term  for  foreign 
^       ers,  ii.  461. 

I,  Prince,  and  the  British  interpretei-s  at 
Tungchau,  ii.  67!-!,  (i70  ;  the  ])risoners 
sent  to,  ii.  680  ;  Elgin  located  in  palace 
of,  ii.  686 ;  his  conspiracy,  ii.  600 ; 
death,  ii.  691. 

Ibn  Batuta,  ii.  271,  373 ;  his  travels  iu 
Cathay,  ii.  421. 

Ibn  Wahab,  an  Arab  traveller,  ii.  414,  425. 

Ice  in  Peking,  i.  52 ;  the  coast  towns,  i. 
.53. 

Tchang,  in  Hupeh,  i.  145. 

Iching,  on  the  Yangtsz',  reception  of  the 
English  at,  ii.  544. 

Ides,  E.  Ysbrandt,  envoy  of  Russia  to 
Peking,  ii.  442. 

Idols,  how  carved,  ii.  115;  iu  Buddhist 
temples,  ii.  235  ;  ])atronage  of,  general, 
ii.  2.59  ;  allowed  by  Ricci,  ii.  202. 

If  ung  hien,   in   Ilonan,  waste-wier  at,  i. 

Tlchi,  capital  of  Khotcn,  i.  230. 

lli  province,  i.  21.5  ;  its  recent  boundaries, 
i.  215;  physical  features,  i.  216;  its 
two  circuits  —  Songaria,  i.  218-220; 
Eastern  Turkestan,  i.  221-231  ;  its  gov- 
ernment, i.  231-233 ;  historical  notice 
of,  i.  233-237 ;  Mohammedans  of,  ii. 
271 . 

Ilipu,  Governor-General  and  Commis- 
sioner, i.  464 ;  truce  with  Elliot  at 
Chusan,  ii.  517 ;  his  banishment,  ii. 
529 ;  thanks  the  English  for  care  of 
prisoners,  ii.  534 ;  associate  commis- 
sioner with  Kiying,  ii.  537;  concludes 
and  signs  treaty,  ii.  547,  553 ;  death,  ii. 
557. 

Imitation  a  Chinese  national  trait,  ii.  6.3. 

Imperial,  City,  Ibi'ang  Ching,  I'eking,  i. 
69 ;  clan  and  its  government,  i.  40.5 ; 
family,  i.  407 ;  Academy,  or  Hanlin 
Yuen,  i.  434. 

Imports,  of  opium  into  China,  ii.  388 ; 
from  the  Archipelago,  ii.  306. 

Infanticide,  female,  in  Fuhkien,  i.  136 ; 
prevalence  of  the  practice  in  China,  ii. 
239-241  ;  comparison  with  Greece  and 
Rome,  ii.  242. 

Ink,  materials  of  India,  i.  500. 

Inner  Council,  or  Cabinet,  i.  41.5. 

Inscription,  of  Yu,  in  Kau-lau  shan, 
Hunan,  ii.  140;  in  gateway  at  Kii-yung 
kwan,  ii.  176;  on  Nestor lan  Tablet  of 
Si-ngan,  ii.  277. 

Insects  of  China,  i.  351-3.54. 

Intercourse,  social,  among  the  Chinese,  i. 
800;  between  China  and  Western  Asia, 
ii.  ICiC) ;  ancient,  with  foreign  nations, 
ii.  408;  mediaeval,  ii.  414.  See  also 
under  Trade. 

Iron,  in  Shantung,  i.  93 ;  in  Shansi, 
al)undant,  i.  95-'J6 ;  its  manufacture, 
ii.  i'J, 


INDEX. 


757 


Irrigation,  various  morlos  of,  ii.  6. 

Islaniisni.     Sec  Moliaiiinietlan. 

Issik-kul,  or  Lnkr  'rciniiitu,  i.  24,  217. 

Isolation  of  the  ("hinesi',  its  influence  on 
their  character,  i.  5^3,  Soo ;  its  causes 
and  results,  ii.  lSS-100,  642,  648,  660. 

Isothermal  lines  of  China,  L  51. 

Ivory  imported  from  Africa,  ii.  400. 

JADE,  or  yuhs  found  in  Khoten,  i. 
22.3,  220  ;  description  of,  i.  309  ;  feU 
txui,  or  jadeite,  i.  312. 

Janiho,  food  used  in  Tibet,  i.  241. 

Japan,  tea  shrub.s,  ii.  41  ;  character  sym- 
bols and  sounds  in,  ii.  190 ;  expedition 
to  Formosa,  ii.  716. 

Jauchau,  in  Kiangsi,  i.  113. 

Jehangi'r,  kojeh  of  Kashgar,  i.  235,  454 ; 
his  end,  ii.  184,  727,  729. 

Jeb-ho,  or  Chingtih,  Emperor's  summer 
retreat,  i.  88,  312;  thermal  springs  at, 
i.  313 ;  Sung  at,  i.  455 ;  expense  of,  L 
566  ;  Hienf ung  retires  to,  ii,  682 ;  pal- 
ace conspiracy  at,  ii.  690. 

Jenkins,  Dr.  B.,  i.  530,  ii.  90. 

Jesuit  missionaries,  correct  the  Chinese 
calendar,  ii.  68 ;  their  map-making,  ii. 
80;  enter  China  in  1.580,  ii.  177;  and 
ancestral  rites,  ii.  2.52,  293,  299 ;  and 
other  Catholics,  ii.  294,  297  ;  obnoxious 
to  Yungching,  ii.  443. 

Jewels,  of  China,  i.  310  ;  imported,  ii.  400. 

Jews  in  China,  ii.  271 ;  visited  by  Dr. 
Martin,  ii.  272. 

Jones,  Owen,  ii.  107. 

Johnson,  Samuel,  his  Oriental  Religions, 
i.  691,  ii.  211,  217,255. 

Johnson,  Rev.  Stephen,  ii.  349. 

Judicial  proceedings,  character  of,  i.  .500- 
508 ;  cruelty  and  mercy  of,  i.  510 ;  in 
cases  of  foreign  homicides,  ii.  451  flF., 
460. 

Julien,  Stanislas,  i.  345,  590,  674,  714,  iL 
22,  32,  33,  62,  207,  212,  229. 

Junks,  Chinese,  1.  7.5.3;  coast  trade  in, 
decreasing,  ii.  389. 

'Just  Medium,'  the,  Vliunfj  Yung,  i.  053. 

KAIFUNG    (Pien-liang),    capital    of 
Honan,  i.  99  ;  Jews  in,  ii.  271  ff.; 

stormed  by   Tai-pings,    ii.   597 ;  surly 

spirit  in,  during  the  famine,  ii.  736. 
Kailasa,  mountain  in  Tibet,  i  239. 
Kalgan,  town  in  Northern  Chihli,  i.  203. 
Kalkas,  Mongol  tribc'S.  i.  20.5,  206,  209.  _ 
Kan  River,  tributary  of  the  Yangtsz',  L 

21,  112;  boats  upon,  i.  751. 
Kanchau,  in  Kiangsi,  i.  113. 
Kane,  Dr.  H.  H,,  ii.  388. 
Kang.  or  brick  bed.  i.  53,  306. 
Kanghi,  Emperor,  singular  festival  of,  i. 

08 ;    abolishes   capitation   tax,  i.  266 ; 

dictionary  of,  i.  588-591,  602,  672,  etc.; 


orders  copper  types,  i.  603  ;  his  '  Sacred 
Commands,'  i.  687;  tries  to  suppress 
fashion  of  compressed  feet,  i.  770  ;  and 
the  calendar,  ii.  68 ;  introduces  foreign 
music,  ii.  103;  and  Koxinga,  ii.  180; 
against  strange  religions,  ii.  227;  pre- 
vents immolation  of  women,  ii.  250 ; 
and  Father  Schaal,  ii.  297,  298  ;  memo- 
rialized by  Jesuits,  ii.  299  ;  counter  de- 
cree agaiiist  the  Pope,  ii.  302 ;  Portu- 
guese embassy  to,  ii.  429 ;  letter  of 
Louis  XIV.  to,  ii.  441  ;  sends  Tulishen 
to  the  Czar,  ii.  442  ;  his  prophecy 
quoted,  ii.  484. 

Kanpu,  or  Canfu,  i.  127.  _ 

Kansuh  province,  climate,  i.  55 ;  descrip- 
tion of,  i.  152-154 ;  Mohammedan  in- 
surrection in.  ii.  269,  7;>0. 

Kaolin,  a  constituent  of  jjorcelain,  ii.  C3. 

Kara-korum,  Mountains,  their  position, 
i.  13 ;  town,  Carpini's  mission  to  Kuyuk 
at,  ii.  416. 

Kashgar,  government  and  town,  i.  227- 
228,  ii.  728 ;  its  reconquest,  ii.  731 . 

Katshe,  or  Korkache,  a  district  of  Tibet, 
i  238. 

Kantsu.  or  Lin  Pang,  founder  of  the  Han, 
ii.  162. 

Kautsung,  Emperor  of  Tang  dynasty,  iL 
170. 

Kerr,  Dr.  J.  G.,  i.  164,  ii.  337,  339,  340. 

Khoten,  district  of  111,  i.  230-231. 

Kiakhta,  trading  post  on  Russian  fron- 
tier, i.  207 ;  apples  of,  i.  366,  ii.  443. 

Kiaking,  the  Emperor,  i.  431,  453,  465, 
466 ;  his  reign,  ii.  182  ;  prohibits  im- 
port of  opium,  ii.  378. 

Kiang,  'river.'     See  Yangtsz'. 

Kialing  River,  in  Sz'chuen,  i.  1.55. 

Kiangnan— the  two  Kiang,  fertility  of 
the  region,  L  100. 

Kiangning  (see  Nanking),  i.  100. 

Kiangsi  province,  its  surface,  i.  111. 

Kiangsu  province,  i.  99 ;  watercourses,  i. 
100  ;  its  towns,  etc.,  i.  101-108.    _ 

Kiao,  'sect,'  meaning  of  term,  ii.  193, 
194;  its  vagueness,  ii.  358. 

Kiayii  kwan.  on  Great  ^V'aU  in  Kansuh,  L 
1.52,  211,  ii.  14.5,  189. 

Kieh  Kwei,  last  Emperor  of  the  Hia,  ii. 
1.53. 

Kienlung,  Emperor,  festival  of,  i.  67-68 ; 
effusion  on  Mukden,  i.  193,  5V»8  ;  revives 
census,  i.  260,  285,  291  ;  upon  naming 
his  successor,  i.  404 ;  casts  lead  types, 
i.  603  ;  bronzes  made  under,  ii.  20  ;  his 
reign,  ii.  181  ;  treatment  of  Catholics, 
ii.  305 ;  Van  Braam's  embassy  to,  ii. 
439,  447,  449. 

Kicn  Tsing  Kung,  '  Palace  of  Heavenly 
Purity,'  Peking,  i.  68. 

Kihngan,  in  Kiangsi,  i.  112. 

Ei-lin,  or  unicorn,  i.  342 ;  Sz'ma  Kwang 
and  the  pretended,  i.  676. 


758 


INDEX. 


Kilung,  on  Formosa  Island,  i.  1  "7. 

Kin,  or  Niu-chih  (or  Nu-chih),  Tartars,  i. 
202;  established  in  Pi'king,  ii.  174; 
inscription  at  Kii-yung  kwan,  ii.  176  ; 
overthrow  tlie  Mings,  ii.  178. 

Kinchau,  in  Shingking,  i.  I!t3,  195. 

King,  Kiiig-tu,  Ki>i(/-s.z\  Chinese  terms 
for  the  capital,  i.  CO,  (il. 

King  Shan.  Prospector  Coal  Hill,  Peking, 
i.  70. 

Kingsmill,  T.  W.,  i.  296,  298,  299,  304, 
ii.  159,  40(). 

Kingteh  chin  (Kiangsi),  porcelain  works 
at,  i.  lis,  ii.  22,  394. 

Kin-sha.  '  River  of  Golden  Sand,'  a  name 
of  the  Yangtsz',  i.  20,  155. 

Kin  Shan,  or  Altai  Mountains,  i.  9. 

Kircher.  i.  79,  257,  ii.  277,  284,  286. 

Kirghis,  and  Prutli  Kirghis,  tribes  of  Ili, 
i.  22() ;  in  Kashgar,  etc.,  i.  2o('),  "31. 

Kirin.  province  of  M.anchuria,  i.  19()-198; 
town,  called  Chiien  Chwang,  i.  197. 

Kishen.  governor-general  of  Cliihli',  inter- 
view with  Captain  Elliot  at  Taku,  ii. 
.516 ;  apologizes  for  attack  on  flag  of 
truce,  ii.  517  ;  negotiation  with  Captain 
Elliot  at  the  Bogue,  ii.  518  ;  ordered  to 
Peking,  ii.  521  ;  reprieved  and  associ- 
ated with  Yihlcing,  ii.  529. 

Kitai,  a  Russian  form  of  Ca/Iiai/,  i.  4; 
term  for  ('hinese  in  111,  i.  224. 

Kitan,  or  Liautiing  Tartars,  oppress  the 
After  Tsin,  ii.  172. 

Kites,  flying,  a  favorite  amusement,  i. 
820. 

Kiukiang,  on  the  Yangtsz',  captured  by 
Tai-pings,  ii.  .595. 

Kiu-tiao  shan,  in  Shensi,  i.  151 . 

Kiying,  Commissioner,  his  life,  i.  459, 
570 ;  obtains  toleiation  for  Christians, 
ii  356,  358  ;  grants  privileges  to  Macao, 
ii.  430;  joint  commissioner  with  llifiu, 
ii.  537;  writes  to  Pottinger,  ii.  546; 
signs  Nanking  treaty,  ii.  549;  ex- 
changes ratifications,  ii.  .557 ;  his  pro- 
clamation, ii.  558  ;  includes  all  foreign- 
ers under  terms  of  Nanking  treaty,  ii. 
561  ;  interviews  with  representatives  of 
other  foreign  power.s,  ii.  5(15 ;  reap- 
pointed commi.^sioner  to  meet  Mr. 
Gushing,  ii.  566;  his  correspond  3nce  on 
case  of  homicide,  ii.  56^ ;  concludes  a 
treaty  with  M.  de  Lagrene',  ii.  571  ;  in- 
terview with  Governor  Davis  on  opium 
question,  ii.  577  ;  action  regarding  mur- 
der of  l]nglislim(!ii  near  Canton,  ii.  57S; 
disbands  companies  of  braves  about 
Canton,  ii.  58() ;  his  sudden  apjiearance 
at  Tientsin,  ii.  6.53 ;  his  untimely  end, 
ii.  654. 

Klaproth,  .[.,  derives  name  of  Tsung  ling 
from  onions  found  there,  i.  9  ;  on  (irand 
Canal,  i.  3(>-37 ;  Peking,  i.  62 ;  Afemoircs^ 
■    12<.»,   141,  188,  193,  204,  213,  226;  on 


Tibet,  i.  245,  2.54,  285 ;  deluge  of  Yao 
ii.  147;  on  Tsin,  ii.  160,  163,  20.5,  232, 
233,411,  421,  442. 

Koeppen,  C.  F.,  on  IJuddhism,  i.  249,  250, 
^ii.  229,  259. 

Koko-nor,  Tsing  hai,  or  '  Azure  Sea,'  i. 
35,  209-213. 

Kopi.     See  Gobi. 

Koro-s,  Cosma  de.  Hungarian  author  o* 
Tibet,  i.  244,  353. 

Kotow,  or  prostration,  Ceremonial  Court 
and  the,  i.  435  ;  described,  i.  801 ;  at 
funerals,  ii.  245 ;  performed  by  Dutch 
ambassadors,  ii.  435 ;  by  Ides,  ii.  442 ; 
discussed  before  Ward's  embassy  at 
Peking,  ii.  669 ;  its  importance  in  audi- 
ence of  the  Emperor,  ii.  712;  the  cere- 
mony yielded  in  case  of  foreign  minis- 
ter.s,  il.  714. 

Ko-tsing  shan,  in  Western  Nganhwui,  i. 
12. 

Koulkun.     See  Kwanlun. 

Kowlung,  opposite  Hongkong  Island,  i. 
172 ;  allVay  at,  in  1839,  ii.  506;  ceded  to 
the  British,  ii.  558,  ()86. 

Koxinga,  his  descendants  ennobled,  i.  406; 
takes  Formosa,  ii.  180,  435. 

Kreitner,  Lieutenant  G.,i.  151,  1.58,  213, 
214,  357,  300,  715. 

Kublai  khan,  i.  176,  181,  281,  318,  3-30; 
his  pai)er  money,  ii.  85;  his  reign,  ii. 
175;  receives  Montccorvino,  ii.  3S7; 
and  the  Polos,  ii^  420. 

Kuche,  a  town  of  Ili,  i.  225,  ii.  730. 

Kil-jhi,  'promoted  men,'  second  degree  of 
literary  rank,  i.  550 ;  their  number,  i. 
5.58  ;  military,  i.  560,  5()(). 

Kuldja  (Goul(lja),  Kuren,  or  Hwuiyuen 
ching,  capital  of  Ili,  i.  218  ;  it^  capture, 
i.  219;  occupation  by  Russia,  i.  236, 
ii.  727,  730 ;  Friar  Pascal  at,  ii.  289 ; 
negotiations  respecting  its  cession,  ii. 
731-734. 

Kung.  Princp,  Kunr/  tshi-waiir/  his  proper 
title,  i.  405;  appointed  a  regent,  ii.  184; 
rewards  Colonel  Gordon,  ii.  616;  con- 
ducts negotiations  with  Elgin  at  Peking, 
ii.  682  ;  signs  the  treaty,  ii.  686  ;  iiis  coup 
cCttat,  ii.  691  ;  refuses  to  ratify  Lay's 
agreement,  ii.  694;  signs  convention  re- 
specting coolie  trade;  ii.  698.699;  inTicn- 
tsin  riot  correspondence,  ii.  702,  705 ; 
discusses  audience  question,  ii.  712,  715; 
his  son  and  the  succession,  ii.  726,  739. 

Ku-peh  kau  Pass,  in  Great  VV'all,  i.  39,  89. 

Kuren  (see  Urga).  i.  204. 

Kur-kara  usu  (Kingsni  ching),  town  and 
district  of  Ili,  i.  2.iO. 

Kuro-siwo,  ocean  current,  i.  55. 

Kutuktu,  lama  high-priest  in  Urga,  i.  204. 

Kuyiik  khan,  Piano  Carpiiii's  embassy  to, 
ii.  415. 

Kuzupchi,  sand-hills  on  Desert  of  Gobi,  i 
16. 


INDEX. 


759 


Kii-V'ing  Kwan,  gateway  at,,  ii.  ITfi. 

Kwangsi,  an  unhealthy  province,  i.  55  ; 
its  position  and  proilucts,  i.  17(5;  rise  of 
Tai-ping  Rebellion  in,  ii.  5'.'0-595. 

Kwangsii,  his  succession  to  the  throne,  i. 
398,  404 ;  his  reign,  ii.  185,  186  ;  his  ac- 
cession, ii.  7'.iC. 

Kwaiigtung,  considered  unhealthj',  i.  5.^  ; 
description  and  towns  of,  i.  158-1  Tfi; 
revenue  of,  i.  290 ;  resists  the  Manchu 
conquest,  ii.  179;  missions  in,  ii.  o48  ; 
rebels  in,  ii.  (i04,  C;JO. 

Kwanlun,  or  Koulkun  Mountains,  posi- 
tion and  extent,  i.  11  ;  mineral  treas- 
ures, i.  12  ;  source  of  Yangtsz',  i.  20. 

Kwanyin,  (Joddess  of  Mercy,  temple  to, 
in  Kwangtung,  i.  175. 

Kweichau  province,  1.  55  ;  description  of, 
i.  1 78-180. 

Kweiliang,  Commissioner,  meets  allies  at 
Tientsin,  ii.  (iSl  ;  sent  to  Shanghai  to 
revise  tariff,  ii.  057  ;  refuses  to  accom- 
pany the  allies  to  Taku,  ii.  Wi  ;  dis- 
cusses the  audience  question  with  Min- 
ister Ward,  ii.  (i()9;  sent  to  intercept- 
Elgin  at  Tientsin,  ii.  677  ;  his  support 
to  Prince  Kung,  ii.  (>91. 

Kweilin,  capital  of  Kv/angsi,  i.  177;  at- 
tacked by  Tai-pings.  ii.  595. 

Kn'oh  hao,  national  designation,  period, 
or  reign  name  of  Emperor,  i.  398. 

LACHARME,  Pere,  1.  643. 
Lacquered-ware,  Hwuichau,  i.  110; 
its  manufacture,  ii.  30  ;  export,  ii.  394. 

Ladak  not  a  Chinese  possession,  i.  13. 

Lagrene,  French  envoy  to  China,  ii.  309  ; 
obtains  toleration  for  Christians  through 
Kiying,  li.  355,  357  ;  his  mission  in 
1844,  ii.  441  ;  concludes  treaty  of 
Whampoa  with  Kiying,  ii.  571. 

Lakes,  of  China,  i.  23  ;  of  Hupeh,  i.  143  ; 
of  ill',  i.  216-317  ;  of  Tibet,  i.  240. 

Lama,  mausoleum  to  a,  Peking,  i.  79. 

Lamasary  (  Yumj-lio  Kung)  at  Peking,  i. 

to. 

Lanchau,  capital  of  Kansuh,  i.  154. 

Land,  how  held,  ii.  1-3. 

Landscape,  appearance  of,  in  China,  i.  40. 

Land  tax  in  China,  i.  294,  739. 

Language,  of  Tibet,  i.  253  ;  proportion  of 
readers  in  China,  i.  .544 ;  Chinese,  its 
groups  of  natural  objects,  i.  372  ;  labor 
of  learnin;,^  its  characters,  i.  .541  ;  an  ob- 
stacle to  progress,  i.  568  ;  its  influence 
upon  people  and  literature,  i.  579,  ii.  190; 
origin  of,  i.  581  ;  misaj>prehciision  re- 
garding, i.  605  ;  dialects,  Mandarin  and 
local,  i.  611-616  ;  its  grammar,  i.  617  ;  de- 
fects, i.  621  ;  methods  of  studying,  i.  623  ; 
an  obstacle  to  missions,  ii.  370  ;  igno- 
rance of,  by  earlj'  traders,  ii.  450,  453. 

Lange,  Laurent,  his  residence  at  Peking, 
IL  442. 


Lanterns,  feast  and  variety  of,  i.  817. 

Lantsan  River,  in  Yunnan,  L  181. 

Larks  as  song  birds,  i.  333. 

Lau-tsz',  founder  of  Taoism,  i.  684 ;  hifl 
life,  ii.  2U6  ;  and  teaching.s,  ii.  207-214. 

Lavallc'e,  C,  ii.  647,  654,  684,  685. 

Laws,  of  China,  i.  384  ;  reports  pf,  385  ; 
Penal  Code,  3S5-393  ;  their  administra- 
tion. Chap.  VIII.;  as  a  profession,  i. 
'(83  ;  controlling  marriage,  i.  793. 

Lav,  C.  T.,  i.  60.5,  606,  715,  822,  ii.  102, 
103,  117,  330. 

Lay,  H.  N.,  appointed  intendant  of  cus- 
toms, ii.  62.S  ;  his  tiotilla  fiasco,  ii.  692. 

Lay,  W.  T.,  ii.  621. 

Leather,  quality  and  uses  of,  ii.  39. 

Le  Comte,  i.  289,  509,  ii.  285,  295. 

Le  (iendre,  C.  W.,  i.  140,  ii.  717. 

Legge,  Dr.  James,  i.  398,  537,  627,  639, 
633,  634,  635,  636,  638  ff.,  648,  603,  671, 
674,  681,  703,  809,  ii.  73,  143,  144,  147, 
198,  213,  237,  347.  372. 

Legislation,  general  features  of,  i.  391- 
394. 

Li  Hung-Chang,  Governor-General,  con- 
currence in  reorganizing  the  '  Ever-Vic- 
torious force,'  ii.  611  ;  executes  sur- 
rendered wangs  at  Suchau,  ii.  615 ;  his 
position  there,  ii.  616 ;  dis.solves  the 
'  Ever- Victorious  force,'  ii.  618;  and 
Sir  T.  Wade  in  the  Chifu  convention, 
ii.  734  ;  denounces  the  treaty  of  Liva- 
dia,  ii.  733  ;  co-operates  with  foreign- 
ers in  relief  of  Great  Famine,  ii.  735. 

Li  Tai-peh,  a  poet  of  the  Tang  dynasty, 
story  of,  i.  696-703  ;  extent  of  his  col- 
lected poems,  i.  704. 

Liang  dynasty,  the  Xlllth,  ii.  166  ;  Af- 
ter Liang,  XVIIth  dynasty,  ii.  171. 

Liang  A-fah,  Morrison's  first  convert,  ii. 
321  ;  his  labors  and  persecution,  ii.  328, 
347,  371  ;  his  tracts  fall  into  the  hands 
of  Hung  Siu-tsuen,  ii.  .582,  589. 

Liau  River  (?>ira-muren),  in  Manchuria, 
i.  190. 

Liau,  Tartar  tribe,  ii.  173,  174. 

Library  at  Peking,  i.  69  ;  its  catalogue,  i. 
62(). 

Li  E .  or  '  Book  of  Rites,'  i.  643-647, 805, 
ii.  196. 

Li-kilt.,  or  '  cash  a  catty'  tax,  i.  444. 

Lilies,  varieties  of,  i.  361  ;  eaten,  i.  773. 

Li  Miu,  '  Black-haired  Race,'  common 
name  for  Chinese,  i.  5  ;  a  tribe  on  Hai- 
nan Island,  i.  176. 

Lime,  made  from  shells,  i.  307  ;  use  in 
building,  i.  729 ;  how  burned,  ii.  56. 

Li-mn,  aboriginal  tribe,  i.  41  ;  iu  Hainan, 
i.  44  ;  mountains,  i.  1.59. 

Li  shui  River,  in  Hunan,  i.  147. 

Lin  Tseh-si),  Commissioner,  geography  of, 
i.  50  ;  and  the  rhubarb  trade,  i.  365 ; 
career  of,  i.  457,  4()4,  473,  ii.  184  ;  ar* 
rives  at  Canton,  ii.  497  ;  demands  sur« 


760 


IlS^DEX. 


render  of  opirnn,  ii.  40S;  imprisons 
foreigners  in  factories,  ii.  50() ;  an  ex- 
ample of  his  i)nl)lic  writings,  ii.  501  ; 
visits  Macao,  ii.  oO(i ;  his  reason  for  de- 
manding Mr.  Dent,  ii.  508 ;  reply  to 
American  request,  ii.  514  ;  offers  re- 
wards for  British,  ii.  510  ;  his  recall,  ii. 
510;  memorializes  the  P^mpcror  against 
peaceful  measures,  ii.  518;  recalled  from 
hanishmcnt,  ii.  5rJ9  ;  his  death,  ii.  S'JO. 

Lindsay,  H.  H.,  i.  481. 

Lintin,  Sir  G.  Robiuson  among  opium 
smugglers  at,  ii.  479  ;  Captain  Elliot  or- 
dered to  send  opium  smugglers  away 
from,  ii.  491. 

Lin-tsing-chau,  in  Shantung,  i.  93. 

Lion,  tlie,  in  China,  i.  ol7. 

Liquor  little  used  in  China,  i.  808. 

Literati,  or  literary  class,  the  gentry  of 
China,  its  influence,  i.  520,  5()"2 ;  and 
religious  sects,  i.  (391  ;  persecuted  by 
Tsin,  ii.  1()2  ;  their  opposition  to  Buddh- 
ism, ii.  2;2o,  237  ;  to  Christianity,  ;J69. 

Literature,  Chinese  geographical,  i.  50 ; 
classical,  size  and  importance,  i.  020 ; 
five  greater,  i.  027-052,  and  four  lesser 
classics,  i.  052-072  ;  works  on  history,  i. 
075;  historical  novels,  etc.,  i.  077;  fic- 
tion, i.  094,  ballads  and  impromptu 
verses,  L  705;  dramas,  i.  714;  its  limits 
and  deficiencies,  i.  718;  of  Chinese 
music,  ii.  98;  flourishes  under  the 
Hans,  ii.  164;  foreign  missionary,  ii. 
367. 

Ljilngstedt,  Sir  A.,  i.  171,  ii.  o33,  428; 
his  liistory  of  Macao,  ii.  4o(). 

Lob-nor,  Desert  of,  i.  16 ;  Lake,  1.  •  24, 
222-223. 

Lobscheid,  Rev.  W.,  i.  271,  615. 

Loch,  Captain  G.  G.,  i.  105,  ii.  302,  .53(), 
541,  543,  .547,  .5.50. 

Loch,  Henry,  experiences  at  Tungchau, 
ii.  678  ;  capture  and  imprisonment  at 
Peking,  ii.  ()80,  CSl  ;  is  returned  to  the 
English,  ii.  084,  085. 

Lockhart,  Dr.  Wm.,  ii.  123,  139,  134,300, 
336,  339,  350,  354. 

Locusts,  occasional  ravages  of,  i.  351 ; 
edict  against,  i.  460 ;  character  for,  i. 
587 ;  Father  Faber's  miracle  of  the,  ii. 
290. 

Loess,  roads  in,  i.  .38,  97;  of  Shanst,  i. 
95;  of  Shensi,  i.  149;  extent  of,  in 
China,  i.  297;  its  nature,  i.  298-300; 
dwellings  in,  i.  301  ;  Richthofen's  the- 
ory of  origin,  i.  303;  terraces,  ii.  0; 
great  famine  in  the  region,  ii.  734. 

Loll  (or  Fo  Loll)  River,  in  Sz'chuen,  i.  15,5. 

Lohyang,  made  the  capital  by  Siangkwan, 
i.'S,  ii.  159,  102,  104,  108,  174;  and 
Buddhism,  ii.  218,  411. 

Lolos  race,  in  Sz'chuen,  i.  43,  158 ;  in 
Yunnan,  i.  183. 

Longevity,  Temple  of,  at  Canton,  i.  104. 


Loomis,  Rev.  A.  W.,  i.  703,  ii.  350. 

Lotus,  highly  esteemed,  i.  308. 

Low,  Hon.  P.  F.,  United  States  Ministef 
to  China,  ii.  700  ;  concerning  sentiment 
toward  foreigners  at  Tientsin,  ii.  704 ; 
his  reply  to  Wansiang's  note,  ii.  708  ;  on 
audience  question,  ii.  713,  714  ;  thanked 
bv  Prince  Kuiig,  ii.  739. 

Lowrie,  \V.  M.,  i.  7.55,  ii.  287,  350,  368. 

Lu,  governor  of  Kwangt>ung,  opposes  Na- 
pier's coming  to  Canton,  ii.  464  ;  rejects 
iiis  letter,  ii.  467  ;  stops  the  trade,  ii. 
471,  473  ;  his  succes.sor  Tang,  ii.  481. 

Luhchau,  on  female  education,  i.  .574  ;  in- 
stance of  reproving  a  mother-in-law,  i. 
795. 

Lukan  Gorge,  on  Yangt-sz',  i.  146. 

Ltinfi,  or  dragon  of  the  Chinese,  i.  344; 
carried  in  procession,  i.  818. 

Lung  River,  in  Fuhkien,  i.  129. 

Lung-tsiien,  in  Shansi,  i.  95. 

Lute,  or  kln^  a  favorite  instrument,  ii.  99. 

"\  r  A  TSUPU,  marine  goddess,  temple 

ItL  to,  at  Ningpo,  i.  123;  and  the  Vir- 
gin, ii.  316. 

MaTwan-lin,  his  Antiquarian  Rcsearclies, 
i.  259-205,  081  ;  list  of  comets,  ii.  73. 

Macao,  climate  of,  i.  54 ;  description  of, 
i.  170;  governor  of  Canton  retires  to, 
from  pirates,  ii.  183;  Ricci  in,  ii.  390; 
Tournon  imprisoned  in,  ii.  .302 ;  Mrs. 
Gutzlaft''s  school  at,  ii.  345  ;  smuggling 
trade  in  opium  at,  ii.  378  ;  origin  of  the 
settlement  and  name,  ii.  438 ;  recent 
history,  ii.  4oO  ;  the  Dutch  repulsed  be- 
fore, ii.  433  ;  English  man-of-war  at,  ii. 
448  ;  their  troops  occupy,  ii.  4.5(i ;  Lord 
Napier  reaches,  ii.  404;  Elliot  and  the 
English  retire  to,  ii.  .500  ;  Lin's  soldiers 
repiiLsed  at,  iL  51(j ;  Kiying  goes  to,  ii. 
507  ;  becomes  a  resort  of  smugglers,  ii. 
034 ;  of  coolie  traders,  ii .  002  ;  finally 
closed  to  the  coolie  trade,  ii.  715. 

Macartney,  Lord,  i.  402,  431,  452,  454; 
his  embassy  to  Peking,  ii.  4.54. 

Macgowan,  Dr.  D.  J.,  ii.  3.50,  388. 

Ma-chin,  from  Mah<i-china,  '  Great 
China,'  its  Hindu  name,  i.  3. 

Mackie,  J.  Milton,  ii.  002,  624. 

Macy,  Wm.  A.,  ii.  344. 

Magaillans  (Magalhaens),  Pere  Gabriel,  i. 
04,  289,  473,  589,  817,  ii.  297;  his  em- 
bassy, ii.  429. 

Mahdbhdrata,  name  China  occurs  in  the, 
i.  2. 

Mail  I  a,  J-A-M.  de  M.,  ii  34.  7.3,  137, 152, 
309,  413. 

Maimai  chin,  of  Urga,  i.  204  ;  of  Kiakhta, 
i.  207,  ii.  443. 

Malacca,  Protestant  missions  in,  ii.  323i 
324. 

Malte  Brun,  estimate  of  Eighteen  Prov 
inces,  i.  8,  296. 


INDEX. 


r6i 


Manchu,  physical  traits,  i.  44 ;  Empprors 
pul>lish  the  I'eiial  Code,  i.  385  ;  nobility, 
i.  3S7;  and  education  system,  i.  521, 
5()0 ;  and  Chinese  poem,  i.  598 ;  alter 
the  Chinese  head-dress,  i.  761  ;  names, 
how  written,  i.  79S  ;  military  endeavors 
of  their  Emperors,  ii.  9:3  ;  peculiar  dread 
of  foreign  invasion,  ii.  6-1;*. 

Manchuria,  one  of  the  three  grand  divi- 
sions, i.  7 ;  extent  of,  i.  LS7 ;  water- 
courses and  mountains,  i.  188-191 ; 
three  provinces,  i.  191-'2O0;  climate,  i. 
195;  adndnistration  of  government,  i. 
199;  by  native  nobles,  i.  40(). 

Manchus,  their  ancestors  the  Kins,  ii. 
174 ;  overthrow  the  Mings,  ii.  178 ;  their 
government  better  than  the  Mings,  ii. 
185;  and  the  Triad  Society,  ii.  2(57; 
close  China  to  foreign  trade,  ii.  420 ; 
terrible  destruction  of,  at  Chinldang, 
ii.  542 ;  as  rulers  of  China,  ii.  580 ;  na- 
tional dislike  of,  and  Tai-ping  revolt, 
ii.  596. 

Mandarin  ducks,  fidelity  of,  i.  340 ;  as  an 
emblem,  ii.  112. 

Mandarin,  derivation  of  word,  i.  417. 

Mandarin  (or  court)  dialect,  the  kwan 
hwa,  i.  613;  the  Bible  in,  ii.  364. 

Mangu  khan,  successor  of  Kuyuk,  mis- 
sion of  Rubruquis  to,  ii.  418  ;  of  King 
Hayton  to,  ii.  420. 

Manji,  tribes  in  Yunnan,  i.  4. 

Manning,  T.,  mission  of,  to  Tiljet  in 
1811,  i.  246. 

Mausoleum,  of  Grand  Lama  at  Peking,  i. 
79 ;  at  Teshu  Lumbo,  i.  252  ;  of  Chi- 
nese Emperors,  ii.  248. 

Munu,  Laws  of]  mention  of  China  in,  i.3. 

Manures,  preparation  of,  ii.  8. 

Marble,  uses  of,  i.  307;  slabs,  etc.,  ex- 
ported, ii.  394. 

Marco  Polo.     See  Polo. 

Margary,  A.  R.,  i.  184;  sent  from  Han- 
kow to  Bhamo,  ii.  721  ;  his  murder,  ii. 
722 ;  its  subsequent  investigation,  ii. 
723,  734. 

Marriage,  customs  in  Tibet,  i.  251  ;  in 
Puhkien,  i.  785-791  ;  good  sense  of  the 
laws  controlling,  i.  793  ;  and  ancestral 
worship,  ii.  239 ;  of  Emperor  Tungchi, 
ii.  710. 

Marshall,  Thos.,  ii.  287,  307,  318. 

Marshman,  J.,  i.  657,  ii.  320;  his  term 
for  baptism,  ii.  363. 

Martin,  R.  M.,  i.  120,  285,  ii.  406,  443, 
562  ;  his  proposition  regarding  Chusan, 
ii.  580. 

Martin,  Dr.  W.  A.  P.,  i.  20,  435,  550,  551, 
559,  ii.  217,  372,  741. 

Match-makers  employed  in  marriages,  i. 
785,  '586. 

Matting,  grass  grown  for,  i.  357 ;  manu- 
facture and  uses  of,  ii.  61 ;  export  of, 
ii.  395. 


Mavers,  W.  F.,  i.  438,  753,   ii.  90,   185, 

217,  348. 
Maximo  witch.  CarlJ.,  i.  296,  355. 
McCarthy,   Justin,    ii.  565;    estimate  of 

Bowring  and  Parkes,  ii.  6:34,  637  ;   on 

results  of  the  w.ar,  ii.  687. 
McCarty,  Dr.  D.  B.,  ii.  350. 
McClatchie,  Rev.  Canon  T.,  i.  633,  633; 

ii.  142,  200. 
McCulloch's  area  of  China,  i.  5 ;    of  the 

Eighteen  Provinces,  i.  8 ;  population  on 

Plain,   i.  28 ;  Mongols,   i.  45  ;   popula-» 

tion,  i.  285. 
Meadows,  T.  T.,  i.  192,   494,  ii.  3,   596. 

597.  624. 
Measures  of  length,  weight,  etc.,  ii.  81. 
Meats  seen  upon  Chinese  tables,  i.  776. 
Mechanical  arts,  and  implements,  ii.  18; 

attainments  in,  ii.  117. 
Medhurst,  W.  H.,  i.   12.5,   2(15,   271,   278, 

290,    530,  615,  634,  636,  685,  755,  809. 

ii.  28,  151,  214,  258,  295,  321,  336,  329, 

330,  352,  .354,  3(i3,  369;    his  Tai-ping 

translations,  ii.  594,  623. 
Medicine,    practice  better  than   theories 

of,   i.    377 ;    its   profession  in   Chinese 

society,  i.  783 ;  attainments  in,  ii.  118- 

134. 
Mei  ling,  in  Kwangtung,  i.  12. 
]VIoi  Shan,  or  '  Coal  Hill,'  Peking,  i.  70. 
Mencius,  birthplace  of,  i.  90 ;  praises  the 

Chiui  Tsiu,  i.  649  ;    life  of,  i.  666  ;  his 

doctrines,  i.  66S-672  ;  and  early  Emper- 
ors,  ii.    146;    writings  burned,  ii.  161  ; 

a  saint,  ii.  201,  237. 
Mendacity  of  the  Chinese,  i.  834. 
Metals  and  metallurgy,  ii.  1 S ;  knowledge 

of,  ii.  lis. 
Metaphysics  of  Chu  Hi  and  tendency  of 

Chinese  thought,  i.  6S3-(i85. 
Meteorology  of  China,  i.  51-.55. 
ATi'ao  hao,  or  ancestral  name  of  Emperor, 

i.  399. 
Miaotsz',  i.  41 ;  sa?:.ff  and  sliuh,  i.  43,  lli}, 

177,  179-180;  tankla  descendants  of,  at 

Canton,   i.  412 ;    songs,   ii.   95 ;    Hung 

Siu-tsuen  among,  ii.  587. 
Michie,  A.,  i.  20.5. 
Middle  Kingdom,  Chung  Kwoh,  a  name 

for  China  since  B.C.  11.50,  i.  4. 
Military,  control  of,  in  provinces,  i.  444  ; 

examinations  among  the,  i.  560  ;  archi- 
tecture in  China,  i.  758  ;  science,  ii.  88. 
Milk  little  used,  i.  77(5. 
Millet,  Italian  {Setaria'',  in  Shingking,  L 

191  ;  much  eaten  in  the  North,  i.  772. 
Milne,  Rev.  Wm.  C,  i.  121,  494,  .508,  686, 

744,  745,  746,  il  132,  339,  231,  265,  369, 

350. 
Milne,  Dr.  W..  ii.  325  ;  arrives  in  China, 

ii.  319;  at  Malacca,  ii.  323,  368. 
Min  River,  in  Fuhkien,  i.  128;  in  Sz'chuen, 

i.  154,  155. 
Minerals,  probably  abundant  in  Kwan' 


r62 


INDEX. 


lun,  i.  12;  of  Shantung,  i.  93;  of 
Yunnan,  i.  183 ;  of  the  Empire,  i.  304- 
310. 

Ming  dynasty,  its  period,  ii.  177-179;  ta- 
ble of  Emperors,  ii.  1S6  ;  trade  during, 
ii.  373. 

Ming  ti,  Emperor,  ii.  163 ;  introduces 
Buddhism,  ii.  21 S,  229. 

Mint,  its  management,  i.  428 ;  one  in 
every  province,  ii.  83. 

Mirrors,  Chinese  magic,  ii.  20;  to  cure 
maniacs,  ii.  2.50. 

Missionaries,  letter  from  Romish,  concern- 
ing Chinese  boat  life,  i.  751  ;  they  teach 
mathematics  at  Peking,  ii.  07  ;  under 
Kanghi,  ii.  181  ;  Buddhist,  their  influ- 
ence, ii.  189 ;  Mcsiem,  ii.  268  ;  Nesto- 
rian,  ii.  275,  2Sr) ;  Roman  Catholic,  ii. 
287 ;  their  conduct  in  China,  ii.  305 ; 
the  first  Protestant,  ii.  318 ;  female, 
their  influence,  ii.  304 ;  information  de- 
rived from  French,  ii.  440  ;  French,  be- 
headed ia  Kwangsi,  ii.  642  ;  British, 
address  to  Lord  Elgin,  ii.  649 ;  their 
influence  in  Peking,  ii.  689 ;  massacre 
of  French,  at  Tientsin,  ii.  700 ;  Ameri- 
can, frightened  away  from  Tangchau, 
ii.  705  ;  Chinese  grievances  against,  ii. 
701) ;  their  devotion  during  the  great 
famine,  ii.  736. 

Missions,  earliest  Christian,  to  China,  the 
Nestorians,  ii.  275-286  ;  Roman  Catho- 
lic :  first  period,  ii.  287-289  ;  second  pe- 
riod, ii.  289-304  ;  decrease  after  edict  of 
Yuiigching,  ii.  394 ;  statistics  of  Catho- 
lic, ii.  :)07 ;  their  literary  and  educa- 
tional labors,  ii,  309  ;  Protestant,  intro- 
duced by  MorrLson,  ii.  318;  among 
Chinese  emigrants  in  the  Archipelago, 
ii.  323 ;  their  hospital  practice,  ii. 
333-340 ;  condition  of  Protestant,  at 
Morrison's  death,  ii.  340 ;  conference 
of,  in  1877,  ii.  3(;5  ;  ob.stacles  and  en- 
couragements to,  ii.  3fi8 ;  Russian,  es- 
tablished at  Peking,  ii.  443  ;  problem 
of  foreign,  in  China,  rules  suggested,  ii. 
707. 

Mobs,  fear  of,  in  Peking,  i.  84;  at- 
tack British  troops  before  Canton,  ii. 
523 ;  attack  tiie  factories,  ii.  495,  556, 
50S. 

Mohammedan,  name  for  China,  Timg 
Tu,  i.  5  ;  mosque  in  Peking,  i.  74 ; 
in  Hangchau,  i.  119;  rebellion  in  1865- 
73,  i.  149,  154,  2(i9  ;  sect  in  China,  ii. 
268-271  ;  insurrection  in  Kansuh  sup- 
pressed, ii.  709;  uprising  in  Yunnan 
province,  ii.  719 ;  rebellion  in  Eastern 
Turkestan,  ii.  727-731. 

Mohammedans,  in  Kuldja,  i.  219;  in 
B  ikur,  i.  225  ;  first  come  to  China,  ii. 
268;  the  sect  in  tlie  Empire,  270;  found 
by  Ibn  Batuta,  ii.  422 ;  universal  up- 
rising of,  ii.  730. 


Monetary  system  of  the  Chinese,  ii.  83, 

Mongol,  race  characteristics,  i.  144; 
derivation  of  name,  i.  202  ;  dynasty 
(Yuen)  and  paper  money,  ii.  8.5,  177; 
regime,  ii.  175;  Buddhists,  ii.  229, 
233. 

Mongolia,  position  and  climate,  i.  200- 
202  ;  divisions — Inner  Mongolia,  i.  202- 
204  ;  Outer  Mongolia,  i.  204-209  ;  Koko- 
nor,  i.  209-213 ;  outljing  towns,  i. 
213-21.5. 

Mongols,  their  number,  i.  45;  religion. 
Shamanism,  ii.  233  ;  tolerate  the  Nes- 
torians, ii.  280 ;  and  first  period  of 
Catholic  missions,  ii.  288  ;  their  con- 
quests in  Europe,  and  the  embassies  to, 
ii.  415. 

Monkeys  of  China,  i.  314-316. 

Monsoons  on  coast,  i.  .53-54. 

Moutecorvino,  John  of,  ii.  271  ;  goes  to 
Cathay,  ii.  287,  421  ;  found  in  Peking 
by  Friar  Odoric,  ii.  423. 

Moon,  an  eclipse  at  Canton,  i.  819;  sym- 
bols of,  ii.  73,  74. 

Morals  of  the  Chinese  stage,  i.  824. 

Morrison,  J.  R.,  ii.  332,  342,  345,  363  ;  re- 
vi'ard  offered  for,  ii.  520 ;  services  as  an 
interpreter,  ii.  547,  548,  556 ;  his  death, 
ii.  560 

Morrison,  Dr.  Robert,  i.  230,  265-269, 
282,  284,  523,  524,  5:^0.  559,  603,  622, 
624,  074,  801,  817,  ii.  227;  his  life,  ii. 
318;  and-Ricci  compared,  ii.  322,333, 
333,  303,  453,  458,  459. 

Morrison  Education  Society,  ii.  341. 

Mosques,  at  Kuldja,  i.  218  ;  near  Moslem 
pagoda  in  C;inton,  i.  745  ;  notice  of,  at 
Ningpo,  ii.  269. 

Mountains,  of  China,  its  frontier,  i.  9 ; 
its  four  great  ranges,  i.  10;  Pnm- 
pelly's  "■  Sinian  Sy.stem,"  i.  14  ;  passes 
in,  i.  39  ;  of  Manchuria,  i.  188. 

Mourning,  cards,  i.  802 ;  customs  in 
China,  ii.    249,  250. 

Mukden,  capital  of  Shingking,  i.  87 ; 
desci-iption  of,  i.  192  ;  money  remitted 
to,  i.  295 ;  Kienlung's  elegy  on,  i. 
598. 

Mulberry  and  silk  worms,  ii.  10. 

Mules,  fine,  in  China,  i.  323. 

2TuH-pai,  or  '  door-tablet '  for  the  census, 
i.  283,  388. 

Murray,  Hugh,  i.  309,  ii.  137,  1.52,  400, 
410. 

Murui-ussu,  'Tortuous  River,'  i.  20. 

Music,  in  Tibet,  i.  25:1;  Board  of,  i.  424  A 
works  on,  in  the  ratalogue,  i.  072;  style  j 
and  principles  of  Chinese,  ii.  93-98  ;  m-j 

•    strumcnts  of,  ii.  99-104.  / 

Musk,  and  mu.sk-deer  in  China,  i.  332  ; 
exporte<l,    ii.  395. 

Myths  and  legends,  of  the  Chinese,  ii. 
70;  of  the  creation,  ii.  138-142  ;TaoiBt, 
ii.  210 ;  Buddhist,  ii.  222. 


llSTDEX. 


763 


NAILS  worn  long  on  fingers,  i.  TOO. 
Names,  for  China,  i.  2-5,  ii.  408  ;  an- 
cestral,of  Emperor,  i.  ;!99;  how  inilicated 
in  books,  i.  fJ'il  ;  changed  at  marriage, 
i.  788  ;  several,  during  life,  i.  T'.IT  ;  peri- 
phrases in  use  for.  i.  )S0o  ;  for  jiorcelain, 
ii.  '2'i  ;  for  tea,  ii.  45  ;  for  opium,  ii.  87o. 

Nanchang,  cajjital  of  Kiaugsi,  i.  113; 
Ricci  in,  ii.  2W. 

Nanhiung,  in  Kwangtimg,  i.  174. 

Nan-kan,  'South  Gate,'  in  Great  Wall, 
i.  14,  81. 

Nankeen,  a  cotton  cloth,  ii.  37  ;  decrease 
in  export  of,  ii.  o95. 

Nanking,  climate  of,  i.  52  ;  description  of, 
i.  100;  Porcelain  Tower  of,  i.  102;  its 
iKiiikce/i  cloth,  ii.  37  ;  stone  animals  at, 
ii.  115;  capital  of  one  of  the  'Three 
States,'  A.D.  211,  ii.  1(54;  pillaged  by 
the  Kin,  ii.  175;  capital  of  the  Ming, 
ii.  177 ;  Ricci  in,  ii.  ~90 ;  the  English 
before,  ii.  545 ;  treaty  of,  ii.  549 ; 
Hung  Siu-tsuen  proclaimed  Emperor 
(Tien-teh)  at,  ii.  584 ;  rebel  capture  of, 
ii.  59*') ;  their  stress  in,  ii.  (505  ;  taken  by 
imperialists,  ii.  020. 

Nan  ling,  'Southern  Mountains,'  a  con- 
tinuation of  the  Yun  ling,  i.  12. 

Nan  shall,  in  Kwangtuiig,  i.  159;  in 
Koko-nor,  i.  211. 

Napier,  John,  mentioned  in  a  Chinese  trea- 
ti.se,  ii.  07. 

Napier,  Lord,  superintendent  of  trade, 
his  arrival,  ii.  4(54;  letter  to  (Governor 
Lu  rejected,  ii.  407;  contest  with  the 
governor,  ii.  471  ;  retires  from  Canton 
and  dies  suddenh-,  ii.  474. 

Nari  ( A-li),  a  division  of  Tibet,  i.  244,  2.56. 

Navarette,  a  Dominican  friar,  and  the 
Jesuits,  ii.  300. 

Natural  history,  study  of,  in  China,  i. 
290 ;  geology,  i.  '297-313 ;  zoology,  i. 
313-340 ;  ichthyology,  i.  340-351  ;  in- 
sects, i.  351-354;  botany,  i.  355-370; 
the  Pun-tsao,  or  Herbal,  i.  371-376 ; 
condition  of  the  science  in  China,  i. 
377-379. 

Niu-chih,  or  Kin  Tartars,  i.  202 ;  ances- 
tors of  Manchus,  ii.  174. 

Navy,  control  of,  interchanged  with  army, 
i.  445,  496,  502  ;  Lay's  flotilla  fiasco,  ii. 
()92. 

Nestor'an,  monument  at  Si-ngan,  i.  151, 
ii  27(i ;  missionaries  at  court  of  Tai- 
tsung,  ii.  1(J9  ;  during  the  Yuen,  ii.  280  ; 
oppose  Corvino,  ii.  287 ;  missionaries 
come  with  traders,  ii.  411  ;  priest  and 
Rubruquis,  ii.  418. 

Nevius,  J.  L.,  i.  810,  ii.  217. 

Newspapers  (see  also  I'ck'uKj  Gazette)  and 
chea])  type.s,  i.  005  ;  edited  by  Protes- 
tant missionaries,  ii.  341. 

New  Year,  festival  and  ceremonies,  i.  810- 
810 ;  its  date,  ii.  70, 


Nganhwui  province,  i.  108. 

Nganking,  or  Anking,  in  Nganhwui,  i. 
110;  taken  by  Tai-pings,  ii.  .595  ;  their 
march  to  relief  of,  ii.  007  ;  captured  by 
imperialists,  ii.  008. 

N)ng[)o,  tempeiature  at,  i.  53;  descrip- 
tion of,  i.  120-123;  the  to  niin  of,  1. 
412;  l)irthday  fete  at,  i.  814;  spring 
festival,  ii.  14 ;  cannon  found  at,  ii. 
02;  the  cholera  at,  ii.  132;  nunneries 
at,  ii.  231  ;  foundling  hospital,  ii.  205  ; 
its  mosque,  ii.  269  ;  missions  at,  ii.  350  ; 
Portuguese  at,  ii.  428 ;  its  capture  by 
the  British,  ii.  527  ;  attemi)t  at  recap- 
ture, ii.  531,  ii.  573;  during  Tai-ping 
Rebellion,  ii.  008,  009. 

Nieuwhof  (or  Nieuhoff),  J.,  ii.  3,  428; 
account  of  the  fall  oi  Fort  Zealandia, 
ii.  436. 

Nitre  common  in  China,  i.  308. 

Niu  Kien,  Governor-General,  conduct  at 
Wusung,  ii.  535,  537  ;  British  offer,  op- 
j)ortanity  of  ransoming  Nanking,  ii. 
544  ;  joint  letter  to  Pottinger,  ii.  546. 

Niuchwang  (Yingtsz'),  in  Shingking,  L 
194,  751. 

Nobility,  Manchu  and  Chinese,  i.  387 ; 
orders  of,  i.  406. 

Notation,  Chinese  arithmetical,  ii.  66 ; 
musical,  ii.  94. 

Novels,  Tibetan,  i.  251  ;  and  tales  in  Chi- 
nese literature,  i.  692;  character  of 
Chinese  fiction,  i.  095. 

Nui  Hing-an  ling,  or  Sialkoi  Mountains, 
west  of  the  Amur,  i.  1 3. 

Numerals,  Chinese,  i.  619  ;  limitations  to 
use  of,  ii.  60. 

Nuns,  Buddhist,  at  Canton,  i.  105 ;  and 
nunneries,  ii.  230. 

Nii-rh  Yu,  '  Words  for  Women  and 
Girls,'  a  school-book,  L  577. 

OBEISANCE,  sundry  degrees  of,  i. 
801. 

Observatory  at  Peking,  i.  72;  and  the 
Jesuit  missionaries,  ii.  298. 

Odes,  the  Book  of  (see  Shi  Kinrj,  i.  686, 
etc.),  'for  children,' the  Yin  Hioh  Shi- 
tlrh,  i.  533  ;  in  Nestorian  inscription  at 
Si-ngan,  ii.  282. 

Odoric,  Friar,  i.  302 ;  on  casting  out 
devils,  ii.  314;  his  journey  to  Cathay, 
ii.  422. 

Officers,  in  China,  their  extortions,  i.  278  ; 
nine  ranks,  i.  413-415  ;  and  Board  of 
Civil  Office,  i.  421  ;  provincial,  i.  438- 
448;  checks  upon,  i.  449;  their  charac- 
ter and  position,  i.  451  ;  their  establish- 
ments, i.  503  ;  compelled  to  e.xtortion, 
i.  510  ;  of  education,  i.  548 ;  dresses,  i. 
703  ;  formalities  of  meeting,  i.  805 ; 
their  religious  duties,  ii.  201-205  ;  in- 
stance of  their  functions,  ii.  '230  ;  of 
their     corruption,     ii.    378 ;     of    theil 


764 


INDEX. 


methods,  ii.  557;  attitude  toward  for- 
eigners at  close  of  the  opium  war, 
ii.  575. 

Oling  Lake,  in  Koko-nor,  i.  18. 

Oliphant,  Lawrence,  i.  400,  ii.  644,  647, 
654,  0()0. 

Olives  (the  Pimela),  so-called,  of  China, 
i.  o()5,  775. 

Olyphant  &  Co.,  their  assistance  to  mis- 
sionaries, ii.  o2S,  hiSO,  342. 

Oineto  Fiih,  Buddhist  prayer,  i.  125. 

Om  maiu  padiiii  hum,  its  meaning,  i. 
349. 

Opium,  smuggling  incident,  i.  477 ;  its 
increase  under  Taukwang,  ii.  184;  in- 
troduction and  names  of,  ii.  37y  ;  cul- 
tivation in  India,  ii.  o74  ;  preparation 
and  sale,  ii.  o76 ;  manner  of  smoking, 
ii.  381  ;  its  effects,  li.  384  ;  value  of  the 
trade,  ii.  3S7,  430 ;  Robinson's  paper 
on  smuggling,  ii.  479 ;  proposal  to 
legalize,  ii.  48'3 ;  the  matter  referred  to 
Canton,  ii.  480  ;  prohibitory  laws  severe- 
ly enforced,  ii.  490 ;  increase  of  smug- 
gling, ii.  492 ;  demanded  by  Lin,  ii. 
498 ;  surrendered,  ii.  502 ;  and  destroyed, 
ii.  504  ;  sales  recommence,  ii.  506  ,  Pot- 
tinger's  position  regarding,  ii.  538 ;  his 
discussions  on,  with  commissioners,  ii. 
5.50  ;  smuggling  and  the  port  of  Hong- 
kong, ii.  558 ;  laissez  fairc  policy  of 
British  and  Chinese  after  first  war.  ii. 
501,  577 ;  increase  of  smuggling,  ii.  033  ; 
legalized  in  revised  tariff,  ii.  0.57. 

Oranges,  many  varieties  of,  at  Canton,  i. 
774. 

Osbeck,  Peter,  his  voyage  to  China,  ii. 
461. 

Onchterlony,  Lieutenant  J.,  his  Chinese 
\Vio\n.  .551,  574. 

Oysters  common  along  the  coast,  i.  350 ; 
their  quality,  i.  780. 

PAGODA,  Porcelain,  at  Nankin*  i. 
1 02 ;  and  dagoba  in  China,  i.  743  ; 
purpose  and  construction,  i.  745  ;  plain, 
at  Canton,  ii.  209. 

J'ai-laii,  in  Peking,  i.  83  ;  their  purpose 
and  construction,  i.  7.50-7.58 ;  to  com- 
memorate British  retreat  from  Canton, 
ii.  620. 

Painting,  as  a  fine  art  in  China,  ii.  105 ; 
examples  of  illustrations,  ii.  100-116 ; 
on  pith  paper,  ii.  113.  For  reproduc- 
tions of  Chinese,  see  the  two  frontis- 
pieces of  these  volumes. 

Pakhoi,  port  in  Kwanj^tung,  i.  175. 

Palace,  of  Emijcror,  at  Peking,  i.  65-69 ;  of 
Yuen  mitig  Yuen,  i.  80;  life  and  arrange- 
ments of,  i.  407. 

Palafox,  Bishop,  i.  162. 

Palisade  boundary  between  Chihli  and 
Shingking,  i.  25,  187. 

PalladiuB,  Archimandrite,  ii.  277,  285. 


Palms,  fan,  cocoanut,  etc.,  i.  300. 
Palti,  or  Yamorouk  Lake,  in  Tibet,  i.  25. 
Panthay    insurrection  in    Yunnan  prov- 
ince, ii.  719. 
Pao-ho  tien,   '  Hall  of  Secure  Peace,'  in 

Peking,  i.  68. 
Pao-tch,  on  Yellow  River,  and  chief  anti- 
clinal axes  of  Sinian  system,  i.  14. 

Paper,  in  China,  history  and  varieties  of, 
i.  599 ;  used  for  window  glass,  i.  732 ; 
collected  by  priests,  ii.  257 ;  burned  for 
spirits,  ii.  257. 

Paper  monej',  in  Fulichan,  i.  132  ;  Polo's 
delight  over,  ii.  85  ;  and  Yuen  dynasty, 
ii.  177;  mentioned  by  Ibn  Batuta,  ii. 
422. 

Parker,  Admiral  Sir  William,  arrives 
from  England,  ii.  524. 

Parker,  Dr.  P.,  i.  706,  ii.  124,  325;  his 
hospital  at  Canton,  ii.  333-337,  567, 
639. 

Parke  s.  Sir  Harry,  ii.  29 ;  McCarthy's 
estimate  of,  ii.  634  ;  action  in  the  Ar- 
row case,  ii.  635-637,  040;  one  of 
commission  to  govern  C.mton,  ii.  046  ; 
his  ability,  ii.  047;  experiences  _  at 
Tungchau,  ii.  078  ;  his  capture  and  im- 
prisonment, ii.  080. 

Pascal,  a  Spanish  friar,  missionary  to 
Kuldja,  ii.  289,  424. 

Patriarchal  feature  of  government,  i.  381. 

Panting,  in  Chihli,  i.  85. 

Pauthier,  G.,  i.  05,  84,  043,  003,  674,  iL 
34,  85,  87,  137,  149,  150,  101,  307,  210, 
212,  280,  413,  419,  713. 

Pauying  Lake,  in  Kiangsu,  i.  100. 

Pavif.  T.,  i.  096. 

Pavilion,  prominent  feature  of  Chinese 
architecture,  i.  730. 

Pawnbrokers'  establishments,  ii.  86. 

Peacocks  reared  throughout  China,  i.  337. 

Pearl  River,  in  Kwangtung,  i.  22,  1.59; 
duck-hatching  on,  i.  778 ;  pirates  on, 
during  this  century,  ii.  183  ;  kept  open 
by  foreigners,  ii.  630. 

Pearls,  genuine  and  artificial,  i.  350. 

Pechele  (for  Pch-rhihli),  sometimes  used 
for  Chihli,  i.  00. 

Peepnl,  or  7J?<-^i  tree  {Ficus  religiosa), 
worshipped,  ii.  259.  . 

Pell  ling,  '  Northern  Mountains,'  in 
Kwanlun  system,  i.  12. 

Peh-ta  -sz',  '  White  Pagoda  Temple,'  Pe- 
king, i.  75. 

Pehtang,  Americans  urged  to  go  to.  ii. 
()(J5  ;  they  repair  to  Peking,  via,  ii.  (i08 ; 
Ho  asks  Englisli  to  exchange  treaties 
at,  072  ;  allies  land  and  capture,  ii.  073. 

Pei  iio,  and  towns  on  its  banks,  i.  85-86; 
allied  fleet  reach,  ii.  649 ;  repulse  at 
battle  of,  ii.  0()6. 

Peking,  climate  of,  i.  51  ;  situation,  area, 
and  history,  i.  ()0-64 ;  walls,  i.  (i4 ; 
'  Prohibited  City,'  i.  05  ;  plan  of,  i.  66,* 


INDEX. 


765 


palaces,  i.  07-60;  'Imporial  City,'  i. 
G9  ;  parks,  public  buildings,  temples,  i. 
69-T!>;  Altar  to  Heaven,  i.  7<);  otlier 
temples,  i.  78  ;  summer  palace,  i.  80  ; 
streets,  city  government,  life,  i.  81-84  ; 
dogs  of,  i.  yi9 ;  crows  about,  i.  3H4 ; 
State  school  at,  i.  543  ;  examinations 
for  isin-sz'  degree,  i.  558 ;  Pih-yung 
Kung,  i.  73,  730 ;  street  scenes  in,  i. 
741 ;  carts  used  by  royalty  in,  i.  747  ; 
compressed  feet  in,  i.  770 ;  marriage 
processions  at,  i.  7S9  ;  fireworks  in,  i. 
817;  ploughing  ceremony  at,  ii.  13;  its 
medical  college  {T'ai-i  Yucit),  ii.  121  ; 
taken  by  the  Mongols,  ii.  175;  by  the 
Mings,  ii.  177,  178;  Barrow  on  infan- 
ticide in,  ii.  240  ;  funerals  in,  ii.  345, 
2.50;  Moslems  in,  ii.  2(59;  Catholics  first 
established  in,  ii.  287 ;  Ricci  goes  to, 
ii.  291  ;  medical  instruction  at,  ii.  33'.) ; 
Friar  Odoric  visits,  ii.  423 ;  Van 
Hoorn's  embassy  to,  ii.  438  ;  Russian 
mission  at,  ii.  443  ;  Tai-ping  expedi- 
tion against,  ii.  597  ;  Ward's  visit  to, 
ii.  6')9 ;  allied  troops  at,  ii.  (382,  686 ;  a 
foreign  quarter  in,  ii.  088. 

Pekinq  Gazette  {Kiiirj  Pao),  on  revenue, 
i.  293 ;  notice  of,  i!  420. 

Paial  Code,  of  China,  i.  279,  282,  287  ; 
examination  of,  i.  384-392  ;  regulating 
trials  and  punishments,  i.  50(3  ;  num- 
ber of  characters  in,  i.  589 ;  laws  on 
land,  ii.  2 ;  on  physicians,  ii.  133 ; 
framed  by  Yungloh,  ii.  177. 

People  of  China,  their  clans,  i.  483  ;  gen- 
eral education,  i.  519. 

Pepys,  Ramtiel,  mentions  tea,  ii.  51. 

Ferny,  P.,  i  719,  ii.  90. 

Pescadores,  or  Panghu  Islands,  i.  27,  141  ; 
the  Dutch  in,  ii.  433. 

Petitions  presented  by  the  poor  to  high 
magistrates,  i.  505. 

Petroleum  in  Formosa,  i.  139. 

Pheasants,  gold,  silver,  Reeves,  and 
others,  i.  336. 

Philosophy,  Chinese,  of  the  Yih  Kinq,  i. 
028-033  ;  of  Confucius,  i.  062  ;  of  Chu 
Hi,  i.  (183 ;  ideas  concerning  the  '  ac- 
tion and  reaction  of  the  elements,'  ii. 
74  ;  of  the  creation,  ii.  137-144  ;  Bazin's 
view  of  growth  of  Chinese,  ii.  213. 

Phoenix,  or  Fniifj-Zitrnng,  i.  343. 

Physical  traits  of  Chinese,  i.  41. 

Physicians,  their  position  in  society,  i. 
783  ;  their  practice,  ii.  124-127;  foreign- 
ers educate  Chinese  as,  ii.  339. 

Pigeon-English,  an  unwritten  patois,  i. 
624 ;  examples  of,  i.  832,  ii.  340,  402, 
62(). 

Pigeons,  abundant  in  Peking,  1.  335 ; 
raised  and  eaten,  i.  779. 

Pihkwei,  made  governor  of  Canton  after 
Yeh's  capture,  ii.  64(! ;  asks  Lord  Elgin 
to  reopen  trade,  ii.  647. 


Pih-ynngKung,  or  '  Classic  Hall,'  Confu« 
cian  Temple,   Peking,  i.  73,  730,  757. 

Pilgrims,  to  Tai  Shan,  i.  90  ;  Chinese,  ta 
Mecca,  ii.  370 ;  travels  of  Buddhist,  iL 
413. 

Pines,  the  white,  etc.,  i.  302. 

Pirates,  infest  Kwangtung,  ii.  183  ;  pur- 
sued by  British  and  Portuguese,  ii.  032. 

Piry,  A.  Theophile,  i.  080. 

Pi-shan,  a  doubtful  volcano  in  111,  i.  11. 

Plain.     See  Great  Plain,  i.  14,  27,  etc. 

Piano  Carpini,  John  of,  missionary  to 
China,  ii.  287  ;  his  mission  to  Kuyuk,  ii. 
417. 

Plantain,  productiveness  of,  i.  301  ;  how 
eaten,  i.  774. 

Plough,  its  construction,  ii.  3;  drill- 
plough,  ii.  5;  foreifjn,  introduced,  ii.  63. 

Ploughing,  annual  ceremony  of,at  Peking, 
i.  78,  ii.  1,  13. 

Poetry  of  the  Sh  I  King,  i.  038-043  ;  char- 
acteristics of  Chinese,  i.  7(3  ;  examples 
of  their  odes  and  liallads,  i.  70,5-714. 

Po-lai-tsz',  a  name  of  the  Yangtsz'  kiang, 
i.  20. 

Police,  of  Peking,  i.  83;  tyranny  and 
venality  of,  i.  475—480;  memorial  to 
Emperor  concerning,  i.  495. 

Policy  of  Cliinese  government,  in  Ili,  i. 
214  ;  its  theory,  i.  3S0-3S4 ;  toward  for- 
eign traders  since  the  Mings,  ii.  426  ;  at 
close  of  opium  war,  ii.  575. 

Polo,  Marco,  i.  32,  110,  118,  127,  130,  157, 
181,  213,  242,  281,  304,  330,  330,  337, 
343,  345,  350,  300,  304,  ii.  51,  85,  176, 
271,  285,  415 ;  his  journeys  in  China, 
ii.  420,  425. 

Polyandry  in  Tibet,  i.  350. 

Polygamy,  its  extent  in  China,  i.  792. 

Poor,  troublesome  element  of  Peking 
population,  i.  84  ;  petitions  forced  upon 
magistrates,  i.  .505 ;  dwellings  of  the,  i. 
733  ;  disposal  of  their  dead,  ii.  2,54. 

Pope  of  Rome,  appoints  Corvino  arch- 
bishop, ii.  287  ;  sends  other  missionaries 
to  China,  ii.  288  ;  Ming  claimants  write 
to,  ii.  29(5 ;  and  question  of  rites,  ii.  299, 
301,  302 ;  supports  Tournon  and  the 
Dominicans,  ii.  303 ;  sends  Carpini  to 
Kuyuk  khan,  ii.  415. 

Population,  of  Great  Plain,  i.  28 ;  of  Pe- 
king, i.  (i3,  84;  of  Canton,  i.  101;  of 
Shingking,  i.  193 ;  of  the  Empire,  i. 
2.58-288  ;  of  Tibet,  unknown,  i.  284  ;  of 
China  during  the  Tang,  ii.  171  ;  of  Pe- 
king at  last  determined,  ii.  087. 

Porcelain,  i.  Ill  ;  works,  i.  113  ;  materials 
and  manufacture,  ii.  22 ;  export  of,  ii. 
394. 

Porcupine  in  China,  i.  328. 

Portuguese,  church  in  Peking,  i.  75 ;  in 
Ningpo,  i.  120;  settlers  in  Formosa,  i, 
137;  in  Macao,  i.  170;  name  porcelain, 
ii.  22 ;  during  the  Mings,   ii.  177  ;  and 


766 


INDEX. 


pirate  fleets,  ii.  IS"  ;  oppose  introducing 
Christianity,  ii.  281) ;  excitement  iu  Can- 
ton against,  ii.  '.i'.U  ;  conduct  of  early, 
traders  with  China,  ii.  42t; ;  misrepre- 
Bent  the  English,  ii.  444 ;  keep  tFiem 
out  of  Canton,  ii.  44() ;  homicide  of  a,  at 
Canton,  ii.  451  ;  attack  the  pirates,  ii. 
632  ;  smuggling  lorchas,  ii.  K'A  ;  abolish 
coolie  trade  at  Macao,  ii.  (163. 

Pottinger,  Sir  Henry,  arrives  irom  Eng- 
land, ii.  r)"24  ;  takes  Chinhai  and  Ning- 
po,  ii.  527 ;  his  proclamation  before 
Chinkiang,  ii.  5;i7  ;  his  position  regard- 
ing the  opium  trade,  ii.  Oo'J ;  Kiying 
writes  to,  ii.  546;  exchanges  civilities 
with  commissioners,  ii.  547;  discusses 
opium  problem  with  them,  ii.  550 ; 
^igns  Nanlcing  treat}',  ii.  5.53 ;  action 
on  hearing  of  Formosa  massacres,  ii. 
5.55  ;  exchanges  ratifications  with  Ki- 
ying, ii.  557 ;  on  J.  R.  Morrison,  ii.  501  ; 
action  against  opium  smuggling,  ii.  502. 

Poutiatine,  Admiral  Count,  his  arrival  in 
China,  ii.  043. 

Poyang  Luke,  in  Kiangsi,  i.  33,  111. 

Players,  Buddhist,  ii.  225,  226  ;  machines 
for,  ii.  334  ;  at  ancestral  tomb,  ii.  253; 
'Girdle  Classics,'  ii.  257. 

Prejevalsky,  Colonel  N.,  observations  on 
Gobi,  i.  10;  on  source  of  Yangtsz',  i. 
20 ;  Lob-nor,  i.  24 ;  Kansuh,  i.  153 ; 
Mongolia,  i.  205,  210,  212,  222,  231,  243, 
290,  338,  355,  304. 

Pre'mare.  Pere,  i.  581),  714,  ii.  232. 

Prester  John,  Prince  of  the  Kara  Kitai, 
ii.  385,  280. 

Priests,  in  Canton,  i.  104,  165;  and 
snakes,  i.  340 ,  harbor  thieves,  i.  498 ; 
in  society,  i.  783  ;  and  theatres,  i.  830  ; 
grow  tea,  ii.  42 ;  no  hierarchy  of,  in 
China,  ii.  101,  199;  Taoist,  ii.  214,  215; 
Buddhist,  ii.  220,  224,  250 ;  Nestorian, 
ii.  285,  380. 

Primitives  in  the  Chinese  language,  i. 
591-593. 

Printing,  in  China,  i.  600 ;  missionary,  ii. 
307. 

Processions,  marriage,  i.  787-791  ;  style 
of,  i.  819 ;  funeral,  ii.  345,  348. 

Professions,  the  liberal,  in  Chinese  soci- 
ety, i.  783. 

Prisons  in  (>anton,  i.  167,  514. 

Pronunciation,  varieties  in  local  Chinese, 
i.  61.5-017. 

'Prohibited  City'  of  Peking,  i.  65. 

Pro.spect,  or  'Coal'  Hill,  Peking,  i.  70. 

Protestants,  first,  missionaries  to  (!hina, 
ii.  31S  ;  niethods  compared  with  Catho- 
lics, ii.  ;?22 ;  toleration  granted  to,  ii. 
357 ;  statistics  of,  in  China,  ii.  oOtJ. 

Proverbs,  Chinese,  i.  110,442,  019;  col- 
lections of,  and  specimen,  i.  719-733, 
792,  ii.  244. 

Provincial  governments,  character  of  the 


system,  i.  437;  higher,  i.  438,  and  lowei 

officers,  i.  441  ;  law  courts,  i.  504. 
Prussian  blue,  \i8ed  in  coloring  teas,  ii. 

47 ;  introduced,  ii.  62. 
P.salmanazar,  George,  his  Ilintory  of  For- 

inoaa,  i.  141. 
Ptolemy,  the  geographer,  his  mention  of 

China,  ii.  408  ;  his  "Stone  Tower,"  ii. 

409. 
Pulses,  their  importance  in  medical  prac- 
tice, ii.  122,  12.5. 
Pumpellyj  R.,    his    "Sinian  System"  of 

mountains,  i.   14;  remarks  on  Gobi,  i. 

17;  quoted,   i.   145,  205,  207,  296,  304, 

305. 
Punishments,  Board  of,  i  426;  five  kinds, 

i.  508 ;  Parkes  and  Loch  at  Board  of, 

ii.  681. 
Pan  t.iao,  or    'Chinese  Herbal,'  i.    316; 

concerning  the  sphex.  i.  354  ;  its  author 

and  scope,  i.  370  ;  divisions  of :  geology, 

i.  371  ;  botany,  i.  372  ;  zoology,  i.  374  ; 

notices  of  the   horse,    i.   375,    691,   iL 

373. 
Pushtikhur,  mountain  knot  in  Turkestan, 

i.  10. 
Puto  Island,  i.  124. 

Puyur,  or  Pir  Lake,  in  Manchuria,  i.  24. 
Pwanku,  the  first  man,  ii.  138-141. 


UAILS,  fighting,  i.  826. 
^     Queues,   how  worn,    i.    761  ;    false 


o 


hair  in,   i.   765  ;    imposed  upon  Chi- 
nese by  the  Tartars,  ii.  179  ;  mourning, 
ii.  249  ;  cut  ofT  by  Tai-pings,  ii.  589. 
Quicksilver  mines  in  Kweichau,   i.   178, 
311 ;  experiments  in,  ii.  118. 

I)  ACES  (see  under  Aboriginal),  abor- 
\)     iginal  and  colonial,  of  China,  i.  43. 

Radicals  in  the  Chinese  language,  i.  591- 
593. 

Raffles,  SirT.  S.,  i.  482. 

Rain,  in  North  China,  i.  51  ;  in  the  south, 
i.  53;  contrast  in.  between  coasts  of 
China  and  America,  i.  55  ;  Taukwang's 
prayer  for,  i.  407 ;  eflbrts  after,  by 
officers,  ii.  203-205. 

Ranking,  J.,  i.  330. 

Ranks,  titular,  of  noblemen,  i.  405 ;  of 
the  people,  i.  411  ;  insignia  of,  i.  414. 

Rationalists,  or  Taoists,  considered  as 
magicians,  i.  ()94 ;  ideas  of  the  creation, 
ii.  138;  creed,  ii.  207  0". 

Rats,  how  and  when  eaten,  i.  778. 

lied  Book,  of  officials,  its  character,  i 
452. 

Reed,  William  B.^  United  States  Minis- 
ter, i.  400;  arrives  in  China,  ii.  643, 
649. 

Regis,  Pere  J.  B.,  i.  633. 

Reinaud,  J.  T.,  i.  127,  u.  168,  271,  414, 
425.  426. 

Religion,  sects  in  Tibet,  i.  248 ;  ridicuU 


INDEX. 


7G7 


of,  by  the  literati,  i.  601  ;  none  in  early 
mythology,  ii.  14)3;  only  external  modi- 
fying intlaence  in  China,  ii.  18'.);  two 
negative  features  of  Chinese,  ii.  192 ; 
the  tliree  ki<w,  or  sects  :  State,  ii.  194  ; 
Tao.  or  Rationalist,  ii.  207 ;  Fuh,  or 
Buddhist,  ii.  217;  toleration  of,  in 
Cliiua,  ii.  221  ;  eft'eto  among  the  people, 
ii.  2G0. 

Be'musat,  Abel,  his  derivation  of  word 
Tsunfj  ling,  i.  9 ;  myths  of  the  Great 
Deseit,  i.  12 ;  river  basins  of  China,  i. 
27,  2i:!,  214,  2:50,  2:11,  2>!:;,  2:J4,  237,  28t<, 
2.')0,  2.")1,  254,  308,  353  ;  observations  on 
natural  sciences,  i.  377,  500,  .^97,  ()0.5  ; 
on  Chinese  grammar,  i.  617 ;  Mencius, 
i.  (iOtJ,  674,  675,  681,  682,  694,  696.  ii. 
123,  139,  167,  176,  180,  224,  232,  233, 
293,  309,  441. 

Rennie,  Dr.  D.  F.,  i.  05,  ii.  602. 

Researches  of  Ma  Twan-lin,  i.  2.59-265. 

Responsibility,  a  main  feature  of  govern- 
ment, i.  382-383  ;  its  operation,  i.  436  ; 
of  Emperor  for  natural  calamities,  i. 
465;  results  of,  i.  481. 

Revenue,  of  Chinese  Empire,  i.  289-292 ; 
Board  of,  i.  422  ;  Department  of,  i.  443  ; 
and  transit  duties,  ii.  391. 

Rhubarb  from  Kansuh,  i.  864. 

Ricci,  Father  Matteo,  comes  to  China,  ii. 
289 ;  travels  northward,  ii.  290 ;  his 
death,  ii.  2,12  ;  his  character,  ii.  293  ;  de- 
cision as  to  the  rites,  ii.  292,  299  ;  com- 
pared witli  Morrison,  ii.  322 ;  compiles 
account  of  Goes'  journey,  ii.  425. 

Rice,  its  importance,  i.  772  ;  its  cultiva- 
tion, ii.  5-7;  paper,  painting  on,  ii. 
113;  an  import,  ii.  396. 

RichanlsL.!!,  Sir  John,  i.  296,  347,  348. 

Richthofen,  Biron  F.  von,  remarks  on 
conformation  of  Central  Asia,  i.  18 ; 
roads  in  loess,  i.  39,  97,  120,  150,  1.5S, 
184.  :^12,  221,  222,  257,  296,  297,  303, 
305.  636,  ii.  137  ;  on  early  knowledge  of 
China,  ii.  407.  411,  624. 

Ripa,  Pere  M.,  ii.  124;  arrives  in  China, 
ii.  302;  observations  on  Catholic  mis- 
sionaries, ii.  305. 

Rites,  five  kinds  of,  i.  423;  Book  of,  i. 
643-f)47 ;  question  of  the,  Ricci's  pre- 
cedent, ii.  292 ;  Catholic  quarrels  con- 
cerning, ii.  297-303. 

Ritter,  Carl,  i.  208,  234,  237,  257. 

Rivers,  of  China,  i.  18;  of  Shansi,  i.  94; 
boat  life  on,  i.  751. 

Roberts,  Rev.  I.  J.,  his  connection  with 
Hung  Siu-tsnen,  ii.  587,  622. 

Roads,  public,  i.  37 ;  mountain,  i.  39 ;  of 
Shansi,  i.  91"!  ;  of  Sz'chiien,  i.  156;  safety 
of,  in  the  Empire,  i.  212 ;  in  loess  re- 
gion, i.  300. 

Robinson,  Sir  G.  B.,  associated  with  Na- 
pier, ii.  464  ;  succeeds  him  as  superin- 
tendent, ii.  479. 


Rome,  Chinese  knowledge  cf,  during  the 
Han  dynasty,  ii.  163;  the  country  'i'u 
Tsin,  ii.  207  ;  and  Ciiiiia,  infanticide  in, 
ii.  242 ;  divination  in  China  and,  ii. 
261  ;  intercourse  with  Cliiua,  ii.  410. 

Roman  Catholics',  and  Huddliists'  rituals 
compared,  ii.  231,  315  ;  they  suggest 
the  founding  of  hospitals,  ii.  205  ;  mis- 
si  jns  first  established  in  China,  ii.  286 ; 
second  period  of  their  missions,  ii.  289 ; 
diseussions  concerning  the  rites,  ii.  253, 
292,  299  ;  expelled  from  China  by  Yung- 
ciiing,  ii.  304  ;  character  of  their  la})or3 
in  China,  ii.  316 ;  they  move  to  Hong- 
kong, ii.  347  ;  restitution  of  their  con- 
fiscated property,  ii.  361 ,  362  ;  indemni- 
fied in  treaty  of  Peking,  ii.  687. 

Rondot,  Natalis,  Chinese  commerce,  ii. 
19,  31,  38,  83. 

Roofs,  how  constructed  in  China,  i.  726, 
729. 

Rubruquis,  Friar  William,  sent  by  Louis 
XI.  to  Mangu  khan,  ii.  418,  425.  _ 

Russia,  treaty^  between,  and  China  on 
frontier  of  II  i,  i.  215,  .594;  and  tolera- 
tion of  Christianity  in  China,  ii.  360 ; 
boundary  disputes,  trade,  and  treaties 
of,  with  China,  ii.  441 ;  takes  posses- 
sion of  Kuldja,  ii.  727. 

Russian,  'pigeon,'  spoken  in  Vierny,  ii. 
402 ;  Admiral  Poutiatine  arrives  in 
China,  ii.  643  ;  and  American  ministers 
at  Tientsin,  ii.  6  4  ;  diplomacy  and  the 
Kuldja  question,  ii.  732. 

SABBATH  not  known  in  China,  i.  809. 
SacharofF,  T.,  i.  271. 
Sacred  Edict  (or  Commands)  of  Kanghi, 

the  Shing  Ym,  i.  .548;   a  politico-moral 

treatise,  i.  686-601 ;  its  observations  on 

mulberry  culture,   ii.   ;  3  ;    illus-trations 

from,  ii.  107-111,  227,_  267. 
Sacrifices,  no  human,  in  China,  ii.   192; 

three  grades,  ii.  105;  of  women  at  fu- 
neral of  Empress,  ii.  250. 
Sagalicn,  River  (see  Amur),  i.  180;  town 

of  (Igoon),i.  108. 
Sa,int-Martin,  Didier,  Romish  missionary 

to  China,  ii.  3C6,  312 ;   on  casting  out 

demons,  ii.  314. 
Salaries,    of   Chinese   officers,  i.  204 ;    of 

Mongol  princes,  i.  430. 
Sale    of  office  practised   continually  by 

Emperor,  i.  475. 
Salisbury,  Prof.  E.  E.,  ii.  232.  _ 
Salt,    produced    in    Shansi,     i.     95 ;     in 

Sz'chuen,  i.  158,  308  ;  Yunnan,  i.   184 ; 

Department,  or  Gabel,  i.  443. 
Salve  tat,  ii.  23,  24. 
'Sand,'  a  malady  at  Nanking,  i.  52. 
Sand-storms  on  the  Plains,  i.  .52 ;  dunes 

or  moving  hills  in  Kashgar,  i.  227. 
Sangkolinsin,    Tartar   general,    at    Takii 

forts,  ii.  664 ;  drives  back  the  allies,  il 


7G8 


INDEX. 


606  ;  blunder  in  operations  against  allies 
before  Taku,  ii.  074  ;  retires  toward  Pe- 
king, ii.  (577 ;  his  deception,  ii.  079 ; 
conversation  with  Parkes,  ii.  (i80  ;  his 
connection  with  treatment  of  English 
pi  isoners,  ii.  085  ;  allows  the  return  of 
allied  troops,  ii.  088. 

San-Ux'  Kim],  or  '  Trimetrical  Classic,'  a 
school-book,  i.  526-530. 

Sayce,  Prof.  A.  H.,  on  hieroglyphics,  i. 
581. 

iSchaal,  Father  Adam,  recommended  to 
the  Emperor,  ii.  ;i94  ;  and  Shunchi',  ii. 
2y0 ;  j)roscribed,  and  dies,  ii.  ;i'J7 ; 
makes  cannon,  ii.  ~98. 

Scarborough,  W.,  i.  720. 

tSchereschewsky,  Bishop,  S.  I.  J.,  ii.  873, 
304. 

Science,  study  of,  in  China,  i.  297;  for- 
eign terms  of,  introduced,  i.  021  ;  ab- 
stract, not  pursued,  ii.  65  ;  attainments 
in  and  ideas  upon,  ii.  06-86. 

B.adegel,  Dr.  Gustave,  i.  48,  494,  633. 

(School  name,  shu  mltit/,  i.  525;  when 
conferred,  i.  797. 

Schools,  boys',  how  conducted,  i.  525 ; 
books  studied,  i.  527-541 ;  high,  i.  542 ; 
Romish  mission,  ii.  310 ;  Morrison 
Education  Society,  ii.  341-345. 

Rchuhmacher,  M.  Job.  H. ,  i.  033. 

Schuyler,  Eugene,  i.  217,  219,  233,  ii.  402. 

Sculpture  as  a  fine  art,  ii.  105,  114. 

Secret  societies  in  China,  i.  492 ;  their 
character,  ii.  2()7. 

Sedan  chairs  of  magistrates,  i.  50;! ;  their 
kinds  and  uses,  i.  748. 

Senamand,  J.,  i.  003. 

Seres,  Latin  designation  for  China,  i.  4  ; 
distinguished  from  Sinw,  ii.  408. 

Sen  Ki-yu,  Governor,  compend  of  geogra- 
phy by,  i.  50;  and  Dr.  Abeel,  ii.  348, 
409,  575. 

Sevres  and  Chinese  porcelains  compared, 
ii.  23. 

Seymour,  Admiral,  ii.  037  ;  enters  Canton 
city,  ii.  038 ;  withdraws  from  the  river 
to  Macao  Fort,  ii.  (J40 ;  takes  Taku 
forts,  ii.  i'>T>\. 

Sexes,  separation  of  in  Chines&^ociety,  i. 
784.     _  -^ 

Shamanism,  the  Buddhism  of  Tibet  and 
Mongolia,  ii.  233-235. 

Shameen,  foreign  settlement  at  Canton, 
i.  168. 

Sha-moh  (see  Gobi),  i.  15  ;  its  character, 
i.  17. 

Shang  dynasty,  its  annals,  ii.  154-157, 158. 

Shangchuen,  Sancian,  or  St.  John's  Isl- 
and, Kwangtung,  i.  173,  ii.  289,  437. 

Blianghai,  climate,  i.  53 ;  rainfall,  i.  50  ; 
description  of,  i.  100;  its  dialect,  i. 
01 1  ;  Ching-hwang  miao  at,  ii.  202 ; 
foundling  hospital  at,  ii.  264  ;  missions 
aBtablished  at,  ii.  351,  357  ;  conference, 


ii.  305 ;  taken  and  ransomed  by  th« 
British,  ii.  530  ;  at  close  of  lirst  war,  ii 
573  ;  captured  by  rebels,  ii.  004  ;  pro- 
tected from  Tai-pings  by  foreigners,  ii. 
000 ;  foreigners  at,  thank  Gordon,  ii. 
019;  customs  duties  entrusted  to  for- 
eigners at,  ii.  027  ;  troubles  with  Can- 
tonese rebels  at,  ii.  628 ;  arsenal  estab 
lished  at,  ii.  690. 

Shangti',  worship  of.  as  God,  ii.  154,  157 ; 
the  Taoist,  ii.  215  ;  and  Tien,  the  term 
question  among  Catholics,  ii.  297 ; 
among  Protestants,  ii.  364  ;  Hung  Siu- 
tsuen  and  the  worship  of,  ii.  588,  590. 

Shangtu,  or  Xanadu,  i.  87. 

Shan-hai  kwan,  a  town  on  the  Gulf  of 
Pechele,  i.  25. 

Shansi  province,  description  of,  i.  94; 
productions,  i.  95 ;  mountain  passes,  i. 
97 ;  loess  regions  of,  i.  398-303. 

Shantung  province,  i.  89  ;  productions,  L 
92  ;  people  of,  i.  93. 

Shark,  mode  of  catching,  i.  347 ;  fins 
eaten,  ii.  397. 

Shasi,  in  Hupeh,  i.  14.5. 

Shauchau,  in  Kwangtung,  i.  173. 

Shanking,  a  town  in  Kwangtung,  i.  173; 
Ricci  establislied  there,  ii.  290,  431 ; 
rebel  slaughter  at,  ii.  632. 

Shaw,  R.  B.,  ii.  729. 

Shaw,  Samuel,  his  voyage  to  China,  ii.  460. 

Sheep,  domestic  and  mountain,  i.  321 . 

Shensi  province,  i.  148-152  ;  loess  in,  L 
298  ;  the  Huns  in,  ii.  10.5. 

Shigatsc',  capital  of  Ulterior  Tibet,  i.  247. 

Shih,  a  grain  measure,  its  value,  i.  290. 

Shih-pah  Sang,  or  '  Eighteen  Provinces,' 
called  t'liHHij  Kii'oh.  i.  8. 

Slii  Kin(/,  the  '  Book  of  Odes,'  its  poetry, 
i.  03(5-043,  703  ;  allusion  to  silk,  ii.  32 ; 
and  ancestral  worship,  ii.  230. 

Shingking  colony,  i.  25  ;  a  province  of 
Manchuria,  i.  191-19(5. 

Shinnung,  inventor  of  agriculture,  tem- 
ple to,  at  Peking,  i.  78. 

Shoeing  animals,  manner  of,  ii.  4. 

Shoes,  how  made  and  worn,  i.  701  ;  wom- 
en's, i.  769  ;  given  at  New  Year,  i.  811. 

Shops,  in  Peking,  i.  82  ;  arrangement  of 
Chinese,  i.  73(5 ;  their  names,  i.  799 ; 
decorated  at  New  Yeai',  i.  811-813. 

Shiiga  Mountains,  in  the  Kwanlun  sys- 
tem, i.  11. 

SJinKing,  the  'Book  of  Records,'  i.  90; 
its  character  and  value,  i.  633-630  ;  on 
temperance,  i.  808 ;  notice  of  silk  cul- 
ture, ii.  32  ;  of  cotton,  ii.  3(5 ;  of  early 
attention  to  astronomy,  ii.  OS,  (59  ;  the 
deluge  of  Yao,  ii.  147  ft'.;  its  credibility, 
ii.  152,  155  ;  and  House  of  Chau,  u. 
157,  159;  and  religion,  ii.  190;  on  an- 
cient commerce,  ii.  372,  59(5. 

Shun,  an  early  Emperor,  ii.  145,  146-148. 

Shunchi,  Emperor,  i.  385 ;  orders  women 


INDEX. 


(GO 


immolated,  ii.  250  ;  and  Schaal,  ii.  290, 

-,  ^■*^- 

Shuntien,  a  department  of  Chihli,  i.  (iO. 

Sialkoi  Mountains,  in  Manchuria,  L  13, 
1S». 

Slang  River,  in  Hunan,  i.  14fi. 

eiangkwan,  King  of  Tsinchau,  changes 
his  ca[)it;il  to  Lohyang,  i.  o. 

Siao  lUiih,  or  •Juvenile  Instructor,'  a 
text-book,  i.  5:22,  540.  _ 

Sign-boards  of  Poking,  i.  8o.  738. 

Sihota,  or  Sili-hih-teh  Mountains,  in 
Manchuria,  i.  10,  188. 

Si  Hu,  'West  Lake,'  near  Hangchau,  i. 
117;  near  Fuhchan,  i.  131. 

Silk.  Hangchau.  i.  119;  of  Sz'chuen,  i. 
157  ;  worm  reared,  i.  351  ;  manufacture, 
ii.  33-35 ;  export  of.  ii.  395. 

Siik-worm,  discovered  by  Yuenfi,  i.  71 ; 
its  culture,  ii.  33. 

Silver,  localities  of,  i.  311 ;  '  shoes '  of 
si/crr.  ii.  84. 

Silver  Island  (Siung  Shan),  near  Chin- 
kiang.  i.  100. 

Simon,  Eug. ,  ii.  88. 

Simpson,  William,  i.  737. 

Si-ugan  (Hao-king  and  Chang-an),  aban- 
doned in  770 1?. c.  by  Siangkwan,  i.  3; 
description  of  the  city,  i.  1 50  ;  capital  of 
the  Chau,  ii.  l.-)2.  1.58,  102.  105;  during 
the  Tang,  ii.  108 ;  temple  to  Lautsz'  in, 
ii.  215  ;  Nestorian  tablet  of,  ii.  270,  408. 

Sining,  in  Kansuh,  i.  154,  210,  213.  2.52. 

ijiu  fsui.  or  'Bachelor  of  Arts,'  first  de- 
gree in  examination  system,  i.  .547; 
military,  i.  500 ;  Hung  Siu-tsuen  tries 
for,  ii.  '582. 

Siuenhwa,  in  Chihli,  i.  86. 

Six  Boards,  bureaus  of,  Peking,  i.  72,  415, 
421-428. 

Si  Yuen,  'Western  Park,'  Peking,  i.  70. 

"  Skinning  papers  "  used  in  examinations, 
i.  551. 

Slaves,  few  in  China,  i.  413,  564. 

Smith,  Rev.  Arthur,  i.  97. 

Smith,  Bishop  George,  i.  498,  ii.  242,  272. 

Smith,  F.  Porter,  ii.  134,  241. 

Smuggling,  desperate  case  of  opium,  L 
447  ;  at  Macao  and  Whampoa,  ii.  378  ; 
increase  of,  about  Hongkong,  ii.  633 ; 
British  encouragement  of,  ii.  725. 

Snakes  in  China,  i.  34'>. 

Snow,  in  Peking,  i.  51 ;  in  Shanghai,  i. 
.53  ;  in  Canton,  i.  ."4. 

Snuff,  how  taken,  i.  771  ;  bottles  found 
in  Egypt,  ii.  27. 

Social  life,  in  China,  i.  782-830 ;  and  gov- 
ernment in  reform  movements,  ii.  581. 

Society,  Medical  Missionary,  ii.  ;)34 ;  for 
the  Diffusion  of  Useful  Knowledge  in 
China,  ii.  340  ;  Morrison  Education,  ii. 
341. 

Songari  River,  in  Manchuria,  i.  190 ;  in 
treaty  of  Livadia,  ii.  732. 

Vol.  II.— 49 


Songaria  (see  Tien-shan  Peh  Lu),  or 
Dzungaria,  i.  215 ;  its  productions,  i. 
218;  chief  cities,  i.  219;  history,  i. 
233-230. 

Sorghum  (kaoliaiuj),  on  Teungming  Isl- 
and, i.  108 ;  not  used  for  sugar,  i.  776. 

Sounds,  of  the  Chinese  language  indi- 
cated by  symbols,  i.  580;  mistaken 
ideas  regardmg,  i.  005  ;  still  unwritten, 
i.  608  ;  dialectic,  of  Canton  and  Amoy, 
i.  615;  and  sense  in  Chinese  rhymes,  i 
704. 

Soy,  how  made,  i.  365,  773  ;  an  export,  ii. 
390. 

Soyorti  Mountain.s.     See  Sialkoi. 

Spanish,  trade  and  relations  with  China, 
ii.  431  ;  Don  S.  de  Mas  appointed,  min- 
ister, ii.  505 ;  government  and  the 
coolie  trade,  ii.  715. 

Spectacles,  fashion  of  Chinese,  ii.  22. 

Sphex,  or  solitary  wasp,  Chinese  ideas  re- 
specting, i.  354. 

Spirits,  ardent,  temperance  in  use  of,  L 
808  ;  dread  of  wandering,  ii.  258. 

Squirrels,  varieties  of,  i.  327. 

Stanlev,  Dean  A.  P.,  on  Confucius  and 
Buddha,  ii.  220. 

Stanovoi,  or  Wai  Hing-an  Mountains, 
their  position,  i.  9. 

Stars,  arrangement  of  the,  ii.  76. 

Staunton,  Sir  G.  L..  i.  89,  118,  269,  353, 
362,  403,  453,  ii.  444,  454. 

Staunton,  Sir  G.  T.,  i.  279,  384,  589,  674, 
080,  ii.  318,  4.52,  458.  400. 

Steel  everywhere  made,  ii.  19. 

Stent,  Geo.  C,  i.  703,  7C6,  770. 

Stevens,  Rev.  Edwin,  i.  93,  129,  764,  ii. 
329,  352,  308. 

Stimpson,  i.  290. 

Strass,  made  in  Tsinan,  i.  91  ;  uses  of, 
ii.  21. 

Strauss,  Victor  von,  i.  643,  ii.  207,  212. 

Streets,  of  Peking,  i.  82 ;  of  Canton,  L 
168 ;  scenes  in,  i.  740 ;  at  New  Year, 
812,  815;  at  Emperor's  funeral,  ii.  250. 

Sturgeon,  or  ijin  yii,  in  Yaugtsz',  i.  347. 

Sii,  a  censor,  his  punishment,  i.  432. 

Su-Hwui,  a  poetess  of  the  fourth  cen- 
tury, i.  708. 

Sii  Kwang-hi,  or  Paul  Sii,  his  Encyclo- 
pedia of  Aqricnlture,  i.  686,  ii.  10,  51 ; 
converted  by  Ricci,  ii.  291,  292,  294, 
354. 

Sii  Kwang-tsin,  Governor-General,  keepp 
foreigners  out  of  Canton,  ii.  573  ;  his 
folly,  ii.  .590,  604. 

Suchau,  in  Kiangsu,  i.  103  ;  captured  by 
Tai-pings,  ii.  OUG ;  recapture  of,  ii.  013- 
616. 

Sugar,  on  Formosa,  i.  139;  largely  grown, 
i.  776;  how  made,  ii.  11. 

Suhshun,  favorite  of  Hienfung,  ii.  604; 
his  conspiracy  and  death,  ii.  691. 

Sui  dynasty,  ii.  167. 


770 


INDEX. 


Suicides  carofiilly  drcssod,  i.  513. 

Sulphur  found  in  Formosa,  i.  139. 

Sun  symbolized  by  a  raven,  ii.  74. 

Sung  dynasty,  cotton  introduced  during 
the,  ii.  ;>7  ;  the  Xlth  dynasty  or  North- 
ern Sung,  ii.  10.5  ;  the  XXIId,  its  pe- 
riod, ii.  173  ;  the  Southern  Sung,  ii.  174. 

Sung,  a  censor,  his  rectitude,  i.  431  ;  his 
career,  i.  4.54. 

Sunijkiaug,  in  Kiangsu,  recaptured  by 
Ward,  ii,  (507 ;  Gordon  retires  to,  ii. 
(iia. 

Suuglo  hills,  in  Nganhwui,  i.  lO'J ;  in 
'  Tea-Picker.s'  Ballad,'  i.  710  fF. 

Sunnite  tribe  of  Mongols,  i.  ^06. 

Superstitions,  of  the  Chinese,  respecting 
divination,  1.  tilJO ;  in  marriages,  i.  785 
ff.;  Taoist  priests  and,  i.  694,  ii.  214; 
m  funerals,  fung  s?iui,  ii.  24.5,  24() ; 
various,  ii.  255-'3()o ;  Chinese  and 
Romish,  ii.  314,  316;  of  mediaeval  trav- 
ellers in  the  East,  ii.  423. 

Supremacy,  Governor  Lu's  ideas  of  Chi- 
nese, ii.  472 ;  Chinese  principles  of,  ii. 
475,  476  ;  illustrated  in  case  of  Lin's 
homicide,  ii.  506,  510;  Chinese,  and 
Pottinger's  proclamation,  ii.  538. 

Swallows  about  Peking,  i.  332. 

Swinlioe,  Robert,  i.  206,  318,  328,  329, 
331,  337,  342,  ii.  671,  673,  677,  683,  684, 
685. 

Symbolism,  Chinese,  ii.  74,  111. 

Syle,  B.  W.,  ii.  96. 

Sz\  a  'township' or  'commune,'  i.  59; 
government  of,  i.  441. 

/Sz' ('Silk'),  origin  of  the  Latin  Seres, 
China,  i.  4  ;  of  silk,  ii.  35. 

Sz'chuen  province,  climate,  i.  .55 ;  de- 
scription of,  i.  1.54-158;  alum  found  in, 
i.  SOS ;  wax-worm  of,  i.  353 ;  tea  of, 
ii.  50, 

Sz'  Hai,  '  All  within  the  Four  Seas,'  an- 
cient Chinese  terra  for  the  land,  i.  4. 

Sz'ma  Kwang,  a  historian,  i.  676,  ii.  174. 

Sz'ma  Tsicn,  a  Chinese  historian,  i.  675, 
ii.  140,  149,  212. 

TABLES  :  Area  and  population  of 
Eurojjean  States,  i.  272  ;  Censuses 
of  the  Eiglite(-n  Provinces  since  1710,  i, 
264;  Colonies  of  China,  their  govern- 
ment and  sulidivisions,  i,  186 ;  Dy- 
nasti:;s  of  China,  ii.  18(;;  Expenditure 
of  Chinese  government,  i.  293  ;  Exports 
from  China  during  1880  iind  1881,  ii, 
405  ;  "  Five  Sovereigns  "  of  Chinese 
legendary  annahs,  ii.  148;  Ming  and 
Tsing  Emperors,  ii.  18(i;  Missionaries 
(Protestant)  in  China,  1877,  ii.  366; 
Nature,  ywwers,  and  functions  of  ele- 
mentary, ii,  75 ;  Numerals,  ('iiinese,  in 
three  dialects,  i.  619;  Opium  import 
to  Hongkong,  ii,  388  ;  /'«//  Kirn  of  Puh- 
lii',  in  the   )'//'  Kiii'i.  i.  O'.'B  ;  Population 


of  China,  comparatirc  estimates  of,  i 
263 ;  Provinces,  government  and  divis- 
ions of  the  Eighteen,  i,  01  j  Provincial 
officer.?,  i.  444 ;  Pulse  and  its  correspond- 
ing organs  in  the  human  body,  u.  i22  ; 
Revenue  of  the  Eighteen  Provinces : 
Cu.stoms  report,  ii.  4U4 ;  De  Guifines'a 
estimate,  i.  291  ;  Medhurst's  estimate, 
i.  299 ;  Radicals  of  the  Chinese  lan- 
guage, i.  592 ;  Rice  tribute  sent  to  Pe- 
king, ii.  5 ;  Tea  exj)()rt  during  ten 
years,  ii.  404 ;  Trade,  value  of  Chinese 
foreign,  ii.  4():>;  Zodiac,  divisions  of 
the  Chinese,  ii.  71 . 

Ta-chungsz',  'Bell Temple,' Peking,  i.  79. 
Ta  Hioli,  or  'Superior  Learning,'  i.  052, 

Ta  hu,  or  Tai  hu,  '(ireat  Lake,'  near  the 
Yangtsz',  i.  2:!,  100,  103. 

Tai-ho  tien,  '  Hall  of  Highest  Peace,' 
imperial  palace,  Peking,  i.  67. 

Tai  Miao,  'Great  Temple,'  Peking,  i.  70. 

Taintor,  E.  C,  i.  141,  176,  433.  _ 

Tai -ping,  '  Tri-netrieal  Clas-sic '  of,  i. 
.530  ;  loyalty  of  imperial  officials  during 
the  rebellion,  i,  5C3,  ii.  184,  3.59 ; 
origin  of  the  t3rm,  ii.  581  ;  commence- 
ment of  insurryctiaii,  ii.  589 ;  first  mili- 
tary success,  ii.  591 ;  character  of  its 
control,  ii.  59  J ;  arrangement  of  camp, 
ii.  594 ;  advance  to  Nanking,  ii.  .595 ; 
expedition  against  Peking,  ii.  597 ; 
rapid  degeneration  of  the  movement 
after  this  failure,  ii.  599  ;  dissensions 
among  the  leaders,  ii.  602 ;  eleven  new 
wangs  appointsd — the  sortie  from  Nan- 
king of  May,  1 800,  ii.  005 ;  they  fail  in 
not  following  Elgi.i  to  Peking,  ii.  600  ; 
operations  to  relieve  Nganking,  ii.  607 ; 
resistance  at  Suchau,  ii.  613 ;  execution 
of  leaders  at  its  surrender,  ii.  61 5  ;  des- 
perate condition  of  the  rebels,  ii.  617 ; 
end  of  rebellion  in  the  fall  of  Nanking, 
ii.  620 ;  subsequent  movements  of  the 
refugees,  ii.  621 ;  their  final  collapse, 
ii.  622;  authorities  on  the  rebellion,  ii. 
624  ;  army  at  Hankow  visited  bv  Elgin, 
ii.  0.59. 

Tai  shan,  in  Shantung,  i.  90. 

Taitsung,  Emperor,  of  t!ie  Tang  dynasty, 
institutes  examination  system,  i.  .521 ; 
his  reign  and  acts,  ii.  168-170. 

Taiwan,  on  b'ormosa,  i.  l-;0. 

Taiyuen,  cai>ital  of  Shansi,  i.  96. 

Taku,  on  the  Pei  ho,  i.  86;  interview  be- 
tween Elliot  and  Kishen  at,  ii.  515 ;  the 
allied  licet  at,  ii.  049 ;  Russian  and 
American  interviiw  with  Tan  at,  ii.  6.50; 
forts  taken  by  l^nglish  and  French,  ii. 
651 ;  the  four  forci>;n  ministers  repair 
to,  ii,  t)64;  negotiations  of  Americans 
at,  ii.  065 ;  repulse  of  the  allies  at,  ii. 
600  ;  attack  upon  .and  capture  of,  ii.  676. 

Tallow  and  the  tallow-tree,  ii,  11. 

Tang  dynasty,  the  best  period  of  Chinese 


INDEX. 


771 


poetry,  i.  704;  drama  originates  dnring, 
1.  714;  its  brilliant  period,  ii.  Ui7-17l  ; 
the  After  Taug,  ii.  17^.';  Mo.slems  in 
Ciiina  during  the,  ii.  268 ;  Arabs,  ii.  41  o  ; 
travelling  regulations  under,  ii.  4~5. 

Tnii</Jin,  Tail'/  Shan,  local  terms  for  the 
Chinese  and  China,  i.  4,  ii.  1G8. 

Tangnu  Mountains',  in  Mongolia,  i.  0. 

Tang  Ting-ching,  governor  at  Canton,  ii. 
481  ;  his  son  in  the  opium  trade,  ii.  4'.)3  ; 
his  helpless  position  toward  foreigners, 
ii.  4'.)5 ;  foolish  answer  to  Elliot,  ii.  4'JG ; 
visit.s  Macao,  ii.  506. 

TangTsz',  Temple  to  Imperial  Ancestors, 
Peking,  i.  73. 

Tangnts,  tribe  of,  i.  210,  212. 

Tankia  boats  at  Canton,  i.  412,  751. 

Tan  Ting-siang,  governor-general  of 
Chihli,  meets  American  and  Russian 
minist^ns  at  Taku,  ii.  (JiiO ;  superseded 
by  Kwciliang  at  Tientsin,  ii.  651. 

Taoism,  or  Rationalism,  priests  regarded 
as  magicians,  i.  694 ;  its  founder,  ii. 
206 ;  its  classic,  the  Tao  Teh  King,  ii. 
297-214;  3.ndfu)!g  s/nii,  ii.  246. 

Tarbagatai,  district  of  Songaria,  i.  220. 

Tariff  and  commercial  regulations  after 
the  first  war,  ii.  558  ;  after  the  second, 
ii.  657. 

Tarim,  or  Ergu  River,  i.  16  ;  its  course  and 
basin,  i.  221-223 ;  reconquest  of  the 
valley,  ii.  727. 

Tartars,  or  Tatars,  i,  44;  "  Fish-skin,"  i. 
1U6  ;  derivation  of  name,  i.  2U2  ;  Kitaii 
of  Liautung  and  the  After  Tsin,  ii.  172  ; 
and  the  Kin,  ii.  174. 

Tartary,  country  formerly  called,  i.  202. 

Tatnali,  Commodore,  at  Taku,  ii.  665  ;  his 
conduct  during  the  action,  and  bon  mot, 
ii.  ()68. 

Ta  Tshu/  Kwoh,  'Great  Pure  Kingdom,' 
present  official  name  of  China,  i.  .5. 

Tati,  Tau-tui,  'Circuit'  and  '  Intendant 
of  Circuit,'  i.  .59,  440. 

Taukwang,  the  Emperor,  coronation  ad- 
dress, i.  ;J99  ;  honors  the  Empress-dow- 
ager, i.  409 ;  rescript  of,  i.  449  ;  prayer 
for  rain  i.  466  ;  his  reign,  ii.  18o ;  his 
efforts  to  stop  the  opi am  trade,  ii.  492, 
497;  rejects  Bogne  treaty,  ii.  519;  his 
spirit  in  pushitig  the  war,  ii.  527  ;  pro- 
clamation concerning  th"?  causes  of  the 
war,  ii.  539  ;  his  death,  ii.  .575. 

Taxes,  in  China,  i.  294  ;  difficulty  of  col- 
lecting, i.  498;  'Sacred  Edict'  upon, 
i.  688 ;  on  building  lots,  i.  739 ;  land, 
ii.  2;  how  paid,  ii.  84. 

Taye,  son  of  Emperor  Chuen-hii,  founder 
of  the  Tsin  family,  i.  2. 

Taylor,  Dr.  C,  i.  1(>2. 

Tea,  in  Ngauhwni,  i.  109  ;  Kiakhta  trade 
in.  i.  207;  its  preparation  in  Tibet,  i. 
'241  ;  ballad  on  picking,  i.  710  ;  culture, 
ii.  39;  manufacture,  etc.,  ii.  40-55;  as 


an  export,  ii.  373,  404;  duty  on,  in 
1689,  ii.  446. 

Teachers  in  boys'  schools,  i.  .524  ff.  ; 
qualitications,  i.  .526 ;  severity  required, 
i.  546. 

Temperance,  address  of  Duke  Chau  i" 
the  Shu  King,  i.  808,  ii.  157 ;  of  th^. 
Chinese,  ii.  .54. 

'J'emples,  in  Peking  (q.v. )  i.  73-80;  in 
Canton,  i.  164-166  ;  in  Tibet,  i.  245 ; 
pillars  of  Chinese,  i.  730  ;  public  re- 
sorts, i.  738,  ii.  202 ;  to  Confucius,  li. 
203 ;  proportion  of  Buddhist,  ii.  224  ; 
worship  in,  ii.  232,  263. 

Temperature,  of  Peking,  i.  51 ;  of  coast 
towns,  i.  .53. 

Tengkiri-nor,  in  Tibet,  i.  25,  240.    • 

Tennent,  Sir  E.,  ii.  413. 

Terrace  cultivation,  in  loess,  i.  300;  ex- 
tent of,  ii.  6. 

Terranova,  an  American  sailor,  case  of, 
ii.  453  ;  his  judicial  murder,  ii.  460. 

Teshu-lama,  monument  to  a,  Peking,  i. 
79 ;  palace  of  the,  at  Teshu-Lumbo, 
Tibet,  i.  247,  2.52,  2.56. 

Theatres,  management  of,  i.  820 ;  style  of 
plays,  i.  714,  b22  ;  morals  of  Chinese,  i. 
824. 

Thom,  Robert,  interpreter  to  Pottinger, 
ii.  548,  556.  557. 

Thompson,  James,  i.  771. 

Tlioms,  P.  P.,  i.  392 ;  fonts  of  Chinese 
type  of,  i.  603 ;  Chinese  Courtshij:),  i. 
704,  ii.  320. 

'  Thousand  Character,'  or  '  Millenary 
Classic'  {Tsien  Txz'  IV'ds;*),  a  school- 
book,  i.  531,  598. 

Thrashing-floors,  how  made,  ii.  9, 

Thrushes,  trained,  i.  333. 

Tibet,  physical  characteristics  of  people, 
L  45;  names  and  boundaries,  i.  237; 
natural  features,  i.  '238-240 ;  climate, 
productions,  and  animals,  i.  241-244 ; 
H'lassa  and  Shigatse,  i.  245-247  ;  man- 
ners and  customs,  i.  248-2.54 ;  language, 
i.  2.53  ;  history,  i.  2.54 ;  government,  i. 
255  ;  population  not  numbered,  i.  '284  ; 
manner  of  concocting  tea  in,  ii.  50 ;  an- 
nexed by  Kienlung,  ii.  182 ;  Shaman- 
ism in,  ii.  2.33. 

Tick  kii,  '  Iron  whirlwind,'  term  for  ty- 
phoon, i.  57. 

Tien,  '  Heaven.'  worshipped,  ii.  194,  195, 
198;  and  Shanr/ti,  as  terms  for  Grod,  ii. 
297,  300. 

Tien  chu,  'Heaven's  Pillar,'  or  Atlas  of 
China,  a  name  for  the  Kwanlun.  i.  13. 

Tifn  Ilia,  '  Beneath  the  Sky,'  a  term  for 
China,  i.  4. 

Tien  shan,  Tengkiri,  or  Celestial  Moun- 
tains, in  Cobdo,  i.  9 ;  erroneously  called 
Alak,  i.  10;  one  of  the  four  great 
chains  of  China,  i.  11. 

Tien-shan  Nan  Lu,  or  Southern  Circuit 


772 


INDEX. 


(Eastern  Turkestan),  i.  231 ;  its  position 
and  topography,  i.  :221-2:i3 ;  population, 
i.  ;224 ;  towns,  i.  324-231  ;  history,  i. 
233-237. 

Tieu-shan  Peh  Lu,  or  Northern  Circuit 
(Songaria),  i.  218;  its  towns  and  dis- 
tricts, i.  218-221. 

Tien  Tan,  'Altar  to  Heaven,'  Peking,  i. 
70;  Emperor's  worship  at,  ii.  195-198. 

Tientsin,  description,  i.  S~) ;  riot  and  mis- 
sions, ii.  313  ;  Mr.  Gutzlaff 's  visit  to, 
ii.  328 ;  Flint  at,  ii.  449 ;  Tai-pings  re- 
pulsed at,  ii.  598 ;  allies  reach,  ii.  051  ; 
negotiations  of  the  allies  at,  ii.  654 ;  the 
armies  again  reach,  ii.  677  ;  riot  and 
massacre  of  foreigners  at,  ii.  700  ;  feel- 
ing in  the  city,  ii.  703. 

Tiger,  the,  in  China,  i.  318 ;  in  geoniancy, 
ii.  246. 

Timur,  or  Ching-tsung,  Kublai  khan's 
successor,  ii.  176. 

Ti'iy,  'department'  or  'district,'  term 
explained,  i.  .58;  prefect  of,  i.  441. 

Tiughai,  capital  of  Chusan  Archipelago, 
i.  123;  Lockhait's  hospital  at,  ii.  S.^O; 
capture  of,  by  British  in  1841,  ii.  514 ; 
second  cajjture,  ii.  525. 

Tinikow.ski,   i.  SO,  207,  2.50,  ii.  442,  44.3. 

Ti  Tan,  'Altar  to  Earth,'  Peking,  i.  78. 

Titles,  of  Emperor,  i.  397-399 ;  of  nol)il- 
ity,  i.  405,  40(i ;  and  Board  of  Civil 
Office,  i.  422  ;  assumed  on  taking  office, 
i.  799 ;  of  the  Tien  Wang,  ii  582. 

Ti  Wang  Miao,  the  Walhalla  of  China,  i. 
75. 

Tobacco,  introduced  into  China,  i.  309 ; 
how  used,  i.  776;  exported,  ii.  394. 

Tonil)s,  of  the  Chinese,  ii.  246;  worship 
at,  ii.  252. 

Tones  {sfii7ig'),  in  the  Chinese  language,  1. 
609. 

Topographical,  terms,  i.  58 ;  divisions  of 
China,  i.  61. 

Tortoise,  or  kiccl,  fabulous  animal,  i.  345. 

Torture,  its  infliction  upon  criminals,  i. 
.507. 

Tourgouths,  tribe  of,  in  Northern  fli,  i. 
2'20;  flight  of,  from  Knssia,  i.  234 ; 
Tulishen's  embassy,  concerning,  ii.  442. 

Trade,  restrictions  of,  with  Corea,  i. 
194  ;  tl:rouL;h  Kiakhta,  i.  206  ;  revenue 
from,  etc.,  i.  291  ;  ancient,  of  China,  ii. 
372 ;  value  of  opium,  ii.  388 ;  general 
export,  ii.  391  ;  import,  ii.  397  ;  present 
management  of,  ii.  402 ;  ancient,  with 
Roman  Empire,  ii.  411,  414  ;  limited  to 
Canton  by  the  Manchns,  ii.  426  ;  Portu- 
guese, ii.  430  ;  Sj)anish,  ii.  431  ;  Dutch, 
ii.  433  ;  Russian,  ii.  141  ;  history  of  the 
English,  ii.  443-4.59 ;  peculiarities  of 
early  Chinese,  ii.  -1.50 ;  American,  ii. 
4t)0  ;  Napier  appointed  suiiernitcndent 
of  British,  ii.  464  ;  mutations  of,  during 
Napier's    embroglio,    ii.    473-477 ;    Lin 


finally  stops  the  British,  ii.  507  ;  carried 
on  during  the  war,  ii.  517,  521,  524; 
settlement  of,  regulations  after  the  first 
war,  ii.  .557. 

TransformatiLns,  Chinese  notions  about, 
I.  345,  378. 

Travelling,  modes  of,  in  China,  i.  747 ; 
rognhitions  under  the  Tangs,  ii.  425. 

Treaties,  Husso-Chinese,  concerning  fron- 
tier of  Hi,  i.  215;  clauses  of  toleration 
in,  of  June,  1858,  ii.  360 ;  Russian,  ii. 
441 ;  failure  of  the  negotiations  at  the 
Bogue,  iL  518  ;  of  Nanking,  ii.  549  ;  its 
ratification,  ii.  557 ;  British  supple- 
mentary, signed  at  Bogue,  ii.  5(;i  ;  of 
Wanghia  l>etween  China  and  the  United 
States,  ii.  567 ;  French,  of  Whampoa, 
ii.  571  ;  how  regarded  by  the  Chinese, 
ii.  578 ;  of  Tientsin  signed,  ii.  656  ;  dif- 
ficulty of  enforcing,  in  CJhina,  ii.  658  ; 
American,  ratified  at  Pehtang,  ii.  670; 
English  and  French,  signed  at  Peking, 
iL  686;  the  Burlingame,  ii.  698;  of 
1880,  ii.  699  ;  of  Chunghow  at  Livadia, 
iL  732  ;  of  MarquLs  Tsfing  in  settlement 
of  Kuldja  question,  iL  734. 

Triad  Society,  or  Water-lily  Sect,  i.  493  ; 
its  character,  ii.  267 ;  and  Christians, 
iL  812,  323  ;  opposition  of  Hung  Siu- 
tsuen  to,  ii.  .591. 

Trials,  criminal,  how  conducted,  i.  504. 

Trigautius  (or  Trigault),  French  mission- 
ary, i.  265,  289,  ii.  293,  309,  425,  428. 

' Trimetritxil  Classic,'  Saii-tsz'  King,  a 
school-book,  L  52()-.530. 

Trinity  of  the  Tao-teh  -King,  Pauthier'a 
fancy,  ii.  210. 

Tsaidam,  plain  of,  L  210. 

Tsakhar,  or  Chahar,  territory  in  Chihli, 
i.  60,  87 ;  tribes,  i.  '203. 

Tsang  Kwoh-fan,  generalissimo  of  im- 
perial forces  against  the  Tai-pings,  ii. 
618  ;  is  visited  by  Gordon,  li.  620  ;  in- 
vestigates Tientsin  massacre,  ii.  703 ; 
his  son  sent  to  England  and  Russia,  iL 
733. 

Tsau  hu,  in  Nganhwui,  i.  23  ;  its  gold- 
fish, i.  348. 

Tsau-ti,  or  Gras.sland  of  Gobi,  i.  17. 

Tsetsen  khanate,  i.  204. 

Tsi  dynasty,  A.  i).  479-502,  ii.  166. 

Tsientang  River,  in  Chehkiang,  L  114. 

Tsin,  the  IXth  dynastv  in  Cliina,  ii.  165; 
After  Tsin,  XIXth,'ii.  172. 

Tsin,  name  t'hin.a.  derived  from  family 
of,  i.  2,  ii.  101  ;  tbey  establisli  the  cus- 
tom of  giving  tlie  Empire  the  dynastic 
name,  i.  4;  dynasty  ends  witli  Chwaiig- 
siang,  ii.  1()3  ;  Tit-tsii)..  an  ancient  name 
for  Rome,  ii.  410. 

Tsin  Chi  Hwangti,  'Emperor  First,' 
alters  taxes,  i.  2C0 ;  first  universal 
monarch,  ii.  160 ;  subjugates  feudal 
States,  iL  188. 


INDEX. 


773 


Tei'nan,  capital  of  Shantung,  i.  91 . 
Tsinchau  awarded  to  Feitsz',  a  prince  of 

Tsin,  i.  3. 
Tsing,  present  dynasty  of  China,  ii.  179- 

186. 
Tsing  hai  (see  Koko-nor),  i.  209. 
Tsining  chau,  in  Shantung,  i.  92. 
TzinistiP,  a  term  for  China,  i.  4  ;  used  by 

the  Greek  monk  Cosmas,  ii.  412. 
Tsin-sz',  third  literary  degree,  i.  558,  566. 
Tsitsihar    province    (Helung    kiang),    i. 

198-21)0 ;  town  of,  i.  199, 
Tsiuenchau  (Chinchew),  the  ancient  Zay- 

ton,  i.   129,  lo6,  ii.  431. 
Tso  Churn,  a  commentary  on  the   Chun 

Tsiu.  i.  649. 
Tso  Tsung-tang,    commences    operations 

against   Mohammedan    rebels,    ii.  709, 

728  ;  his  successful  campaign,   ii.  730  ; 

leader  of  the  war  faction,  ii.  732. 
Tsungming   Island,   mouth    of  Yangtsz' 

River,  i.  108. 
Tsungling,  'Onion,' or  '  Blue  Mountains,' 

also  Belur-tag  and    Tartash    ling,  its 

position,  i.  9. 
Tsiingttih,  Governor-General,  or  Viceroy, 

i.  438. 
Tsz'ki,  near  Ningpo,   visited   by  British 

troops,    ii.    530 ;    camp   near,    ii.   531  ; 

Ward's  death  at,   ii.  609  ;    taken    from 

the  rebels,  ii.  610. 
Tuchetu  (Tusietu)  khanate,  i.  204. 
Tumors  common  among  tke  Chinese,  ii. 

131. 
Tunes,  examples  of  Chinese,  ii.  97. 
Tungchau,    the   port   of  Peking,    i.  86 ; 

Ward's  embassy   at,  ii.   669 ;  Parkes's 

experiences  in,  ii.  678-681. 
Tungchi,  the  Emperor,  i.  411  ;  his  reign, 

ii.  184  ;  palace  intrigue  upon  his  acces- 
sion, i.  404,  ii.  691  ;  Peking  in  mourn- 
ing for,   ii.  250,  276 ;    his  marriage,  ii. 

710 ;  audience  before,  iL  714  ;  his  death 

and  successor,  ii.  726. 
Tungting  Lake,  in  Hunan,  i.  23,  147. 
Tung  Til,  'Land  of  the  East,'  Moham- 
medan name  for  China,  i.  2. 
Tung-wan   Kwan,    at   Peking,   i.  436,  ii. 

339,  696,  741. 
Turkestan,    Eastern  (see  Tien-shan  Nan 

Lu),  i.  221-337;  the  region,  ii.  728. 
Turkoman  races  of  Mongolia,  i.  44. 
Til  sz\    commune      divisions     in    South 

China,  i.  .59. 
Types,    movable    printing,    in    China,    i. 

603-605  ;  Dyer's  work  on,  ii.  32.5,  367. 
Tyfoons,  phenomena  described,  i.  56. 

ULIASUTAI,  in  Sainnoin  khanate,  i. 
208,  209. 
Unicorn,  or  ki-lin,  i.  343. 
United  States,  trade  relations  with  China 
up  to  1843,  ii.  460 ;  first  minister  to  Chi- 
na, ii.  565 ;  treaty  of  Wanghia,  ii.  567 ; 


Minister  Ward  visits  Peking,  ii.  660 ; 
the  Burlingame  treaty  with  China,  i. 
698  ;  action  of  Congress  as  to  indem- 
nity surplus,  ii.  736  ;  Chinese  boys  sent 
to,  for  education,  ii.  739. 

Urga,  or  Kuren,  i.  17,  204. 

Urumtsi,  or  Tih-hwa,  western  department 
of  Kansuh,  i.  214. 

Ushi,  or  Ush-turfan,  a  towTi  of  111,  i.  225, 
226. 

VACCINATION,  its  adoption  in  Chi- 
na, ii.  132. 

Van  Braam,  A.  E.  (see  Braam),  i.  324. 

Varnishes,  manufacture  and  use  of,  ii.  32. 

Vegetables  used  in  Chinese  cooking,  i.  773. 

Verbiest,  a  Jesuit  priest,  ii.  297 ;  ap- 
pointed astronomer  at  Peking,  ii.  298. 

Vermilion,  its  preparation,  ii.  61. 

Vice,  never  deified  in  China,  ii.  192 ;  ab- 
sence of,  in  their  mythology,  ii.  232, 
and  in  theic  funerals,  ii.  254  ;  the  opi- 
um, ii.  386. 

Victoria  (see  Hongkong),  i.  171. 

Villages  (hiang),  usual  aspect  of  Chi- 
nese, i.  40  ;  about  Canton,  i.  280  ;  their 
elders,  i.  483,  500. 

Visdelou,  Bishop  Claude,  i.  3,  202,  633, 
681,  ii.  277,  309. 

Visiting,  the  etiquette  of  formal,  i.  802 ; 
at  New  Year,  i.  815;  cards,  how  adorned, 
ii.  Ill,  249. 

Vissering,  W.,  ii.  87. 

Vlangali,  Russian  minister  at  Peking,  ii. 
699 ;  his  temperate  action  in  trial  of 
Tientsin  rioters,  ii.  705. 

Vocabularies  (see  also  Dictionaries),  na- 
tive Chinese,  i.  590. 

Volcanoes,  so-called,  in  Formosa,  i.  140 ; 
in  Central  Asia,  i.  319. 

Voltaire,  founds  a  drama  on  the  "  Orphan 
of  China,"  i.  714. 

Vrooman,  Daniel,  i.  169. 

WADE,  Sir  T.  F.,  i.  398,  420,  460, 
611,  ii.  624 ;  nominated  inten- 
dant  of  customs  at  Shanghai,  ii.  628 ; 
experiences  at  Tungchau,  ii.  678 ;  his 
good  offices  between  China  and  Japan, 
iL  717 ;  action  upon  murder  of  Marga- 
ry,  ii.  734  ;  his  minute  on  the  Chif  u 
convention,  ii.  725. 

Wai  Hing-an,  or  Stanovoi  Mountains,  i.  9. 

Wall  (see  also  Great  Wall)  of  Peking,  i. 
63. 

Wallace,  A.  R.,  i.  360. 

Walls,  construction  of  house,  i.  738. 
I  Walrond,  T.,  ii.  637,  6.55,  660,  (502. 

Wanghia,  treaty  of,  between  the  United 
States  and  China,  ii.  .507  ;  taken  as  ba- 
sis for  French  treaty  of  Whampoa,  ii. 
.571. 

Wanleih,  Emperor,  receives  Ricci,  ii.  293, 
294. 


774 


INDEX. 


Wan  Miao,  'Literary  Temple,'  Peking,  i. 
73. 

Wansiang,  a  minister  of  the  Foreign  Of- 
fice, his  superstition,  ii.  304,  691);  let- 
ter to  foreign  ministers  at  Peking,  ii. 
707;  Low's  reply  to,  ii.  708,  712,  714; 
his  character  and  influence,  ii.  715. 

Wan-yuen  koh,  or  library,  Peking,  i.  69. 

War,  I3oard  of,  i.  425  ;  theory  of.  studied, 
ii.  SS. 

War,  with  England,  features  of  the  first 
Chinese,  ii.  4Kj  ;  Lord  John  Russell's 
reasons  for  declaring,  ii.  510;  debate 
upon,  in  Parliament,  ii.  512 ;  opened 
by  capture  of  Tinghai,  ii.  514  ;  resumed 
after  negotiations  at  the  Bogue,  ii.  521 ; 
thouglit  by  Chinese  to  be  an  opium 
war,  ii.  539 ;  concluded  with  treaty  of 
Nanking,  ii.  547,  550  ;  a  wholesome  in- 
fliction upon  Cliina,  ii.  572  ;  authorities 
upon,  ii.  574 ;  Tai-ping  Rebellion,  ii. 
575-624 ;  second,  with  England  and 
France — the  Arrow  case,  ii.  635 ;  hos- 
tilities opened  by  Admiral  Seymour, 
ii.  637 ;  discussed  in  Parliament,  ii. 
641  ;  a'rival  of  Elgin  and  Gros  and 
capture  of  Canton,  ii.  643 ;  Taku  forts 
taken,  ii.  651  ;  treaties  signed  at  Tien- 
tsin, ii.  656  ;  closing  incidents,  6.59  ;  re- 
pulse of  allied  envoys  at  Taku  forts,  ii. 
666 ;  allies  land  at  Pelitang  and  recom- 
mence the,  ii.  673 ;  capture  of  Taku 
forts,  ii.  676  ;  operations  on  tlie  way  to 
Peking,  ii.  679-682  ;  autljorities  on  the, 
of  1860,  ii.  684 ;  objects  attained,  ii. 
687,  688. 

Ward,  Frederick  G. ,  organizes  the  '  Ever- 
Victorious  force,'  ii.  607;  his  deatli  at 
Tsz'ki,  ii.  6t9. 

Ward,  Hon  J.  E.,  ii.  660;  co-operates  in 
suppressing  coolie  trade,  ii.  6(53  ;  re- 
pairs with  tho  allies  to  Taku,  ii.  661 ; 
interview  with  natives,  ii.  665 ;  goes 
to  Peking,  ii.  6(58 ;  refuses  to  kotow 
before  the  Emperor,  and  returns,  ii. 
670. 

Watters,  T,  ii.  212,  229. 

Wa.x-worm  of  Sz'chuen,  i.  3.53. 

Wei  River,  in  Shensi,  i.  148. 

Whales,  and  mode  of  catching  them,  1. 
339. 

Whampoa,  a  town  on  the  Pearl  River,  i. 
170  ;  opium  lirst  shir)ped  to,  ii.  378  ; 
case  of  lioniicide  at,  ii.  453  ;  treaty  of, 
between  France  and  Ciiina,  ii.  .571. 

Wheelbarrows  used  for  travelling,  i.  747, 
ii.  7. 

White  Deer  Vale,  in  Kiangsi,  i.  113. 

Whitney,  Prof.  Wm.  D.,  ii.  73,  234. 

Wife,  her  jjosition  in  Chinese  society,  i. 
792  ;  controlled  liy  the  mother-in-law, 
i.  795 ;  is  given  a  new  name,  i.  797, 
799 ;  elevated  in  ancestral  worship,  ii. 
238.  ^ 


Willow,  in  poetry,  etc.,  i.  363. 

Williams,  John,  on  comets,  ii.  73. 

WilUam.son,  Rev.  Ale.x.,  i.  65,  87,  190, 
200,  ii.  277. 

Wilson,  Andrew,  i.  250,  ii.  92,  602,  610, 
611,  616,  617,  69.5. 

Wolseley,  Colonel  Garnet,  ii.  672 ;  obser- 
vations on  Canton  coolies,  ii.  674,  675  ; 
character  of  his  narrative,  ii.  685. 

Women,  physical  traits  of  Chinese,  i.  43 ; 
in  Tibet,  i.  248 ;  laws  resbricting,  i.  388 ; 
of  imperial  palace,  i.  408  ;  illiteracy  of 
mothers,  i.  521  ;  their  education,  i.  572; 
position,  i.  646  ;  consideration  of  litera- 
ry, i.  681  ;  kidnapped  at  fires,  i.  743 ; 
their  dress,  i.  763  ;  shoes,  i.  769  ;  toilet, 
i.  770  ;  their  milk  sold,  i.  776  ;  separa- 
tion from  men,  i.  784  ;  conduct  toward 
young  brides,  i.  789;  never  appear  at 
feasts,  i.  806 ;  well  treated  in  crowded 
fairs,  i.  817  ;  their  skill  in  embroidery, 
ii.  .36  ;  they  practise  obstetrics,  ii.  123 ; 
Chinese  historians  on  Empress  Wu,  ii. 
171  ;  not  admitted  to  worship,  ii.  196  ; 
Yungching  against,  at  Buddhist  tem- 
ples, ii.  228 ;  as  nuns,  ii.  230 ;  their 
tablets  honored  in  tlie  ancestral  hall, 
ii.  338,  350 ;  Kanghi  forbids  immola- 
tion of,  ii.  250 ;  old,  employed  as  bap- 
tists by  Catholics,  ii.  311;  as  mis- 
sionaries among  the  Chinese,  ii.  364 ; 
how  disposed  of  in  Tai-ping  camp,  ii 
594. 

Wolves  in  China,  i.  320. 

Wood,  Lieutenant  J.,  i.  321,  230,  341, 
310. 

Wordsworth,  W.,  ii.  233. 

Worship,  of  Shangti  in  Shang  dynastj', 
ii.  154;  by  the  Emperor,  ii.  197;  of 
Heaven,  the  ceremony  and  its  mean- 
ing, i.  76,  ii.  194-198;  various  objects 
of,  ii.  202;  Buddhist  and  Catholic,  com- 
pared, ii.  3-!2 ;  ancestral,  ii.  236-255 ; 
disputes  respecting  ancestral,  by  Ro- 
manists, ii.  297-1303. 

Writing,  how  taught  in  schools,  i.  541  ; 
six  styles  of,  L  597-598 ;  materials,  i. 
.599. 

Wu  River,  in  Kweicliau,  i.  31. 

Wu  Tsih-tien,  the  Emi)ress  Wu  of  the 
Tang,  her  reign,  ii.  170,  280. 

Wuchang,  in  Hupch,  i.  144;  taken  by 
the  Tai-pings,  ii.  .595. 

Wuchau  fu,  in  Kwangsi,  i.  177. 

Wuhu  hien,  on  the  Yangtsz',  i.  110. 

Wusung,  near  Shanghai,  j.  106;  captured 
by  the  English,  ii.  534. 

Wylie,  A. ,  i.  494,  523,  68(),  ii.  67,  72,  73, 
119,  176,  213,  214,  377,  286,  321. 

XANADU,  or  Shangtu,  ancient  palace 
of  Kublai,  i.  87. 
Xavier,  tomb  of,  on  Shaiigchuen  Island,  i. 
173  ;  his  mission  to  China,  ii.  289,  428. 


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